The best part of the Observer's interview with Jayson Blair is that he suggests that maybe this whole thing will make NYT editor Howell Raines "more mature." (The "Howell Raines is just being a big baby" explanation.) No, wait. That's not the best part; the best part is where he says that the "journalist Jayson Blair" had to die so Jayson Blair could live. (The "I sacrificed myself to save...myself" explanation.) No, no, wait! The best part is where he says that he's not like disgraced TNR reporter Stephen Glass because he (Blair) is an extremely talented writer, and obviously very clever or he wouldn't have fooled the NYT for so long. (The "It was my evil genuis and not their complete failure to fact-check" explanation.)
So Jayson Blair could live, the journalist had to die.