[richlevy]

Originally Posted by BigV

GWB has clarified his position on the investigation

"Now, I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we can know the facts, and if somebody committed a crime, they would no longer work in my administration."

Funny, I don't remember a crime being commited by Dan Rather. He was never convicted of libel, because noone could ever prove intent on his part, either. And yet he was forced into retirement.

I'm not buying the 'Karl Rove set up Dan Rather' conspiracy theory. However, I would like to point out that most of Mr. Rove's most ardent defenders are the same people who demanded Rather's head when he screwed up, even though no 'crime' had been committed.

I've been hearing a few whines from Republicans lately that the anti-Karl rhetoric is 'just politics'. Well, duh. However, at the center of it is someone who used his position to attempt to nail a working CIA agent, declaring her 'fair game', with no regard for the importance of her work or her usefulness as an intelligence asset. Also, with no proof that she was in any way actively engaged in any activities against the President, other than her association with her husband. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Ms. Plame has kept her mouth shut, which makes her seem to me to be the most professional individual in this whole circus.

For some reason, I keep flashing back to the Army vs McCarthy hearings. Joe McCarthy finally tanked trying to make it appear the the Army was harboring Communists because one of his aides got drafted. It appears that Karl was picking on a publicly non-political CIA agent because he was in a snit over comments her husband made.

Will this be a bridge too far for Mr. Rove?