Jim,

Do you really not read all the information available on these stories? Do you simply skip over the parts that are boring?

Donehue runs "Under the Power lines," the internet consulting arm of the Tompkins firm. Donehue put "phoneyfred.org" on the "Under the Power lines" server, which is how it was linked back to the Romney campaign.

Again, this is exactly the same as if Paul Mirengoff worked for Romney and John Hinderocker decided to start writing negative things about Thompson.

I'm glad to see that you've at least moved the goal posts though. You now know that Romney is not responsible for this and instead you've decided that to make things right again, Romney, or his supporter who has the business relationship with Donehue, needs to be punished.

Of course, that is just dumb and silly. Tompkins already used his influence over his business partner to shut down the site. For him then to end their business relationship over this would be immoral and wrong.

How do you ask someone to close down a website and then after they do as you request, you fire them and go get another firm to do what you want? He complied with Tompkins request. That should be the end of it.

Of course, you're obviously not a Romney supporter (Rudy perhaps?) so you're going to continue to move the goal posts in this case and find some way to blame Romney.

If you think I'm too rough on Romney, just wait'll Hillary's henchmen get hold of him.

Yeah, this is no less than the FIFTH different characterization of Donehue's role and relationship to Tompkins. In previous press reports, he was described as an "associate," a "partner," and an "employee" of Tompkins.

The fifth was the Romney campaign's first explanation through Madden, that he was some "employee of an internet firm," which didn't disclose any relationship to Tompkins at all.

I have nothing against Romney at all - I'll gladly support him if he's the nominee. I'm uncommitted, but as I've mentioned several times I do lean towards Rudy, simply because I think he has the best chance of winning the general right now, but that assessment could change at any time.

The campaign's handling of this matter may have satisfied his supporters, but I doubt anyone else feels that way. What should have been a one-morning story if properly addressed will now drag on at least through the next debate, with Fred roaring with righteous indignation and the others tut-tutting about how shameful it all is.

Yeah, great work.

If you think I'm too rough on Romney, just wait'll Hillary's henchmen get hold of him.

Trying to make hay where there is none is not being too tough on a candidate.

Yeah, this is no less than the FIFTH different characterization of Donehue's role and relationship to Tompkins.

And there might just be another five coming. What's your point? We've known since the beginning (Or at least ive known, not sure where you are getting your news from) exactly what relationship Tompkins and Donehue have together. I knew the other day, it seems like you're blaming your lack of knowledge about their relationship on the Romney team.

I don't need the Romney team to explain things to me since it was all in the original stories I read yesterday, or perhaps it was the day before.

others tut-tutting about how shameful it all is.

So far that includes you and the Fred Thompson camp.

But that's yet another story - on the other post, you described Donehue as a Tompkins "business associate" which sounds rather independent . . .and now he "runs the internet consulting arm" which sounds like an employee. The firm's website says otherwise, according to The New York Times:

But Mr. Donehue is listed as "the first associate consultant and vice president" on the home page for TTS Strategies, where Warren Tompkins, Mr. Romney's top political consultant in South Carolina, and Terry Sullivan, Mr. Romney's South Carolina state director, are partners. The blurb describing Mr. Donehue's role at the firm said he ran its daily operations and called him one of the state's most experienced political operatives.

Sorry, sounds like a top employee directly under the partners to me, not just some computer guy. So, he just puts up an anti-Fred site on the company servers when his bosses both work for Romney for sizable money, and doesn't say anything to them about it?

And still has his job?

Once again, the offered explanation just doesn't sound remotely plausible. Others may draw their own conclusions and agree with you, of course.