In re: Deborah Howell (and related matters)
The rule on the street says nobody respects a whiner. In basketball or politics, if you get pushed you push back just as hard; respect is not a gift and there's no referree to work.
The press is just another part of the the audience. I'm not defending the Post or anyone else, but democracy isn't based the assumption that the world is fair, it's based on the opposite: the assumption that power corrupts. Don't expect favors from anyone.