As for Blumenthal, my guess is he survives his little brush with mendacity. The Connecticut Democrat accidentally said he was a combat veteran, when in fact he never served in Vietnam. Could happen to anyone!
Now, perhaps the sneering, sarcasm is too muted for most to perceive, but you cannot read "little brush with mendacity" as anything other than calling the guy a liar, and the irony of "accidentally said he was a combat veteran, when he never served in Vietnam. Could happen to anyone!
Well of course, as the respondents to this have universally stated one does not do this "accidentally," and does not happen to anyone of even modest levels of honesty.
Brooks employs a number of common rhetorical devices including "litotes," understatement and even ridicule. While the average person may not be sensitive to it, if you wish to join the club of main line blogging correspondents you need to educate yourself on the rhetorical devices in common use so that you don't make yourself look ridiculous by so patently misunderstanding what is a very clear communication.
Brooks has only himself to blame if conservatives can no longer tell whether he's resorting to "'litotes,' understatment, [or] even ridicule." They're so accustomed to hearing him insult conservatives, his defense of Blumenthal sounds like any other note sung from the same sheet of music.
Hmmm... Well, I might need to hear a recording of this conversation. In writing hard to tell if there is sarcasm but Brooks does seem to say the lie here is no big deal.