Will the Kerry bubble pop?

As Josh Chafetz pointed out, an awful lot of centrist media pundity (Jonathan Chait, Will Saletan, Mickey Kaus, Noam Scheiber) predicted earlier this week that the Democratic primary this year resembles a speculative bubble — a candidate retains their value only if everyone shares the same common conjecture that the candidate is “electable.” According to this logic, Kerry is just as vulnerable to crashing and burning as Dean. Which leads to Matt Drudge reporting today that a scandal is brewing over Kerry’s relationship with a woman other than Theresa Heinz:

A frantic behind-the-scenes drama is unfolding around Sen. John Kerry and his quest to lockup the Democratic nomination for president, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal. Intrigue surrounds a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry…. A serious investigation of the woman and the nature of her relationship with Sen. John Kerry has been underway at Time magazine, ABC News, the Washington Post, The Hill and the Associated Press, where the woman in question once worked…. In an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, General Wesley Clark plainly stated: ‘Kerry will implode over an intern issue.'”

Now, to be blunt, the Drudge story is pretty incoherent except in saying that there’s a brewing scandal involving a women and Wesley Clark said “intern.” Editor & Publisher says:

Reached by E&P for comment, AP spokesman Jack Stokes said, “We simply don’t comment on stories we are pursuing or not pursuing.” Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, acknowledged that his staff had begun to dig deeper into the life and career of Kerry, but said he had not heard anything about an alleged infidelity. “What we’re finding, I don’t know,” he said. “This is the first we are looking into him this way.”

The Scotsman has a straight news summary Here’s the DailyKos report:

[T]his isn’t Drudge’s story. It’s been around for several weeks. Clark was talking about it to reporters (I confirmed it independently from the Drudge piece). It was common knowledge, but the press sat on it for whatever reason (looking for confirmation? Hoping to avoid being labeled as gossip mongers?). That said, it’s a bullshit story. Kerry had an active and public romantic life in between his first wife and Theresa. I remember reading about his “wild” days in the Senate somewhere. But he was single (or at worst legally separated), and darn it, being single and having sex is a good thing. And the dalliances weren’t even with his interns. (emphases in original)

I have absolutely no idea how this story will play itself out. I do wonder if Mark Kleiman’s admiration for Wes Clark’s candidacy might have been misplaced. [Kos’ suspicions focus on Chris Lehane, not Clark. And Drudge has an e-mail saying Lehane was shopping this around–ed. Regardless of how the story plays out, one thing is absolutely clear — Clark was a willing mouthpiece.] UPDATE: OK, now this gets really bizarre. From the Associated Press:

Wesley Clark will endorse presidential contender John Kerry, a high-profile boost for the front-runner as he looks to wrap up the party’s nomination, according to Democratic officials. With next week’s Wisconsin primary looming, Clark plans to join Kerry at a campaign stop in Madison, Wis., Friday to make a formal endorsement, said officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Clark spokesman Matt Bennett would not confirm the endorsement, and would only say, “General Clark is looking forward to going to Wisconsin to be with Senator Kerry.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds acts as the focal point with lots of links, all of them suggesting Chris Lehane as the instigator. Wonkette asks, “Is Kaus too busy celebrating to post on this?” She’s right — a story that could potentially drag down Lehane and Kerry? It’s Mickey’s Zarqawi memo! [UPDATE: he’s now posted]