Karl Rove should have his security clearance yanked...

I'm not the media, LC. I can be biased about my opinions. We all are. And you are just as biased about your opinions. What is your point?

Grand jury testimony is secret so we'll never know what was said. And this wasn't a special independent prosecutor that has to write a report to Congress. There will be no report. The prosecutor has stated that he wasn't charged with enforcing the covert agent statute. He didn't go after Rove for outing an agent, he was looking for a prosecutable crime and he found it in the Libby cover-up.

But . . . if Libby doesn't plead out, the case will go to trail and then the testimony will be public. Probably Libby will plead guilty and he will never go to trial for this reason. He will be the fall guy. You can also bet that Bush's own Justice Department is not going to pursue the enforcement of the statute and neither is the Republican congress.

But it doesn't matter. The political damage is done. As you point out, the statute itself is worded so vaguely that is is impossible to convict anybody using it. Still, a CIA agent was exposed by the White House staff for political reasons and the public knows it. People know that political shenanigans were conducted as part of the misleading of the public about the reasons to go to war in Iraq. And they know where it came from--The office of the Vice President. His chief of staff will plead guilty. Rove is a political hot potato that will not be driving Bush policy for the remaining term, nor will he be a factor in electing the next president.

 

Neither does it make it false. But of course, you are correct. And I reserve the right to use your own words against you in the future.

We all make uncorroborated statements here, amigo. You can't throw the flag on every play.

If you feel strongly about this one, why not offer some evidence to the contrary? Pointing out that my opinion is merely an opinion ain't getting us anywhere.

Sometimes intelligent people who have made their own analysis are prepared to back up their opinions with supportive reasoning. They feel strongly about some things that you disagree with. Can you not accept this? The notion that we must be duped by "the liberal media" is not even close to reality. I don't march to the programming of CNN and Public Radio any more than you march to the rhetoric of Limbaugh and FOX.

And when a media outlet reports what a public figure states about something, it is news--not "liberal media" spin. There are moderate and conservative media outlets, you know, and they all work the same way. I pay you the compliment of assuming that your opinions are your own and not Bill O'Reilly's or Ann Coulter's, just because you are all in agreement about some things.

Trust me. I am no more duped by "the liberal media" than people in the 50's were duped by "communists in Hollywood".

 

Of course, the media wants a story, it's their job. I just think it is naive to imagine that they only report what meets their policial agenda. If there is a story, the media is going with it. I agree that the media is sensationalist, but I don't really see a lot of bias. They have often roasted liberals when they were in power . . . if there was a story there.

 

A fine point, but a point nonetheless and fortunately I have a response.

I had already acknowledged that convicting him of a crime was unlikely because of the poorly worded statute but stated that the political damage was already done because the story was out. So, since we're discussing political credibility, there is no presumption of innocence. He only needs to be suspected of shenanigans to suffer political damage.

I also believe that OJ did it. I realize that you must defend his honor because it cannot be proved that he did it. I'm just making an assumption and OJ will never serve a day in jail for committing a crime. But he'll never be elected to a public office. Or ever work in Hollywood again. And politicians will not be seen, photographed, or associate with him.

Political damage . . . in a political war.