Remember Morton Downey, Jr.?

Police Declare 'Mutilation' of McCain Worker in Pittsburgh a Hoax -- After Media Raise Doubts

It started yesterday afternoon with Matt Drudge screaming at the top of his site in red type -- but no siren -- that a Pittsburgh campaign worker for McCain, age 20, had been viciously attacked and the letter "B" carved into her face, presumably by a Barack Obama fan. Her name, it soon emerged, was Ashley Todd and she had come to Pittsburgh from College Station, Texas, to help out. It started to appear overblown (Drudge downgraded it to smaller, black type) as the police noted that it seemed to be a robbery ($60) and she did not seek medical attention. But later press reports said she would visit a hospital, Sarah Palin and maybe John McCain had called her and Obama camp had condemned, although McCain/Obama angle to story not yet confirmed. Still later, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, and some others, grew skeptical. For one thing, the "B" was carved a little too lightly and perfectly -- and backward, as if done using a mirror. Smoking Gun probed a too-pat "Twitter" angle and Gawker looked at her MySpace page.

Malkin didn't bite on this one and go to town with the story? The world may be coming to an end when Michelle displays some sanity.