There's a conspiracy theory brewing about how the off-air conversation between Chuck Todd, Mike Murphy, and Peggy Noonan made its way to the web. Suspects the reactionary News Busters: somebody leaked it!

Really? What gave it away? The fact that the conversation took place off-air during a commercial break, and nobody outside the network could've seen it? Sounds like somebody put their investigative journalist hat on.

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan realized very quickly her off-camera remarks on MSNBC — where, during a commercial break, she supposedly declared McCain's campaign "over" — would be getting her into trouble. It took just three hours before her live mic conversation during a segment break with Chuck Todd and Mike Murphy made its way to YouTube, and just a little while longer for her to pull together a half-hearted apology. Why her remarks caused a stir, she says, she "must plead some confusion." Though let us help clarify: Everyone immediately saw her for the two-faced commentator she likely is, supporting conservatives in print while bashing them behind closed doors. But that's not how it was, says Noons! And we're taking her "it's over" comment completely out of context.

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[An earlier version of this item used the headline "MSNBC Forgets To Cut to Commercial, Hanging Chuck Todd & Co. Out to Dry on Palin." It turns out MSNBC did cut to commercial, but their mics were still live and recording, and that recording got leaked.]

Haven't people learned anything from Jesse Jackson?

If you're wearing a microphone, don't say anything you don't want the world to hear! MSNBC's Chuck Todd, political consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan all put their foots in their mouths today when, after thinking they had gone to commercial, the trio ripped on McCain's "cynical" Sarah Palin veep pick.

The conversation gets really good when Todd wonders, "Do you think the Palin pick is insulting to Democrats? Is the really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?"

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"This is not in any way your fault as I’m sure you know or have a sense of, but mine. Could you allow this to just pass, and not do the piece? I would be so grateful."

That was part of an email Peggy Noonan, the Clinton-hating WSJ columnist and one-time Ronald Reagan speechwriter, sent to Women's Wear Daily reporter Jacob Bernstein, who was writing a profile about her — one in which she cooperated. That was until all the question asking was done, and she had a change of heart about the whole thing: "Please don’t be mad at me. I don’t mean to show disrespect for your time, or for you. You are a doll. I have to admit to second thoughts, none of which are connected to you."

Noonan's request that Bernstein kill the profile, sent four weeks after their meeting, of course, was not honored, made evident by the fact that not only did the article — which hinted at a possible job offer from the NYT's op-ed page – run, but it lead with, uh, Noonan's postmortem email plea.

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wowowow.com, which is an upside down version of momomom.com, is the website of a bunch of famous white ladies, plus Whoopi Goldberg. It received the Times treatment today, which spends an inordinate amount of copy retelling their search for a domain name: "Hot Voodoo" bad, "Women on the Web" good). It's founded by five lady friends (former Simon & Schuster president Joni Evans, gossipista Liz Smith, ad exec Mary Wells, columnist Peggy Noonan, and reporter Lesley Stahl) and the support of celebs like Whoopi, Candice Bergen, and Lily Tomlin. So what can the 40-plus female set look forward to when the site launches Saturday?

The fare on the new PG-13 Wowowow is in some ways no different than that of other women-focused community Web sites like iVillage: horoscopes and posts about love and marriage, health and fashion. Wowowow also has political commentary, but what is particularly distinctive are the conversations, like the Halston dialogue, which read like deeper and more intimate versions of the “hot topics” segment of the television gabfest “The View.”

Ah! Okay, so it's like the Huffington Post, but with horoscopes and famous people. Which means it's like the Huffington Post, but with horoscopes.