Ganging Up

"In rare instances, sources may insist that the paper and the reporter resist subpoenas and judicial orders, if necessary, to protect their anonymity. Reporters should consult a masthead editor before entering into any such agreement."

Here's how heated things are getting with this HuffPo posting by James Moore , co-author of "Bush's Brain":

"The hallmarks of a Rove smear job are always the same: leak, lie, defame, obfuscate, and deny. He did it when he began a whisper campaign about Gov. Ann Richards' sexuality. He did it when he used surrogates in South Carolina to suggest that Sen. John McCain was mentally unstable and may have fathered a black child out of wedlock and he did it in the last election when he used the Swift Boat Veterans as a front group to proffer lies about John Kerry's time in Vietnam."

I'd respectfully suggest there is no hard evidence tying Rove to any of this.

Congressional Quarterly editor David Rapp has to remind his reporters to act like, well, reporters, according to Romenesko :

"The petition in support of Judith Miller's refusal to reveal her confidential sources is a worthy effort. But as CQ reporters and editors, we must take the extreme position of neutrality and disengagement. Her case is too close to an ongoing story that we are, and will be, covering in the publications of Congressional Quarterly. And the problem is, we don't know where this story leads and what the outcome will be, and thus how we will have to cover it. For that reason, as much as we all feel solidarity with a fellow reporter and colleague, CQ editorial staff should not sign this petition."

Fred Barnes cites no "double super secret background" sources here, but he says Alberto is almost definitely staying put:

"Though he defended Attorney General Alberto Gonzales against conservative critics, President Bush now appears highly unlikely to nominate Gonzales to replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Nor is Gonzales expected to be chosen to fill a second vacancy on the high court should Chief Justice William Rehnquist or another justice steps down in the near future.

"The president, of course, could change his mind and pick Gonzales. But a better bet now is that he will choose a woman, an option recommended by First Lady Laura Bush. Judge Edith Brown Clement of the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals is considered a possibility. Bush, who met with Senate leaders Tuesday to discuss the court vacancy, is expected to announce a nominee by the end of July.

"It is unclear how seriously the president ever regarded Gonzales as a potential court choice or if he was steered away from Gonzales at the urging of conservatives who want Bush to move the court to the right in its judicial philosophy. But the president is believed to have had reasons for not picking Gonzales all along.

"One is that he just installed Gonzales in the AG job, one of the top four cabinet posts, a few months ago. Having already rewarded Gonzales with a promotion, he doesn't owe him another one."

Here's the public's view:

"The latest USA TODAY /CNN/Gallup Poll, taken July 7-10, showed overwhelming support for putting another woman on the court. Three of four favored appointing a woman to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the high court. Two-thirds of those surveyed liked the idea of naming the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court, too."

Finally, Kobe Bryant , having beaten a sexual assault rap, is back in Nike ads. Shame doesn't last long in this country.