On the other hand

Rove breathes easier: The New York Times reports that Karl Rove learned the name of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame from columnist Robert Novak.

"So, as far as I can tell, the possibility of a criminal indictment for Karl Rove for 'leaking' Valerie Plame's identity is completely off the table," submits Jon Henke at libertarian group-blog QandO.

Conservative techie TallDave, who predicted yesterday that Rove was the recipient of a leak, doubles down on his second bet—that New York Times reporter Judith Miller was the original source. "Will Atrios and Daily Kos and the rest of the lefty 'sphere lay off anytime soon?" he asks at Semi-Random Ramblings. "I doubt it. This has become their Quest for the Holy Grail. Or at least they thought so; it now looks more like they're pointing their lances toward a windmill." Others agree the scandal was mostly hype. "This surely qualifies as one of the 'hey, big whoop' stories of all time," swears John Podhoretz at National Review's right-wing roundtable The Corner.