A new low in political reportage south of the border—coming soon to a campaign near you?

Canadian journos, beware: we all know how Stephen Harper gets his worst ideas from the Americans. And he’s been managing you folks for years. Here’s the next increment:

The quotations come back redacted, stripped of colorful metaphors, colloquial language and anything even mildly provocative.

They are sent by e-mail from the Obama headquarters in Chicago to reporters who have interviewed campaign officials under one major condition: the press office has veto power over what statements can be quoted and attributed by name.

Most reporters, desperate to pick the brains of the president’s top strategists, grudgingly agree. After the interviews, they review their notes, check their tape recorders and send in the juiciest sound bites for review.

The verdict from the campaign — an operation that prides itself on staying consistently on script — is often no, Barack Obama does not approve this message.

Pre-approval for this re-writing of history allows the President to avoid the skeevy Duffy trap. Do-over? What do-over?

Down the memory hole. Anyone naive enough to think this can’t happen here?

[H/t Dan Gardner]