Damage by that spin, however is always a function of the length of time they can keep the public's eyes on their balls! When a President is already unpopular or marginally so, the media can spin until enough damage is done to ruin an administration's effectivness. To be sure, if the president is liberal, the scandal must be enormous in order to make the mediacrats start even a mild spin. But whether conservative or liberal, even the ALL POWERFUL MEDIA can't really do any lasting damage to a popular president.
And if you haven't noticed, Dubya is VERY popular. This is just about over.