Many politicians have borrowed the phrase since, but on Friday, it might have been appropriate if a newspaper editor made use of it. The main editorial in the Irish Times that day was headlined 'A poor reflection of ourselves'. The piece analysed the opinion poll published in the paper which showed a surge of eight percent in Fianna Fail's popularity, and a one-percent boost in Bertie Ahern's satisfaction rating. This, after three weeks of controversy over payments to Ahern which have left unanswered questions and something of a smell.

The editorial began: "What sort of people are we? We now know." It went on to analyse the poll's findings. "What a paradox!

The electorate, it appears, after 10 years of tribunals into various forms of corrupt payments, can set up a glass wall between this Taoiseach and Fianna Fail, to distinguish between £8k from friends as distinct to £8m to his mentor, Charles Haughey."

It concluded: "If the rest of us 'look the other way', it won't be long before the culture of corruption engendered by Mr Haughey will resurface. But, regrettably, this poll would indicate that this does not seem to matter."

By Irish Times standards, the piece represented a radical departure. Generally, the Irish media remain neutral in elections, unlike in most other democracies, but the Times in particular prides itself on its political independence. At the outset of an admittedly lengthy election campaign, the paper was tying its colours to the mast. The only comparable editorial in recent times was 'It's Payback Time' on the front page of the Irish Independent in 1997, by then editor Vinnie Doyle, which kicked up a storm over its endorsement of the FF-PD ticket.

Friday suggests we have entered that realm again. Different paper, different context, even different stakes, but the same story. Is Kennedy taking personally the apparent indifference of the electorate to what she, and many others, regard as a hugely significant story that shows old Fianna Fail hasn't gone away, you know?

Once the story broke . . . on the pages of the Times . . . it was inevitable she would become a player. This was about raking over the embers of the Haughey era. Ahern, a senior politician, was given money in dubious circumstances. Rumours have swirled around him since the tribunals got under way. Was this the smoking bank account?

Kennedy was a player at the height of the Haughey era. Her phone was bugged on Haughey's watch when she was a political correspondent with this newspaper. She entered politics in the late '80s with the Progressive Democrats when Des O'Malley was seen as a bulwark for standards, unlike its present leader who explains away standards using the elastic properties of logic.

When the current shemozzle got under way, Fianna Fail hacks put it down to Kennedy's beef with the party over her phone and all that. She fitted nicely into the strategy. Ahern introduced his failed marriage to elicit sympathy. His ministers tried not to laugh as they parroted that the leak, not Ahern's hoovering up of money, was the real story. And it was whispered that this was a personal vendetta on Kennedy's part.

Through it all, she played a straight bat.

The original story, written by Colm Keena, didn't have to quote the tribunal letter to one of Ahern's benefactors, but it was included to give the story integrity.

When the planning tribunal contacted her, she ordered the letter destroyed, and thus disobeyed a tribunal order. She could have told them that it was already destroyed. Many other journalists would have regarded this as a white lie in pursuit of the perceived greater good. She chose to play it completely straight.

Her honesty added to her troubles. Apart from now facing the High Court, she has also taken a battering in the court of public opinion. Letters to her paper, and the whispers in Fianna Fail circles, have questioned her perch on the high moral ground.

Who is she to be getting onto Bertie about a dig out when he was down on his uppers, while she takes the law into her own hands?

The spin is baseless, but spin only requires currency to prosper. It's easy to see why she might be frustrated at the outcome of her work. Despite her best efforts, Ahern has got away without answering some basic questions: How could a loan go unpaid for 13 years? Who exactly gave him eight grand in Manchester, and when did he get it? Did 20-odd millionaires cough up a meagre £400 each? Where is Ben Dunne when you need him?

For her part, Kennedy appears to have defied the law in pursuit of a principle that is bread and butter to journalists, but difficult for some to fathom, easy for others to misrepresent. The winning prize from the whole affair has been handed out. Ahern and Fianna Fail are top of the world, as evidenced further by the results of today's poll in the Sunday Tribune. Kennedy has a date with the High Court and the prospect of contempt proceedings.

Friday's editorial demonstrated how much of a player Kennedy became in the matter of Bertie's dig outs. The tone betrayed a certain outrage. Her analysis of the people . . . the bastards . . . was spot on, but unfortunately it resonated with Eamon de Valera's declaration that the people have no right to be wrong. As Pat Rabbitte pointed out on Friday, they do.

Being right isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes, holding tough is the better option.