The Ana Log

By Ana Marie Cox

Reporting from her Washington base camp, ANA MARIE COX dishes the dirt on D.C.

NOW, SCOOT According to a new book, Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State until February '05, was actually the first person to reveal the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Washington reacts with unstunned silence and wishes it could have back the time and energy that it devoted to Plamegate. (How much do you think I could get on eBay for my "Free Judy Miller" T shirt?)

BRIDGE TO KNOW WHERE Bloggers left and right dug up the identities of Senator(s) who put a "secret hold" on legislation to open up records on earmarks. One turns out to be Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, that tireless advocate for the Bridge to Nowhere. The Internet may not be, as Stevens delightfully put it earlier this year, a "series of tubes," but it happens to be an awesome tracking device.

IMHO, LOL! Probable 2008 Dem presidential candidate Mark Warner holds a "virtual town hall" online. His advance team is clearly new at this: Warner's avatar, who flies onto the stage (a handy skill, considering Beltway traffic), is interrupted when--the Washington Post reports--"a large woman in a red skirt levitated out of her seat in the audience and hovered, weightless." Wow. Hillary will do anything for attention.

IN CHAD WE TRUST Lovably daffy Senate candidate Katherine Harris of Florida gives a civics cum theology lesson to Baptists: separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told." What's more, "God is the one who chooses our rulers." And here we thought it was the Supreme Court's job.