Personal to Troy Smith:

I would like to retract every bad thing I’ve said, every snide remark and eye roll that’s greeted your every move this season.

Sorry, dude. Nice game.

Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward testified under oath Monday in the CIA leak case that a senior administration official told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame and her position at the agency nearly a month before her identity was disclosed.

In a more than two-hour deposition, Woodward told Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald that the official casually told him in mid-June 2003 that Plame worked as a CIA analyst on weapons of mass destruction, and that he did not believe the information to be classified or sensitive, according to a statement Woodward released yesterday.

Fitzgerald interviewed Woodward about the previously undisclosed conversation after the official alerted the prosecutor to it on Nov. 3 — one week after Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was indicted in the investigation.

Citing a confidentiality agreement in which the source freed Woodward to testify but would not allow him to discuss their conversations publicly, Woodward and Post editors refused to disclose the official’s name or provide crucial details about the testimony. Woodward did not share the information with Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. until last month, and the only Post reporter whom Woodward said he remembers telling in the summer of 2003 does not recall the conversation taking place.

[more]

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Here’s why it’s odd, from later on in the piece:

Woodward’s testimony appears to change key elements in the chronology Fitzgerald laid out in his investigation and announced when indicting Libby three weeks ago. It would make the unnamed official — not Libby — the first government employee to disclose Plame’s CIA employment to a reporter. It would also make Woodward, who has been publicly critical of the investigation, the first reporter known to have learned about Plame from a government source.

And it’s apparently not Rove, either — so it’s a whole new unnamed administration official.

Now, I love Bob Woodward’s books, and have since I first read ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN years and years ago — but I have to say that I think it’s a little ironic that a guy who helped break open one of the biggest government conspiracy-and-coverup stories in American political history seems to have become ensnared in this one, and not necessarily in a good way. The next few days/weeks should be interesting…

What a weekend!

Most readers of this blog will know that this past weekend was the convergence of two super deluxe giant fantabulous family events – Carl’s birthday (on Friday, with a family party on Sunday) and the annual Chompers & Stompers pilgrimage to the OSU/Northwestern game. Matt, Donna, Courtney, Rob and Sarah all trekked in on Friday evening and crashed at Chez Dahlberg, which we have discovered can comfortably sleep many, many more people than we initially believed. The Joneses and PR arrived Saturday morning for a little pregame breakfast, and then we all made our way down High Street to campus, first in search of the Ramer tailgate, and then over to the ‘Shoe for a perfect afternoon of college football. Pity that Northwestern didn’t really feel the same…

Dinner with the C&Sers; on Saturday night at the Concourse led to highly predictable shenanigans (beerball was involved). Pretty good turnout, on the whole, although there were some notable absences (hi, JB!) But I didn’t hear that anyone was thrown out of the hotel that night, so I have to conclude that it was a smashing success.

Sunday brought lunch with the immediate family at the house, and then off to Carl’s party at Grandma Ware’s. Dad made three (!) cakes, which were positively devoured by our respective families. Carl seemed to be enjoying running around with his cousins and playing with the balloons Val decorated the room with, but when it came time to open his presents, we had a pretty tough time convincing him that was a good idea. He only wanted to play with the first present he’d opened – a train set Mémé and Granddude gave him – and pretty much refused to tear into the dozen or so other brightly wrapped packages bearing his name. What kind of kid do you have to force presents on unwillingly? Mine, as it turns out.

What a weekend. Glad I can get back to the office and get my nose to the grindstone:

(more pictures at the links above, obviously…)

Via Wonkette, via MeFi, via ThinkProgress, apparently.

No, I didn’t leave voting up to my baby boy of course, he’ll need to quit saying, “No Mommy, not the NEWS!” first, but I picked the candidates and issues, and he got to push the big green “vote” button at the end. He was pretty impressed with himself and told everyone, “I voted!” You can never teach that sense of civic pride too early, I suppose! So, unlike last November’s debacle, today’s experience was a perfect little neighborhood community center, with people riding up on bikes to vote, a nice walk through fall leaves, and my very enthused son. But I fear the results will be the same – an election night full of disappointments.

Heaven help Ohio!
– Valerie