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BLITZER: Let me read to you what you wrote, just to be precise. These were the sensitive words. "Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife Valerie Plame is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him." Do you regret writing that story?

NOVAK: Well, it's a very interesting question. I probably do because it's caused me so much trouble. I don't think I did anything wrong, but as a practical matter, it wasn't a big scoop. You know, I think it was in the seventh paragraph of a 13-paragraph story or 11-paragraph story.

And so it was just a throw-away line. And the whole column was not abusive toward Joe Wilson in any way.

More at link ...

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/networks/novak_says_goodbye_to_cnn_29935.asp

It caused HIM a lot of trouble? What a shelfish boob. I look forward to the trial, when Russert, Cooper, et al have to take the stand.

From that same interview linked on your post #15:

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BLITZER: Here's what you said the other day, at least according to the "Raleigh News & Observer," December 14, 2005: "I'm confident the president knows who the source is. I'd be amazed if he doesn't. So I say don't bug me, don't bug 'Washington Post' reporter Bob Woodward, bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is." You were talking about your initial source for this story, is that right?

NOVAK: I was giving a speech, as I do every couple of years, to a conservative think tank called "The John Locke Foundation" in Raleigh.

And I've spoken there for years. And I've said a lot of outrageous things to them, and it never gets in the paper. I'd made the bum reporter's mistake. I didn't think there would be any reporters there.

So that was a stupid thing for me to say. I was just kind of -- it wasn't in the speech, it was in the -- I had given a speech for about 40 minute. We had about ten minutes of Q&A, and that was the last question. It's always the last question that does you in. That was a dumb thing to say.

BLITZER: Was it dumb to say it, or was it not true? Do you believe the president knows who your source is?

NOVAK: It was dumb to say it.

BLITZER: But you do believe the president...

NOVAK: I'm not going to say. I thought it was an off-the-record operation. And I really don't want to go any further into it. I'm embarrassed that it appeared in print. I thought it was just in a private setting, so I don't want to go further into it.

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Geesh, this "I thought it was a private setting" line from public figures -- after they make stupid remarks in a public speech -- is beginning to sound a lot like "the dog ate my homework."

Boy, that explanation really cinches it for me that the naughty, nasty, Bush administration really went out of their way to discredit someone, probably, who was that again? Oh, somebody Flame, yeah, that's the ticket....real devastating plan, wasn't it? Zzzzzzzz.......