They may not be talking about Ben Bentzin, but Eat the Press reports that a Toronto paper has taken one of our favorite descriptive terms into the mainstream. When mentioning Tucker Carlson's joining the crapfest that is ABC's Dancing with the Stars, the Toronto Star's columnist put it this way (with my emphasis):

During those Crossfire years on CNN, Carlson seemed to be on the verge of a powerhouse career. Sure, he often came across as just another smug douchebag in the beltway. But, hell, he was perched beside Robert Novak, and next to that crabby ideologue even Lou Dobbs would seem boyishly charming.

As far as "douchebag" is concerned, perhaps this column means that the floodgates are now open. Any time some reporter really wanted to call someone a douchebag, but held back. . . well, now maybe they don't have to. Hooray for journalists everywhere!

I recommend you check out the Eat the Press entry wherein the blogger searches for any other usage of "douchebag" in mainstream media. Very funny.