We are taught that adverbs (and other modifiers) should be excised from our writing, and that we should prefer nouns and verbs. However, as E. B. White said in The Elements of Style, we should also know the rules, so that when we break them, we do so with grace.
Writing in in the "War Room" blog on Salon.com, the always wonderful Farhad Manjoo shows how it's done.
The post discusses White House spokesman Scott McClellan's attempt to defray accusations that his boss is behind Scooter Libby's leaking of Valerie Plame's name. McClellan's behavior during the press briefing was about what you would expect.
Manjoo characterized it as "ruthlessly opaque."
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