Megan McArdle on watching the Toyota hearings:

I haven't seen so much posturing since I graduated Miss Elliot's Charm School for Gentlewomen and Girls. It's clear to me that there have been some real problems with Toyota cars. But it also seems like the hysteria and the hype are rapidly becoming unmoored from any actual danger.

Unfortunately I think hysteria and hype "unmoored from any actual danger" are pretty common on the Hill.