If there was a “Profile in Courage Award,” Lauren W. Whittington of Roll Call would have walked away with it today.  This morning, Roll Call featured a story on Rep. Eric Cantor, and in writing it, Lauren perhaps reached a journalistic milestone when she used the most ever background quotes in a single story.  

Republicans interviewed for this story declined to talk publicly about what the House GOP leadership might look like post- November, maintaining that everyone in the party is focused exclusively on winning back the majority – a feat that is widely viewed as improbable.  [believability ensues, $ubsription]

Whittington’s story on Cantor, [which looks vaguely familiar], highlights the Republican’s laundry list of qualities, while leaving some staffers asking, could Eric Cantor actually be better than sliced-bread?

Another “insider, who is not connected to any of the four top leaders, added: “He really is in a lot of ways, putting himself in a position to pick up the pieces if he needs to after the ’08 elections.”

Our question: How do you become an “insider,” on this particular matter if you have no contacts to the Republican Leadership?

And then there was the Congressman Team Player [who moonlights as a congressional psychic], who also wanted to stay super-duper secret:

One rank-and-file Republican Member, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, predicted that House Republicans stand to lose at least 15 seats in the fall elections and that the losses will prompt a top-down change in leadership.
…
“There’s going to be a lot of new faces,” the Member said. “Eric, I think, is in a very good position to be one of those new faces.”

Finally, the well-cited story ended with this quote about Rep. Cantor and Rep. Putnam:

“Those are the two rising stars, and anyone worth their salt should be investing in them,” said another high-ranking GOP lobbyist.

Actually, if you’re a GOP lobbyist, can you really qualify yourself as high-ranking anymore? 

PS: Thanks to all the tipsters that sent this story along.  We’re only trying to help.