WH Press Nicknames are Safe

The White House Press Corps protected their coveted nicknames today by refusing to press Scott McClellan on the discrepancy between the official "no comment on an ongoing investigation" position and the "comment" leaked to the NYT. McClelland anticipated the questions that never came by getting out in front of the issue: MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, hang on. I've seen reports, including today, in The New York Times, talking about this very issue that you bring up. I read that story with great interest, just like many of you in this room did. I would say that I cannot speak to whether or not the parts of that National Intelligence Estimate may have been declassified at some point prior to the release of the National Intelligence Estimate that we made on July 18, 2003. He needn't have bothered--no one from the docile corps had any intention of asking why the administration sees fit to leak their position but refuses to answer honest questions about it. The pet nicknames from Bush they so cherish are secure and will live to see another day. On the bright side, Helen continues to tune up McClelland every time he tries to 9/11 his way out of an indefensible position. Her peers should be ashamed.