The American Spectator's bogus, anti-Obama HHS “story” continues to take its toll within the right-wing media world, which obediently hyped the manufactured claim this week and treated as serious journalism the Spectator's anonymously-written Prowler column, which built its supposed scoop around an anonymous source.

Specifically, an odd pile-up occurred at the right-wing online hub, Hot Air, where blogger Ed Morrissey pushed the phony HHS tale:

Did White House cover up bad report on ObamaCare?

Yes, Morrissey stressed that “if” the so-called news report were true it would be a big deal. But by simply embracing and hyping the alleged scoop, Morrissey was giving it his stamp of approval. (If he didn't think the story were true, why would he blog it? Peer pressure?)

What's weird is that over the years, the conservative Hot Air blogger known as Allahpundit has consistently warned readers about the Prowler's too-good-to-be-true scoops:

Another day, another anonymous left-wing source who knows someone who might have overheard something at a party somewhere in DC quoted in the Prowler. ... A reader reminds me that the Prowler once quoted an unnamed 'Republican leadership staffer' as blaming Harry Reid for that Terri Schiavo memo that turned out to have been written by one of Mel Martinez's staffers. Read the quotes; see if they sound any more realistic to you than the quote in today's piece." [HotAir.com, 10/10/06]

“I never know how seriously to take the Prowler.” [HotAir.com, 9/24/06]

"[T]his comes from the Prowler, which has an amazing knack - which I've noticed before - for squeezing hypercynical, Snidely Whiplash-ish comments out of unnamed Democrats revealing their sinister political motives. Try this one on for size. ... Totally implausible? Nope. But just a tad more menacing than you'd expect a Democrat to be when talking, even anonymously, to a conservative publication like the Spectator. Believe what you like." [HotAir.com, 10/8/07]

“Too juicy not to post, too sketchy to take very seriously. It's the Prowler, guys. Caveat emptor. ... Unusually menacing, fluidly articulate quotes from anonymous Democrats are a hallmark of Prowler items, especially those having to do with the Fairness Doctrine, but there's a grain of plausibility here." [HotAir.com, 2/16/09]

Obviously, Morrissey and Allahpundit can disagree on things. (They're bloggers, after all) But it sure seems odd that over the years Allahpundit has raised flags for his readers about the dubious nature of the Prowler's magical ability to find “fluidly articulate quotes from anonymous Democrats.”

Yet there was Morrissey this week falling right into the Prowler's trap by pushing a totally bogus story that was built around (surprise!) the Prowler's uncanny ability to find anonymous sources, from within Democratic circles, who routinely deliver mini-scoops that make Democrats look bad. It's almost like, in this instance, the Prowler's anonymous HHS “sources” told the magazine exactly what conservatives wanted to hear about Obama.

The reason I highlight the intramural squabble is because it's quite unusual for a conservative blogger to call out another conservative media source, such as the American Spectator's Prowler, and basically tag it as being unreliable, the way Allahpundit has. (You just don't do that in right-wing circles.) It's also unusual for a blogger at that same site to then ignore those warnings and treat the Prowler and its anonymous sources as reliable; to treat the HHS “story” as if it were anything more than a blind gossip item.

What wasn't surprising was watching the Prowler's so-called scoop implode.

Maybe next time Morrissey will heed his colleague's warning.