Question for Richard Cohen

Dear Richard Cohen,

I liked your piece on Sarah Palin.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100602634.html

But then I came across this sentence:

"Ah, but the scorn, approbation and ridicule that would have descended on Clinton -- I can just imagine the Journal editorial -- have been withheld from Palin."

Do you know what the word "approbation" means?

I'll give you a hint: it's not a synonym for "opprobrium."

Another one: it helps, when decrying the stupidity of others, particularly of other mainstream journalists, not to expose one's own.