Cohen and Potok try gamely but fail to call him on the original error. The closest we get to a correction is:

We’re talking about 31 words uttered more than two years ago by Christine Romans in response to a question by me, just before going to a commercial break…The only person that has made anything of this has been you, gentlemen, and I can’t imagine your motivation for doing so.

The Audit says: “AFLAAAAAC!”

I hate the bully stuff; and the misuse of TV debates.

But listen, I don’t want to make too much of this. There was no real harm done in the end, even to immigrant lepers. How many of them have cable? And using lepers to attack illegal immigrants is so grotesque, so fifteenth-century Romania, that, one must admit, it’s pretty comical. It’s like beating Little Orphan Annie with Oliver Twist. Stop it! You’re killing me!

Still, this is about a respect for facts. Admit error and move on. Instead, as a lead-in to the Great Fact Debate of May 16, we get another report about leprosy, this one with the correct figures.

Here’s Dobbs’s introduction: “The number of leprosy cases in this country is rising and that isn’t the worst of it…”

Never mind. Hey, Lou. I think I found another case.

[1] While not a managing editor myself, The Audit is an assistant managing editor and so understands the burdens of leadership, the importance of saving face at all times. Uneasy lies the head, etc.