Question mark journalism

The mystery of Harry Reid's presumed living source about Romney's alleged felonious failure to pay taxes continues--and it's getting even more ridiculous.  It appears that a simple WAG by Kos has now become a story on "The Atlantic", a once respected magazine and news-opinion source.

Is Jon Huntsman Sr. Harry Reid's Deep Throat?

The story opens with "the latest speculation" then proceeds to repeat the Kos WAG. That's about it. Certainly a juicy possibility--an internecine Mormon war, but far from being fit to print as the Huntsmans have denied it. So, applying that same level of journalistic integrity what's wrong with this story:

Was communist mentor intimate with Obama's mother?

They appear to be equally sourced, both coming from far left/right sources. Both stories use question marks for plausible deniability (hey, just asking a question!). Yet only one is currently considered a hack source.