TPM has an interesting item about how the editor of National Review offered to help the Bush White House spin when controversy erupted over its attempt to promote woefully under-qualified White House partisan Tim Griffin to become Arkansas' new Attorney General. The ill-fated move was part of Karl Rove's reported purge of AG's who weren't sufficiently political in their prosecutions.

From TPM:

It looks like Rick Lowry of National Review offered the White House his services in doing some positive P.R. on behalf of Rove protege Tim Griffin, who the administration had sought to sought to muscle into the U.S. attorney job in Arkansas as a replacement for the fired Bud Cummins.

TPM quotes a recently uncovered January 2007 email, in which White House political director Sara Taylor wrote:

Your thoughts? Rich Lowry offered to help Tim

[Sen. Mark] Prior is going after Griffin. He's made this his cause.... We need to find some folks to defend Tim and his credentials, not to mention our policy.

It might be nice to find out from Lowry himself if the National Review was in the habit of farming out its writers to the Bush White House for spin control. Would hate to think there was some sort of vast right-wing conspiracy afoot.