When Anthony Weiner accidentally tweeted a picture of his junk, the media was there for him. When Dennis Kucinich choked on an olive pit, the media truly cared. And for well over two years, Sarah Palin’s every breath was the subject of intense media speculation and over analysis.

When the ATF sent thousands of firearms to Mexican drug cartels with no way of tracking them other than by finding the bodies, the media was just really busy. Now that the situation has led to the House Oversight Committee voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, the media has finally had to pay attention to Rielle Hunter’s tell-all book about her love affair with John Edwards.

Only three major network news stations led with a story about the investigation after the contempt motion was referred to the House of Representatives. The narrative seems to be that the investigation is a result of gridlock or a failure of bipartisanship, rather than the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

The cruel irony is that normally the media will go far out of its way to scandalize pretty much anything as a way of attracting attention. Rod Blagojevich and his hair were worth months of intense coverage during a slow summer news season. Every time John Boehner sheds a tear, the headlines come out to pat him on the shoulder and tell him that everything will be okay. Now, when an actual, bona-fide scandal loaded up with abuse of power, hypocrisy, conspiracy, death, and just plain incompetence makes itself known, suddenly the media has collectively decided to grow up and talk about mature things like… that heat wave hitting the East Coast, isn’t the humidity just crazy?

Yes, it’s crazy all right…