While we know the luminous, chiseled Sergey Brin would never say something so cruel about bloggers, Google CEO and aging Burner Eric Schmidt, while trying to ingratiate himself to the book-sniffing crowd at a American Society of News Editors gala, sure did. Speaking to a worried gaggle of editors in Washington D.C. last night., according to the Nieman Journalism Lab (via Valleywag), Schmidt told them:

There is an art to what you do. And if you're ever confused as to the value of newspaper editors, look at the blog world. That's all you need to see.

While we agree with him on the whole value-of-newspaper-editors stuff -- because America, liberty, democracy, alcoholism, bon mots followed by heavy chin-scratching, kittens, puppies, life and the universe as we know it will implode without crusty-but-benign newspaper editors -- we take issue with Schmidt's somewhat liberal use of the word "art." Oh brother.

Then again, are editors really the Thomas Kinkades of the print publishing industry?