Lovely:

The Hewlett-Packard Co. spying effort that has sparked criminal investigations was wide-ranging and included physical surveillance, photographs and spyware sent via e-mail, and it also targeted wives and other relatives of HP board members and reporters, according to a consultant’s report prepared for the company.

The Feb. 10 report, obtained by The Washington Post, summarized in eight pages how investigators, to identify an internal leak of confidential HP information, surreptitiously followed HP board member George A. Keyworth II while he was giving a lecture at the University of Colorado. They watched his home in Piedmont, Calif. They used photographs of a reporter to see if the reporter met with him. And they tried to recover a laptop computer stolen from him in Italy so they could analyze its contents.

Look, I’m certain this is all very localized, and no indication whatever of corporate best practices as a whole. Let alone an indictment of corporate culture.

And I’m especially sure that the Bush administration has never treated leaks in a similar fashion.

Just because all their golfing buddies are going it. And their campaign contributors.

Especially, especially doing stuff like talking to people’s wives. And bugging them six ways from Sunday. And stealing laptops and stuff.

I mean, just because the administration services the corps in any way they can, doesn’t mean they act like them, right?