It is what is commonly called an "Inside the Beltway" story, Washington, D.C. political junkie stuff, the kind of story that no sane person should care about. A former member of the White House speechwriting team, Matthew Scully, suddenly accused head Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson of taking credit for the work of others, especially him. Not exactly front page news. But the incident raises ethical issues that most of us have experienced, or soon will.

Writing presidential speeches is an odd job, a little like being a scriptwriter, but with a key difference: the words spoken by a president at official appearances will be attributed to him by the media and history, while everyone knows (well, almost everyone) that actors do not make up their own lines. Recently, back-room wordsmiths have begun to get some recognition---Peggy Noonan became famous as Ronald Reagan's speechwriter--but even now the role is swathed in gray. Ted Sorenson wrote Jack Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," but Kennedy still gets the credit in most quotation collections, because he said it. Ronald Reagan apparently rescued "Mr. Gorbachev: Tear down this wall!" from being cut out of his Berlin Wall speech by nervous aides. He didn't write the memorable line; Peter Robinson did. But Reagan fought to declare it in public, and it is not unreasonable to give him credit for it. Indeed, presidents often have added their own phrases or whole paragraphs to speeches drafted by others, or even altered a pre-written speech on the podium. The question of who "gets credit" for a presidential speech is murky by its very nature, because it is a group or team effort.

Matthew Scully was a member of the Bush speechwriting team headed by Gerson. In the Atlantic magazine, Scully unleashed a bitter attack on Gerson, calling him a "self-publicizing" "credit hound" who accepted press accolades for the work of others on his team. "Few lines of note were written by Mike," Scully wrote, "and none at all that come to mind from the post-9/11 addresses -- not even 'axis of evil.' " The article goes on: "The narrative that Mike Gerson presented to the world is a story of extravagant falsehood. He has been held up for us in six years' worth of coddling profiles as the great, inspiring, and idealistic exception of the Bush White House. In reality, Mike's conduct is just the most familiar and depressing of Washington stories -- a history of self-seeking and media manipulation that is only more distasteful for being cast in such lofty terms."

Gerson and his many friends in the Bush Administration appeared stunned by the attack. Gerson told the Washington Post (where his prominence as Bush's head speechwriter got him a regular column on the Op-Ed page) that he did not seek publicity and could not help the fact that news organizations profiled him. "I wasn't out there looking for attention all the time," he said. "They're the president's words, and I was the chief speechwriter." Other White House officials praised Gerson's character and said that it was always understood that the speechwriting was a team effort, but that Gerson, as head of the team, naturally received the most attention.

They might have also pointed out that the leader of a team deserves an extra measure of credit for creating a working environment that generates good work, and directing the efforts of his team. A leader is more than just another team member. Joe Torre gets a lot of credit for Yankee wins, and he never gets to bat or pitch.

All right---it is time to ask the key question when matters of right and wrong surface:

What's really going on here?

What is going on is life imitating "The Dick Van Dyke Show". In a memorable episode of that classic Sixties sitcom, Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) is interviewed by a national magazine that then profiles him as the comic genius behind Sid Caesar-esque TV star Alan Brady (played by series creator Carl Reiner). Petrie is the head writer of "The Alan Brady Show," but he has two other writers on his team ( Buddy Sorrel, played by Morey Amsterdam, and Sally Rogers, played by Rose Marie) who feel slighted and insulted. Rob swears that he tried to give them proper credit in the interview, but that the story's writer turned the article into an excessive celebration of his contributions. Nonetheless, his relationship with his staff deteriorates. Meanwhile, of course, Rob's wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore, of course) is sending the article to everyone she knows, because she believes that, Rob's modesty aside, he is the genius behind Alan Brady.

It all works out in the end, because Buddy and Sally confront Rob in a timely fashion and give him a chance to make amends, and they don't write an attack piece for The Atlantic. The episode rings true; Reiner, who wrote it, must have watched this scenario occur many times during his tenure as a cast member and writer for "Your Show of Shows," the legendary Fifties comedy show starring Sid Caesar. It had one of the most talented comic writing team ever assembled: Reiner, plus Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, his brother Danny, Larry Gelbart, and Mel Tolkin. The talent and egos on that team were formidable, and the group would have burst into flames if three things didn't occur. First, Brooks, who was the head writer, did not get or seek publicity apart from the team, and was not hesitant to share credit. Second, the writers were not shy about making it clear when they were upset about something, and aired out the problems behind closed doors, not in the press. Third, the team objective---to write the funniest show on television---trumped all personal concerns. All three require adopting ethical values:

Empathy, respect, generosity, fairness and humility: Share the credit with your co-workers.

Candor, discretion, honesty, and fairness again: Be honest and direct about your concerns, and do so in a way that will cause the least embarrassment and harm.

Responsibility, loyalty, accountability, diligence: The job is what matters; making your employer look good is paramount.

Gerson may well be a nice guy, but he clearly let the bright lights and glowing press notices go to his head. He needed to make a special effort to give credit to his team mates. Scully, meanwhile, seems to have been overcome with jealousy. His article in the Atlantic, which came as a complete surprise to Gerson, was a mean-spirited act, especially since, incredibly, Scully told the Post that he regards Gerson as "a friend." Buddy and Sally could teach Scully quite a bit about what being a friend means. Whatever Matt Scully is to Michael Gerson,"friend" isn't it.

Harry Truman said, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Not caring is a lot to ask; we are all human, after all, and want to be recognized for our accomplishments. Ethical conduct is required when we do care and are disappointed, or perhaps get more credit than we deserve. In this Washington D.C. drama, two presidential speechwriters couldn't do what was right because they cared too much.