Call me old-fashioned, but I insist on believing that people who write for a living — say, reporters who also write books — should know how to write. Should understand, for example, the difference between “deliberate” and “deliberative”. (Or, failing that, should have the sense to not use either word.)

So today’s MEDALL award (Media Assault on a Living Language ) goes to WaPo‘s Glenn Kessler (author of Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy) for:

She had a very deliberative public relations strategy when she became Secretary of State to help erase the images of how ineffective she had been as National Security Adviser.

The Senate is a deliberative body, Glenn. Because they engage in deliberations.

Whereas, I’m deliberately making fun of you. Because I believe it’s laughable for you not to know the meaning of words you choose to use.

Deliberate on that a while, why don’t you?