Ham Blogger and Cheese

Happy to report that the original Kinsley commentary is now on the web (RealAudio link provided; WMA also available). Here is the quote:

Yeah, I feel like maybe I'm the only person who doesn't have a clue. On CNN last week there was Bob Novak, the man who published the original leak, and a bunch of other journalists, discussing how we should proceed to investigate who leaked this story: should there be a special prosecutor, should there be an independent counsel... and Bob was sitting there, and he knows the answer, and he wasn't saying - for reasons that most people think are good, and I guess I do too. At least six journalists received this leak, I think at least six times six are claiming to be one of them; the people in the White House who made the leak (or the CIA, wherever it was) presumably know who it was. It's a very odd thing, everyone is geared up for an investigation of something which it seems like practically everyone knows.

A few points: First, Bob is right, there could in principle be an arbitrarily high number of leaked-to journalists. Second, on the other hand, the more people who do actually know about this, the less likely it seems that the secret could have been kept for this long (one reason to doubt the veracity of those who claim to have been leaked to). Third, my original point (less than obvious, in retrospect): since it has now become a point of pride among the Washington journalistic set to have been leaked-to, there is reason to doubt anyone who comes forward with that claim. Finally, I really just meant this whole thread tongue-in-cheek. Obviously, someone or someones broke the law, and there are people out there who know their names, and I hope the leakers are tracked down and suffer the consequences.