Yesterday, CBS News published an online column by Ben Domenech, a former Bush administration aide and Republican Senate staffer, and now right-wing blogger, who is best known for being a serial plagiarist.

Domenech flatly asserted that Solicitor General Elena Kagan — who is widely regarded as one of the leading candidates on Obama‘s Supreme Court shortlist — is “openly gay”.

Apparently, instead of stealing other people’s stuff, Domenech just makes up stuff now. (And why not? Stealing other people’s stuff gets you fired. Making stuff up gets you on CBS News‘ website.)

Now CBS News didn’t just choose to publish Domenech’s unsubstantiated gossip. When they received strong push-back from the White House, initially they defended his column. It was only much, much later that they declared Domenech’s column to be “nothing but pure and irresponsible speculation on the blogger’s part” and pulled it from their site.

CBS initially refused to pull the posting, prompting Anita Dunn, a former White House communications director who is working with the administration on the high court vacancy, to say: “The fact that they’ve chosen to become enablers of people posting lies on their site tells us where the journalistic standards of CBS are in 2010.” She said the network was giving a platform to a blogger “with a history of plagiarism” who was “applying old stereotypes to single women with successful careers.”

The network deleted the posting Thursday night after Domenech said he was merely repeating a rumor. …

A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said he complained to CBS because the column “made false charges.” Domenech later added an update to the post: “I have to correct my text here to say that Kagan is apparently still closeted — odd, because her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles.”

CBS executives at first defended the column, noting that it appeared in an opinion section that contains contributions from blogs and publications on the left and right.

Dan Farber, editor in chief of CBSNews.com, said that Domenech’s column “just got through our filters” and that if his staff had seen “a controversial statement like that, we’d want to get more evidence of its accuracy” before publishing it. “But once it is out there,” Farber said, “the better approach is just to address it head-on rather than trying to sweep it under the rug.”

He changed his mind about yanking the column after receiving an e-mail from Domenech, which the blogger also sent to The Washington Post. Farber said in a statement that “after looking at the facts we determined that it was nothing but pure and irresponsible speculation on the blogger’s part.”

I got a huge belly-laugh out of Farber saying: “Domenech’s column “just got through our filters” and that if his staff had seen “a controversial statement like that, we’d want to get more evidence of its accuracy” before publishing it.”

Farber really wants to claim that that’s how CBSNews.com chooses what posts it picks up and publishes on its website? Posts just somehow filter through without anyone on his staff actually, you know, reading them?

*** Update, 8:00 a.m. ***

Here’s an afterthought. Some of you are probably wondering, “What’s the difference between what Domenech did and what CBS News did?”

Glad you asked! Domenech passed on “nothing but pure and irresponsible speculation”. CBS News passed on “nothing but pure and irresponsible speculation” without even reading it.

Like they say, “Vive la difference!” And, of course, “Long live responsible journalism!”