THE NEW YORK TIMES AND CBS take a poll of the Tea Party participants and finds them to be whiter, older, richer, and more educated than the ”average American“ – a blindingly obvious no-brainer for anyone who’s ever attended a single Tea Party rally. The Times then passes the data a couple of times through their spin machine to conclude that “these rich old white people have no right to complain. And they watch Fox News. Gross.”

The Washington Examiner relooks at the data and takes note of the obvious: “the middle and upper middle class never protest or get this angry, so this represents something very different in the history of American politics.”

But the truffles to be snuffed out are here:

It is noteworthy that 1 percent of tea party supporters think the current members of Congress ought to keep their jobs. But it’s more noteworthy that 10 percent of the general public feels the same way -- 7 points lower than before the 1994 elections. It may be true that only 6 percent of tea partiers trust the government, but only 20 percent of the general public does. It’s interesting that 74 percent of tea partiers think the bailouts were unnecessary but more interesting that now 51 percent of the general public does (only 36 percent think they were needed). It’s not surprising that only 6 percent of tea party fans hold the Democratic Party in a favorable light. It is surprising that the party’s standing with the general public (42 percent) is lower than any time since the fall of 1994.

The general public – that hypothetical “average American” – is following the lead of the Tea Partiers.

The liberals have failed to learn the First Rule of Holes: when you find yourself in one, stop digging. If anything, they seem to be bringing in heavy equipment.