Ah, the smell of a good White House scandal in the morning! Welcome back, friends of democracy and logic. Brad Jacobson of MediaBloodhound in for your a.m.-linked drive-by. Buckle up, stop signs will not be observed:

The CIA tapes scandal beats on: Laura Rozen thinks former CIA interrogator John Kiriakou is likely a Hayden surrogate, Spencer Ackerman explores how classified letters get classified and Larry Johnson queries former intelligence officers.

Pierre Tristam: “Peace isn’t breaking out in Iraq. A colder, longer war is.”

After a vigorous workout on the elliptical, what would Jesus drink? Holy Drinking Water, of course.

Will Bunch pinpoints Giuliani’s solution to problems involving people: No people, no problem. But the trains always run on time.

John Cole’s twist on The Most Vulgar, Disgusting, Foul Joke in the Word (h/t skippy). Never heard the original? Whether you have or not, this is considered one of the best versions among comedy intelligentsia (warning: not intended for office, children or foes of dark hyperbole). But for my money, this might top it.

Greg Sargent catches WashPo with two separate allusions to John Edwards’ $400 haircut in one day, then retraces the newspaper’s longtime addiction. (Plus, Rudy Giggliani!)

Speaking of skippy, experience the picket line at Paramount Studios on “Star Trek Day.” Live long and prosper get your residuals.

OK, that’s a wrap. Tomorrow is ours. Send those post suggestions to mediabloodhound (at) yahoo (dot) com.

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Last night's ABC News interview with former CIA Agent John Kiriakou has raised more than a few eyebrows. Perhaps Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report gets it exactly right when he wrote:

As a matter of crass politics, Kiriakou’s assessment seems to offer a little something for everyone. For the right, Kiriakou is saying that torture produced intelligence that saved lives and thwarted possible attacks. For the left, Kiriakou is conceding that the Bush administration authorized and utilized torture (i.e., committed a felony), and he now believes the U.S. should stop using these “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

There is, however, one angle that warrants a closer look: whether torturing Zubaydah actually produced actionable intelligence. The answer is far from clear.

It may be that Kiriakou is merely a plant to help the CIA's battered reputation, and that if investigations should ever go anywhere (as they just might) the blame will go elsewhere.

Judge for yourself in this excerpt in what was a lengthy interview.