Gail Collins, the former Times editorial page editor and current op-ed columnist, has come to the defense of colleague Maureen Dowd over attacks, including from the paper's own public editor Clark Hoyt, that the flame-haired pundit is brewing with sexism. And it is awesomely, and unintentionally, backhanded.

"Your complaint about Maureen seems to be that many supporters of Hillary Clinton found her columns offensive. As a former editorial page editor, I can absolutely assure you that supporters of many, many candidates from both parties have found Maureen’s columns offensive over the years." [NYT]