Rupert Murdoch's last biographer thinks his young wife is turning him soft and liberal. Maybe so: The mogul's pet tabloid went easy on party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter today, compared with Jim Jeffords in 2001.

After Vermont senator Jeffords switched from the Republican Party to independent, the New York Post infamously called him "Benedict Jeffords" on the front page, complete with illustration.

This year, the tabloid's DC bureau chief compared Specter to Benedict Arnold in his column, but the headline didn't make the front page. Nor did the headline on the main Specter news story, which heralded the senator a "Specter of Doom.

"Conservative tabloid?" Eh, maybe, but still: In. The. Tank.

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