A tale of two rumors

I thought it would be interesting to contrast the reception two rumors received.  The first rumor is about Kerry having an affair with a reporter.  The rumor was reported by Matt Drudge, who has a very mixed record with rumors.  The rumor wasn't a rumor of Kerry having an affair, but was instead a rumor about a friend of the reporter telling wild stories about Kerry having an affair.  The report had no quotes to support it, mentioned no names, and cited no facts.  This rumor was picked up by Rush and Fox and other members of the conservative media.  Don Imus asked Kerry about the rumor in Kerry's first interview after the rumor broke.

The second rumor is about Bush got a girlfriend pregnant in the 70's and she had an abortion while it was illegal.  The rumor was reported by Larry Flynt, who had a small but perfect track record on scandals prior to this one.  The rumor cited dates and places, but mentioned no names and no quotes.  This rumor was totally ignored by the press.  CNN yanked the rumor off the transcript of their Crossfire show and then deleted the transcript entirely.  No member of the media was willing to ask candidate Bush about the rumor.

As the second rumor came from a source with a better track record and had more substantiation, why wouldn't anyone touch it?  The SCLM strikes again!