ERNIE THE ATTORNEY wonders:

Does Novak know who the person who leaked the information is? He’s not saying, claiming the need to protect his source. I don’t have a problem with him protecting his source. I’m all for the press needing their internal sources so that they can ferret out corruption and political misdeed.

But this isn’t Watergate, and the press isn’t ferreting out political misdeed; it is –from what I can tell– willingly participating in pure political retribution. And, if that’s the case (and I’m not saying it is because I don’t know), I wonder why the press should have special protection? Just exactly what sort of behavior are we trying to reward by giving them protection in cases like this?

I’d say it’s more a case of bowing to the press’s political power than rewarding useful behavior. This is the equivalent of textile tariffs or pork-barrel spending: an industry extracting special treatment based on its ability to reward friends and punish enemies.