Much has been written about the Clinton propaganda machine and, more recently, the Obama PR coup running up to yesterday's MSNBC debate. With all the hype you'd think John Edwards' spinmeisters are holed up in a podunk shopping center in North Carolina somewhere.

Actually, they are. And when an enterprising student in the University of North Carolina journalism school pursued a hard-hitting video report on the choice of that apparently affluent location to house The Man From Poverty's campaign, she witnessed the full wrath of his public relations operation:

[Professor C. A.] Tuggle said they threatened to cut off access to Edwards for UNC student reporters and other student groups if the piece aired.

"My gosh, what are they thinking?" Tuggle said. "They're spending this much time and effort on a student newscast that has about 2,000 viewers? They're turning a molehill into a mountain."

Behold the ruthless Edwards campaign. Ready to root out negative press, no matter how trivial or banal. No dicking around with glossy effluvia -- like men's fashion magazines.