And in the white trunks ...

In today's installment of his "After Deadline" blog, the New York Times's Philip Corbett criticizes the editor who wrote the original caption for this photo: "Rielle Hunter, left, and Oprah Winfrey in an interview shown Thursday. Ms. Hunter spoke of her affair with John Edwards."

Says Corbett: "I think we can assume at this point that in a photo of two women, our readers will know which one is Oprah Winfrey. The "left" makes it look as though we're editing on autopilot."

I'm not so sure. Of course Oprah is one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world. Still, I guarantee I could find someone right there in New York City who has never put the name together with the face (I'm looking at you, Jack). And I have to wonder: Would Corbett make the same call if the woman Oprah was photographed with was also African-American? Or is he just confident that everyone who sees the photo of her and Rielle Hunter will at least know that Oprah's the black lady?

Sometimes autopilot is the safest way to fly.

Photo: George Burns/Harpo Productions, via AP