I don't want to rehash the whole Domenech story, but it seems to have its roots in Deborah Howell's contention that the post.com site could stand a counterweight for Dan Froomkin.

The Post denies that Domenech was hired specifically to balance Froomkin; of course they also deny that they hired Domenech to placate right-wing critics. But it has to be one or the other, and of the two, balancing Froomkin is actually the more defensible (because it really is about plurality of viewpoints rather than just kow-towing to mau-mauing).

But Froomkin doesn't advance a liberal worldview in his column. Rather, Froomkin is a fairly harsh Bush skeptic.  So what would balance Froomkin is someone who covers a similar beat, in a similar format, but is more credulous of Bush and the claims made by his administration. Thus, Halperin of The Note, who invariably gives Bush every benefit of the doubt and more.

Obviously the Post can't get Halperin, a senior producer at ABC, to blog on the Post's online site. But that's definitely the model they should go for.