There Are Dodges...

And then there are dodges. Check this AP Reuters headline:

Obama aide: "Hard to know" if 2009 recovery certain

My sources say no.

Seriously. Is it certain? If the answer is "not sure," then the answer is "NO, IT IS NOT CERTAIN."

I blame the headline writer, because the AP Stylebook is perhaps the single most ridiculous and nonsensical book ever written and anyone forced to use it is invariably dumber for ever having consulted it. (I have looked at it twice and my IQ dropped by 12 points.)

UPDATE: It seems my AP consultation has bitten me in the ass. Turns out, the story is from Reuters. That said, I stand by my position on the AP Stylebook and my implication that this headline is absurd and an abuse of language.