Another Leak: You Know This One Hurts Republicans, Because They're Talking About the Information Leaked Rather than the Leak Itself

Shortly after 9/11, some politician told the press about some phone conversation intercepted the day before, saying something like "The feast is set" or some other codephrase later determined to mean "the attack is on."

This was a bad thing, because the fact that we interecepted a call is itself a closely-guarded secret. I think Bush, Cheney, and/or Rumsfeld sternly rebuked Congress for this leak.

It was just leaked that a Senator is now the focus of investigation in the case. That Senator -- Richard Shelby of Alabama, on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Republican.

Keith Olbermann reported this on his godawful show tonight. Oddly enough, there was no talk of this leak impugning a Republican being "timed," "suspiciously" or otherwise, to take the focus off of Sandy Berger, or to give the Democrats a laugh line during their convention.

Nope. The only story was the information conveyed by the leak. Not the leak itself, nor the likely political affinity of the leakers, nor the possible motive or agenda of the leakers. No aspersions whatsoever were cast upon those supplying the information; indeed, they weren't even mentioned at all.

Funny, isn't it?

(P.S., Keith: Craig Kilbourne called. He says he wants his act back. Oh wait, that isn't even Craig Kilbourne's act, he stole it from David Letterman. And, actually, wait again: neither man wants the act back, because you're so howlingly unfunny they say you've "tainted" the act and turned it into something ugly and hateful.

On the other hand, Margaret Cho wants to have drinks.)