Abu Wabu

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz lays waste to countless idiots' Fitzmas dreams by shining journalistic light on Jason Leopold, who "broke" the "story" of the Fitzgerald indictment of Karl Rove, apparently quite some time before it happened, since as of this writing two weeks later it hasn't happened yet. Hey- that reminds me of Joseph Wilson's specialized grasp of document timelines!

The claim that President Bush's top political strategist had been indicted in the CIA leak investigation was written by a journalist who has battled drug addiction and mental illness and been convicted of grand larceny. That didn't stop more than 35 reporters -- from all the major newspapers, networks and newsmagazines -- from calling Luskin or Rove's spokesman, Mark Corallo, to check it out.

The reports appeared on the liberal Web site Truthout.org, run by Marc Ash, a former advertising man and fashion photographer in California. Jason Leopold, the author of the stories, directed inquiries to Ash, who says that "we stand by the story. We have multiple points of independent confirmation of what we originally reported. Our problem is, the prosecutor's office is under no obligation to go public."

Leopold acknowledges in a new book, "News Junkie," that he is a past liar, convicted felon and former alcoholic and cocaine addict. An earlier version of the book was canceled by publisher Rowman & Littlefield last year.

Salon retracted a 2002 piece by Leopold involving Thomas White, then secretary of the Army. The online magazine apologized, saying it had been unable to confirm the authenticity of an e-mail that Leopold attributed to White. Leopold, a onetime reporter for the Los Angeles Times and Dow Jones, accused the online magazine of being "wimpy" and caving to pressure.

Captain's Quarters:

This should serve as a cautionary tale for partisans who feel that their cause is worth more than their own credibility. Once that decision is made, neither cause nor credibility can ever be easily retrieved.

Dan Rather. Notorious Liar Joe Wilson. Jason Leopold. And now, ladies and idiots, Jesse MacBeth.

Credit to Protein Wisdom.