Writing for Slate is easy. As we've said before, just follow these three simple steps:

1. Take conventional wisdom.
2. Prove why it’s wrong.
3. Add a dash of pop culture references for good measure.

And as excepted, Slate media critic Jack Shafer doesn't object to the Times story on John McCain:

That the imperfect Times article doesn't expose a raging blaze isn't sufficient cause for condemning it. The evidence the paper provides more than adequately establishes that McCain remains a better preacher about ethics, standards, appearances, and special interest conflicts than he is a practitioner, something voters should consider before punching the ballot for him.

The only thing missing is a pop-culture reference. But to be far to Shafer, he only had a day to write it.