Ms. Cox, writing in her new web log Wonkette, gleefully shared every unsubstantiated detail. That the story faded, unsupported by any evidence, seemed almost inconsequential to Ms. Cox. "It was just one of those things that people in Washington were talking about," Ms. Cox said later, by way of explanation.

With her gossipy, raunchy, potty-mouthed blog, Ms. Cox, a 31-year-old self-described failed journalist, has grabbed the attention of staid Washington, where gossip columns usually amount to little more than records of Capitol Hill staff changes and James Carville sightings. As she puts it, her mission for her blog (www.wonkette.com) is to write "a blend of gossip and satire and things I make up." It supports no party line, mixing gossip items from newspapers and Web sites with tips e-mailed from readers, which could be anything from guesses about which members of the Bush administration are gay to blind items on Washington luminaries. " `Famous for D.C.' should be the ultimate put-down," Ms. Cox said, drawing from her stockpile of oft-employed one-liners.