Do you think this kiss up piece to Karl Rove and his new role on FOX News is going to help Howard Kurtz convince any of his critics that he isn’t in the tank for the GOP?

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In the tradition of St. Valentine’s Day, Howie Kurtz delivers the wettest kiss of all to MSNBC commentator, Chris Matthews – you know, the one who ends up sticking his foot in his mouth for sexist remarks pretty much on a daily basis. In the 3,000 plus word piece in today’s Washington Post, Kurtz assumes the role of Sherlock Holmes, attempting to seek out any good lurking beneath Matthews’ erratic and controversial on-air antics. Media insiders are talking about how one of the most respected media writers could lay down for a .5- rated commentator, while both he and his own network are under a serious microscope for their pattern of bias. The puff piece has many in the industry asking how Kurtz could have whitewashed so many things in one piece and fell for this degree of spin, leaving some to even joke that Matthews, known for being a drunk in certain circles, took Kurtz out for a few drinks during the interview. Asks one insider, “Did Chris leave Howie money on the nightstand when they were done?”

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After investigating charges first raised by Matt Drudge that John McCain played favorites with a certain lobbyist, WaPo reporter Howard Kurtz has labeled Drudge an “Internet gossip.”

Drudge first reported the New York Times investigation into the McCain matter on Thursday.

“The Times inquiry burst into public view when the Drudge Report Web site posted an item about the newspaper’s probe,” Kurtz reports in the Friday edition of the Washington Post. “Internet gossip Matt Drudge has occasionally served as a conduit for allegations that news organizations are investigating but have not yet published.”

Before Kurtz released his book, Reality Show, in October, one of the first place excerpts from the book appeared was on the Drudge Report. Drudge also links to the online version of Kurtz’ latest column.

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Howie Kurtz, the media writer for the Washington Post, today uncovers a fishy relationship between a journalism giant and a liberal blog. While Kurtz didn’t make much wind about it, he reveals within an item about GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee that the Huffington Post and ABC News have teamed up to report the news.

“ABC, working with the Web site, interviewed a former parole board member who said Huckabee had pressed the panel to release the convict, Wayne Dumond,” Kurtz writes regarding a well-referenced story the Huffington Post published last week.

The quote raises an important question: How common is it for an apparently nonpartisan news source to team up with an admittedly liberal Web site in reporting a news item? Isn’t this a case of liberal media bias at its worst?

Also raising questions about the news relationship, Kurtz quotes Huckabee as saying he’s “amazed” that ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross ignored information he provided to him.

Earlier: Top ABC News Investigative Journalist’s Tactics Called Into Question

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MarketWatch’s Jon Friedman thinks the WaPo media critic faced “a bum rap” during his recent plagiarism scandal:

What struck me was the glee that some bloggers displayed when they ripped Kurtz and his book. Read more…

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