Comments on: The next few notes on the Mighty Wurlitzer?

By: Ratherworried

Ratherworried — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 17:06:43 +0000

Look I’m a conservative but if the ‘facts’ are as bad as they appear to be, even arguing about this is unpatriotic and someone had better go to jail! Don’t you agree? But who? I guess I’m wondering how Karl Rove could have known the name of an undercover agent…does he now have a top secret security clearance? Most ‘political’ folks don’t but I guess someone who does have a clearance could have told him. But wouldn’t disclosing the name of a top secret agent (pretty much the definition of covert) be a crime? Why yes it would. If this is something that Bush told Rove, we actually DO have an impeachable offense. Of course would Rove rather go to jail than tell anyone who told him? I mean there is loyalty and then there is loyalty…All those who think a Republican dirty trick was played that Rove didn’t know about raise your hand… Ooops. Sorry. There I go again thinking. I forgot, I’m not supposed to think about this just wait around patiently for more intelligent people (Glen Reynolds) to tell me what to believe and when I’m allowed to believe it.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 16:40:17 +0000

Ok, if anyone makes it this far down-thread and isn't sidetracked by Maria's enticing SMSes, I think all of the variations are covered in one nauseating post in the New Republic's debate.

By: aw

aw — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 04:53:53 +0000

How is it nepotism when Wilson undertook the Niger mission at his own expense?

By: PinkDreamPoppies

PinkDreamPoppies — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 04:15:55 +0000

With regard to the anecdotal evidence that “everyone knew” that Ms. Plame/Wilson was a CIA operative, I thought that Josh Marshall did a pretty good job of arguing against this.

By: mitch

mitch — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:25:36 +0000

If there is wrongdoing here, I guess I'll go for a 4+7 (October 1, 2.23am).

By: Jesurgislac

Jesurgislac — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 00:52:35 +0000

There’s a particularly amusing right-wing fantasy here. Sample quote: Mr. Wilson is well-known as a partisan liberal Democrat. He gave money to Al Gore in the last election cycle and to John F. Kerry in this one. He’s written articles for any number of radical left-wing publications, including The Nation, the leading magazine of the radical left. He was a member of Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is not now, nor has he ever been, a CIA operative of any kind. His appointment makes no sense at all- until you understand that his wife sent him. Still then, one must ask, why would his wife, supposedly a loyal and dedicated CIA officer, send someone so obviously unqualified? It comes down to one word: whitewash.

By: John McCrory

John McCrory — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 00:20:16 +0000

Glenn Reynolds just went for #7: Hey, look! WMD!.

By: dipnut

dipnut — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 00:05:46 +0000

Bush is a fascist. Ha! You said it! Now, seriously, will anyone look at that other link I put up? I'm sorry about the trolling; I got carried away; that's what you get for calling me a lefty-basher. I'm really just trying to help, OK? I found a prominent right-winger arguing that everybody does it, with regard to security leaks. This is what I'm talking about when I say it's stupid to get angry or defensive at this stage in the game. Anyway, the argument isn't on Daniel's list, probably because it's in the realm of stuff you can't make up! Where's the outrage?

By: Maccabee

Maccabee — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 23:36:40 +0000

point well taken gw. the first fact is a fact. the second claim is what needs to be proven I think the urgency would be just as great from the right if it were a Clinton in office.

By: RonK, Seattle

RonK, Seattle — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 23:16:13 +0000

What’s wrong with the Third-Rate Burglary theory? Obviously a third-rate burglar inadvertently left the Plame info in Novak’s office after having burgled CIA HQ earlier in the evening. In this connection, the late President Nixon’s late press secretary Ron Ziegler later defended his use of the famous phrase and said he hadn’t known of the cover-up. (Wash Post interview 1981)

By: gw

gw — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 23:15:57 +0000

Settle down, maccabee. Things aren’t nearly that clear cut, at least not yet. Regarding whether Plame was a covert agent, as far as I know at least two different CIA sources (Larry Johnson and Novak’s confidential source) say two different things. I’m not saying I trust one more than the other, I’m saying I don’t trust EITHER of them. They’re spies, remember? And besides, there seems to be a lot of anecdotal evidence that if she was undercover, a lot of people seemed to know it already. Regarding who it was that blew her “cover” (if that’s what it was), there’s the accusation from Tenet (another spy) of WH calls to six journalists, there’s Novak’s denial of this, and again, there’s a lot of background noise. I agree with you that the basic facts must be revealed, as I’m sure they will be. If the facts are as you state, somebody better go to jail. But just branding things as “facts” doesn’t make them so.

By: taak

taak — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 22:53:34 +0000

No idea what dipnut is talking about re: Bush is a fascist.

By: Maccabee

Maccabee — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 22:52:53 +0000

Valeris Plame was an undercover CIA operative. That is a confirmed fact. Two Bush administration officials outed her. That seems to be a fact. So two crimes have likely been committed by people at the WH. Why is this so partisan? Because to the right wing, an affair with an intern was enough to force an impeachment trial on a Democratic President. But predicating a war based on stretched truth, fumbling the victory that costs us billions and blood, and outing US operative in the field- don’t seem to be enough to raise anything from the right except for either a deafening silence or sad rationalizations. Have some integrity and insist that foxes don’t guard the henhouse. Independant counsel is called for here. Hell with the Patriot Act passed, this shouldn’t take more than a day or two to find out who made what call to whom.The goal of this administration is damage control. The goal should be honesty.

By: Ted Barlow

Ted Barlow — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 22:23:33 +0000

Although now that I think about it, it’s be a blast to see (say) Instapundit, Alterman, Atrios and Jonah Goldberg go a few rounds on SissyFight 2000. Something we all can agree on, I think.

By: gw

gw — Wed, 01 Oct 2003 22:15:07 +0000

“Hincty”? Although now that I think about it, it’s be a blast to see (say) Instapundit, Alterman, Atrios and Jonah Goldberg go a few rounds on SissyFight 2000.