No "there there"

[Billionbridges.com]

The following snippet from Slate.com seems
peculiar:

The sound bites "didn't raise any flags," AP Senior
Vice President Jonathan Wolman told the Washington
Post, because none of them were "very snappy or
snazzy." In other words, nobody thought to dispute the
AP quotations because there was no "there there" to
dispute.
http://slate.msn.com/?id=2073304

It seems to me that it should read: '...there was no "there"
there.' Or is the writer quoting Jonathan Wolman? Or
is there something else going on here that I'm missing?

Best,
Don
_______________________
Don Rogalski and Toni Kuo
"A Billion Bridges"
Chinese<>English Translation Services
Tel: 905-308-9389
Fax: 801-881-0914 (24 hrs)
Web: www.billionbridges.com
Email: translation at billionbridges.com