Pride and Prejudice

Instapundit links to a post in The Corner showing that the recent election in Iraq is shaking Daily Show host John Stewart's faith that Bush is evil and stupid:

What if Bush, the president, ours, has been right about this all along? I feel like my world view will not sustain itself and I may, and again I don’t know if I can physically do this, implode.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown shares similar fears:

By now, you might have even voted against George Bush -- a second time -- to register your disapproval.

But after watching Sunday's election in Iraq and seeing the first clear sign that freedom really may mean something to the Iraqi people, you have to be asking yourself: What if it turns out Bush was right, and we were wrong?

It's hard to swallow, isn't it?

Over at NBC News, however, White House correspondent David Gregory is still fervently hoping for a quagmire:

War and the first spark of democracy in Iraq represent the great gamble of George W. Bush’s presidency.

...With stakes so high, even on a day filled with so much hope for the future, many Americans are also forced to confront another possibility: What if the U.S. fails?

...Radicals throughout the region would be emboldened; terrorists would find new havens; and America's image as a strong power would be undermined.

Gregory's yearning for things to go badly in Iraq is palpable. Why is he still so desperate to make Bush look bad even as his liberal-media bretheren are, belatedly, seeing the light?

This May, 2002 encounter, recounted in The Daily Telegraph, may hold the answer:

David Gregory would appear to have a good relationship with the president. ...But, at the Elysee Palace on Sunday, Gregory found out that Mr Bush wasn't really his buddy after all.

"I wonder why it is you think there are such strong sentiments in Europe against you and against this administration?" he asked, before turning to the French leader and adding: "Et vous Monsieur le President Chirac, qu'en pensez-vous?"

The American president pursed his lips in annoyance: he does not speak French and sensed he was being mocked. "Very good," he said sardonically. "The guy memorises four words, and he plays like he's intercontinental."

Gregory, in so deep he couldn't turn back, ventured: "I can go on." But Mr Bush did a little mocking of his own: "I'm impressed - que bueno. Now I'm literate in two languages."

When the press conference was over, Mr Bush turned to Gregory and said in front of bemused journalists: "As soon as you get in front of a camera, you start showing off."

Long ago, NBC's slogan actually was "Proud as a Peacock", later updated to "Our Pride is Showing".

Mr. Gregory's own wounded pride still is. And it looks like it's taken precedence over any commitment he might once have had to unbiased journalism.