EDITORIAL - When the media thought Karl Rove was the big source, the ?Deep Throat? of the 21st century (give or take some hysterical adoration), newspapers blasted breathless reports on the front page predicting doom for the media-challenged aid. When it was learned that Rove was far from being the original source and that it was in fact he who had learned of Valerie ?not-a-covert-spy? Plame-Wilson from other reporters, small blurbs could be found somewhere on page A17 of most major newspapers, lodged somewhere between competing advertisements for hair growth products.

Of course by Friday the media were back to dropping Rove?s name as part of some crazed right-wing conspiracy to ?out? the wife of an unimportant former ambassador who wrote about his trip to Africa, you know, about what he ?did not find.? One of the things he apparently could not find was a typewriter in order to write a report that George W. Bush would not refer to in his State of the Union address. It never occurred to Joey Wilson that ?British Intelligence? meant ?British Intelligence? as opposed to, say, intelligence from a report that was never written.

Wilson cannot be the only person blamed for failing to realize that a report he never wrote could be confused with a report that the British did write. The media did not seem to notice this either as it began to spread the news of Bush ?distorting? the precious world according to Joe Wilson. This would also be the same media who wonders curiously why Judith Miller vows silence when they already ?outed? Karl Rove as the source. Apparently it does take bloggers-in-pajamas to figure out this stuff.

Even more insidious is Karl Rove?s turning over of any and all information regarding the case, testifying honestly when questioned, and even signing a waiver to release everyone of obligations of confidentiality. He would only do that if he really had something to hide.

But at long last, Joe Wilson gave his ?exclusive? interview to ?Today? correspondent Jamie Gangel. The hard-hitting media lodged this series of tough questioning at Joe Wilson, who has been repudiated by a bi-partisan Senate panel for lying to the media on the matter:

- ?What do you think of Karl Rove??
- ?What does your wife think of Karl Rove??
- ?Do you and your wife ever believe the perpetrators of this will ever be punished??
- ?Do you think... Karl Rove... Should be fired??
- ?What do you think the White House Should do.?

Surprisingly, these softballs were never asked:

- ?Were you sent oversees on this unpaid mission by your wife, or by the Vice-President??
- ?Was you wife an oversees covert operative at the time she was ?outed? as a covert spy thus causing National Security to be ?at risk?? Was she a covert spy two years before? How about in 1997??
- ?Do you happen to have a copy of your ?report? from Niger. The one that was apparently confused as British Intelligence??
- ?Are you the leak??

Joe Wilson?s ?proof? that he is not doing this for political reasons, or book-selling reasons, or because he probably wants to run for Congress, is that he has one single campaign contribution to the Bush Campaign in 1999, over six months before Bush even became the Republican Party?s nominee. One small campaign contribution one time says a lot less about a person?s political agenda than three campaign contributions twice the size to Al Gore in 1999, plus contributions to Ted Kennedy, Charles Rangel, the liberal HillPAC and contributing solely to the Kerry campaign during the last campaign cycle while also acting as an adviser. But hey, I wouldn?t want to jump to any conclusions. And apparently neither would the media.