“Talking Points” Story Imploding?

ABC News, the original source of the story on the alleged “GOP talking points” memo now appears to be backing off the story. Blogger Josh Clayborn has been talking to ABC representatives, both on and off the record, and they are now telling him that they never meant to imply that the “talking points” memo originated with the Republicans–only that it was given to some Republican Senators. See his most recent posts at In the Agora.
ABC’s current position, as reported by Josh, makes little sense, as their coverage certainly did say that this was a Republican memo. (ABC’s website described the memo as containing “GOP talking points.”) But the fact that they are now backing off suggests that in reality, they have no idea where the memo came from.
Doubts are starting to appear in other quarters, as well. Just a little while ago, the memo’s authenticity was discussed on MSNBC; the fact that bloggers have questioned the memo’s provenance was discussed, and at least one guest expressed the opinion that the memo is a Democratic dirty trick.
Finally, we got this email from a staffer for a conservative Republican Senator:

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