White House Hardball - Vicious Politics

"After Sen. Richard Durbin blasted President Bush on Iraq this past summer, three reporters called to ask if he had leaked classified information and was facing pressure to quit the Intelligence Committee. The reporters, he says, told him the White House circulated both ideas

"Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan insists the White House did no such thing. But add the Illinois Democrat to the list of Washington players who have concluded that President Bush and his team play an especially tough game of political hardball. That list extends from government whistleblowers to maverick lawmakers and former Republican cabinet secretaries. . . .

"Even some Republican stalwarts contend they have felt the sting after crossing Mr. Bush politically. Conservative economic analyst Stephen Moore says he was tracked down by telephone at a dinner party and excoriated by Mr. Rove for backing Republican primary challengers to White House-backed incumbents. Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo says Mr. Rove told him "never to darken the door of the White House again" after he told a newspaper that the administration's immigration policy could lead to another terrorist attack."

Original article is Wall Street Journal pay site - summary from WP's Media Notes.