So, here’s the primer on the whole Washingtonienne (cached copy) dustup, in the event you haven’t been brought up to speed.:

• There exists, or did, an anonymous blog called Washingtonienne, written apparently by a 24-year-old intern somewhere on the Hill, largely for the amusement of her friends.
• In said blog, the author was, er, particularly frank about her sex life on said Hill.
• In true American fashion, she was also frank about the fact that she accepted, er, gratuities for some of these liasons, and that the liasons in question occasionally included persons with rather prominent positions in government, though none were named explicitly (she used initials).
• Eventually (last week), of course, the blog goes public, linked initially and most (in)famously by the popular DC blog Wonkette (copiously, in fact: here’s a link to an omnibus post there).
• On the 21st, Wonkette interviewed Washingtonienne by phone, and identified her as Jessica Cutler. A day or so later, they have a much-publicized night on the town from which the picture at right is taken.
• Around the same time (and mentioned in the interview above), the occupational jig is up; her boss, identified as Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH), fires her over “inappropriate use of Senate resources.” There’s a euphamism if ever I heard one, but we’re not sure her hoo-hah counts as a “Senate resource.” (Of course, the possibility remains that they were referring to staff computers, but it’s more fun to pretend otherwise.)
• The press orgy begins in earnest, complete with Post coverage and an interview — also featuring Wonkette — at Fox News, which is predictably SCANDALIZED by her behavior. More likely, they’re just sorry they didn’t think of the idea first.
• Busy bloggers continue to try to ascertain who here erstwhile companions were, including the aforementioned Wonkette and the improbably named I Love Jenna Bush. This part we suspect will be very fun to watch.
• Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that a NY literary agency is interested in talking to Cutler about a tell-all, and a blog called The National Debate quotes rumors suggesting Playboy wants both Cutler and Ana Marie “Wonkette” Cox for a spread, supposedly verified by a postscript to a Post story stating Hefner’s enterprise had called looking for Cutler’s contact information. The NYPost ran a summary of the whole affair, along with their own pix, natch.
• Update: Wonkette is a property of Gawker Media, and another of their blog properties (NSFW) reports that they saw Cox at the water cooler, and that she, at least, is thus-far unaware of any nude pictorials in her future, which is of course a non-denial denial as far as Cutler herself is concerned.

Say it with me: I love this country.