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New York Times media critic David Carr's metaphors for James Murdoch's increasingly hopeless-looking defense are many, but one thing seems clear: Murdoch can't deny much more before his credibility is totally shot. If you've not been following the latest developments in Parliament's investigation into News Corp.'s phone hacking scandal, reading Carr's latest column on Murdoch's increasingly tenuous situation is a good way to catch up. It's bookended by a pretty great comparison:

In almost every Road Runner cartoon, Wile E. Coyote overshoots the edge of a cliff and finds his feet spinning in the air, frantically pawing for the terra firma that he has left behind. Those of us watching know he is about to fall, and even as he continues to flail in midair, deep inside he knows it as well. We might wonder whether James Murdoch, the deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation, now finds himself at a Wile E. Coyote moment.

Even though Carr presents his blog post as a question -- "Is James Murdoch Running Out of Denials?" -- the clip he includes pretty much provides the answers it.

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