Josh Marshall is amazed that Mickey Kaus got a fact right

Wow, he's right. Now that I look, it's there as bright as day.

Look at the still frame of Novak and Carville at the Crooks & Liars site. Mickey Kaus says there's a big reddish-brown book sitting there on the table and that it's Who's Who in America, the book Novak has sorta kinda implied was his source for the name Plame. And, yes, there it is, sitting right there on the table, or at least something that looks a lot like it. (Perhaps we can enlist a forensic videographic to enhance the image to see just what's written on the spine of the tome.)

I'm still not sure I see just what about the book would make Novak freak out. I've always thought his Who's Who in America story was a crock. But surely he looked it up to make sure she was named, right?

Come on Josh it's rare but it's not unprecendented. I mean Kaus must have gotten something right before. Musn't he ?

I understand it is not easy to find out if Valerie Elise Plame is mentioned in Joeseph Wilson's bio in the 2003 edition of Who's Who in America. Who's Who does not allow web access and terrifyingly threatens that one will be contacted by one of their representatives if one requests a trial web subscription (this one closed the window before he pissed his pants at the thought).

However, Novak has been pushing the "Who's Who in America" crock for a while and a bit of googling took me to an obscure publication called "The New York Times" and

In the Who's Who directory for 2003, personal information about Mr. Wilson includes his origins in Bridgeport, Conn., and the names of his previous wife and his four children. His current wife is listed as Valerie Elise Plame, and the date of their marriage April 3, 1998.

There is no mention of her employer.

So if the big book in front of the Novak is indeed "Who's Who in America" it wouldn't have scared Novak. I'm not surprised that Kaus couldn't be bothered to google [plame "who's who in america"] but I think that Marshall has commented on the article.

Personally I don't think the book that made the undead one lose his cool is "Who's Who in America" I think it is "Who Was Who in America". Now that could get on his nerves.