We Know Who The Leaker Is

Actually, we don't.

I'm referring to those inside John McCain's presidential campaign who have been providing the media with endless amounts of anti-Sarah Palin fodder in these post-election days - the stuff Palin has dismissed as vitriole espoused "sexist, unprofessional jerks."

Well, one of those "jerks" has come forward and identified himself. The problem is he's a big phony.

Former alleged foreign policy adviser "Martin Eisenstadt," who says he worked with Palin on debate prep ahead of her verbal showdown with Joe Biden, says he's the one responsible for some of the leaks to FOX News' Carl Cameron and he's proud of it.

"For those of us on the McCain campaign who thought that she acted like a rogue diva and lost John the election, maybe we DO have a responsibility to come out in public. But Sarah... careful what you ask for: some of us may have more to reveal," the self-proclaimed founder of the Eisenstadt Group wrote on his blog today. "Did we outright give her a geography quiz when we started the prep? No, of course not. But yes, in the context of the prep, it slowly became apparent that her grasp of basic geo-political knowledge had major gaps."

(His Web site, by the way, for both himself and the "Eisenstadt Group" looks like any old WordPress blog I - or anyone else with a modicum of skills - could throw together.)

This guy's not a McCain adviser. He's an Internet prankster who has also been tied to rumors that Joe the Plumber had ties to The Keating 5, and something to do with The Hiltons - as in Paris Hilton's family.

Let this be a lesson that anyone in the media or blogosphere should be highly skeptical of anything that presents itself on a silver platter like that. In case I had any doubt about whether journalistic standards were going down the toilet in this country, the fact that this story was picked up by several places just reassured me that I was not, in fact, wrong. And that makes me very, very sad.

In case you have any doubt about whether "Marty" is real, check this out. This is him ...