21 Apr 2006 Anonymous Source Watch II

Note to White House: When paragraphs like this are appearing in the New York Times and elsewhere…

A senior White House official denied that Mr. Bolten was considering such a step. “It’s not the case,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to get around the administration’s policy of not commenting on personnel matters.

…you don’t actually have “a policy of not commenting on personnel matters.”

So you might as well just comment. Authoritatively. So we know who to blame if it is a lie.

P.S. The same New York Times article says:

Mr. Snow had surgery for colon cancer last year and is awaiting an clearance from doctors before making a deal, according to people with knowledge of his deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to upset private discussions at a sensitive time.

Yeah, right. If they “did not want to upset private discussions at a sensitive time,” they would have kept their mouths closed.