by Jerry Ceppos

Ever wonder exactly how those hotshot off-the-record conversations work? My favorite description is from The Politico, a new site that attracts me again and again because it’s full of political gossip. I love this description from a story about the attorney general’s problems:

A member of the House Republican leadership, speaking on the condition of anonymity at a luncheon with 13 reporters, spoke scathingly of the “drip, drip, drip” produced by the furor over the attorneys.

There’s already Republicans on the Hill calling for him to quit and there’s certainly not a deep well of support on the Hill for him,” the leader said. About the administration’s dealings with Congress, the leader said, “They’re never really reached out.”

So 13 journalists can keep a secret? Can you imagine a local politician trusting a group of 13 journalists? I certainly don’t want these 13 to violate a promise, but I sure do wish that a few of them had said before the luncheon, “Nah. I’d rather not go off the record.”

I also wish that The Politico hadn’t let the politician anonymously blast the administration’s relations with Congress. Maybe the administration really didn’t “reach out” to Congress. But what happened to the old rule that sources can’t anonymously badmouth others? (For that matter, should the source be allowed to predict that the attorney general’s days will be “numbered.” I’m a hair more comfortable with that because the source is opining about actual news rather than criticizing anonymously. Am I counting the number of angels on the head of a pin? Could be.)