McDonnell, Bolling, Warner, Kaine to honor fired AP reporter Bob Lewis

Virginia's top politicos plan to honor fired Associated Press reporter Bob Lewis at a reception on November 18, according to the Huffington Post. Governor Bob McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine will be on hand to honor the 57-year-old respected wordsmith.

In an interesting revelation, the Huffington Post wrote:

The McAuliffe campaign responded immediately after Monday's firing to say they did not push for actions to be taken against the journalists and noted having a "professional relationship" with Lewis, Potter and the AP's Virginia. (The Washington Post reported Tuesday night that Ken Cuccinelli, his Republican challenger in the Governor's race, passed the bogus tip to both the AP and the Post.) [emphasis added]

Indeed, the Post wrote about the tip:

Several journalists, including some at AP, said the McAuliffe story was pushed to news organizations by the campaign of McAuliffe’s rival, Ken Cuccinelli II (R). The Washington Post was among those that received a tip about it from Cuccinelli’s campaign, but The Post passed on the story after checking it.

When the news hit that night, many were quick to jump on it. Within two hours the story had been retracted. Response to Lewis' firing has come from all sides of the political aisle, a testament to the man who has long covered Virginia politics. The reception by top leaders is further evidence of that.  Here's hoping my invitation is in the mail....