[Edit35]

If they didn't, it would be reckless for Gillespie himself to come front and center like this.

Actually, there are no good answers for the Democrats.

If they refuse to confess, they will be perceived a stonewalling to protect the DNC.

If they claim they got it anonymously, they will look like even bigger in-the-tank-fools for Kerry for using unsubstantiated documents.

And if they release the name of some lower level hack, that person will likely turn against CBS and the DNC real quick.

Bottom line: I don't see it as reckless because for CBS and the DNC, every road leads to shame and humiliation.

[Bonaparte]

Your points are well taken, MW, and you could well be right. But AFAIK, the only credible report I've read so far involving the DNC merely said that they had been shown the docs and passed them on to the kerry campaign. That, in itself, does not assign fatal culpability. Afterall, even the WH handled those docs prior to Rather's report.

But what Gillespie said today goes beyond that. He is suggesting that the DNC may have coordinated their "Fortunate Son" smear with the CBS attack and that the DNC took an active role in spreading this false information. McClellan's remarks were similar. All I can tell you is that if I were in Gillespie's or McClellan's place, there is no way I would make such suggestions unless I possessed solid proof of them. Running a bluff at a time like this would, IMO, be to risky. I believe the Republicans are just waiting for a challenge from the DNC, so they can say, "Well, since you insist on proof, here it is."