It's a gossip topic so hot, even Wonkette is being very cautious about it. But for the second time in two months, the rumor that the First Couple is separated has hit the mainstream web. Laura Bush is on a tour, giving commencement addresses for the next month (she spoke at Pepperdine University yesterday). But when she returns to Washington, she allegedly has a room at the Hay-Adams Hotel. The story goes that Dubya is obviously drinking again (I always thought he kept his drinking to weekends at Camp David with Condi, but apparently he is drinking a lot more often these days).

This rumor is in its early stages, but it is connected by a dotted line to the brewing highbrow Beltway prostitution scandal. Both stories relate to privacy. If the mainstream press want to pursue the list of men who used the service (and let's keep the spotlight on the men, not the women, please), then maybe they should follow the fresh lead about the First Couple's private life as well. It's all fair game and America loves stories about sex, right?