“Do we ordinarily send people out pro bono to work for us?”

Breathtaking. Yes, Mr Cheney, believe it or not, some people are so crazy that they are willing to serve their country when asked, in ways that do not involve a Halliburton-sized paycheck, or a promise of partisan gain. They merely seek to do the right thing.

What a concept.

Here’s the link: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/cheney-notes/

Mr. Murder – here’s Reuters’ take on Cheney.

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. prosecutor in the CIA leak case has told a court he plans to use as evidence a newspaper article with notes that he says were hand-written by Vice President Dick Cheney referring to Valerie Plame shortly before she was exposed as a CIA operative.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-05-14T044535Z_01_N13206101_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-LEAK-CHENEY.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

What a weekend!

I’ve thought about it and I wager the usual arguments about the public’s poor attention and easy distraction don’t necessarily hold anymore. Bush is as disliked as any President since Nixon before he resigned. When Libby was indicted last Fall, Bush’s numbers took a noticable hit and Libby was basically a nobody to most Americans. They learned about him in the context of the indictment. Rove is far better known.

Also, a Rove indictment fits right into scandal mongering press coverage. I would put money on the press not letting Rove’s story go.

I think it is wrong to overlook the specific context we are in and rely on old saws about or overexposed, 12 hour news cycle culture.

Bush’s presidency is at a nadir. How much lower can he go? The public isn’t with him on a single issue anymore.

Besides, all the points raised, and good ones, about issues that will dampen the impact of Rove’s indictment are also bad news for Bush. Immigration is splintering his splintery base; Iran is whomping Bush at PR even as his moutpieces scare the bejesus out of everyone with loose talk about tactical nukes; gas prices only make people angier at the failed oil exec. wasting time in the WH. All these work together in the context of Rove being indicted, not in opposition. They reinforce each other about a simple truth: Bush is a lying fool.

If they pull a wag the dog by bombing Iran, it will as criminal as it gets, but I really wonder if the public will so dutifully break out the bars and stars, or if they will completely turn on Bush. This country does not want another war, this is not 2002.

The pieces of the puzzle are all fitting together nicely.

Perhaps this news is why Bush is trying to capture the news cycle on Monday.

-GSD

With the two court filings, Fitzgerald has pointed to an important role for the vice president in the weeks leading up to the leaking of Plame’s identity.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-CIA-Leak-Case.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The fact is CHeney doubtless deisclosed in the presence of Bush to hedge his liability within the scope of law. Condi walks closer to Cheney than she does Bush.

Oil money, security, partisan politics against our finest in the Agency.

Once we’re no longer a democracy…what should we call our new nation? Bushlandia?

But if Iran, another missing white woman, or protecting us from brown people who want jobs nobody else wants doesn’t distract America…well, there’s always bird flu? I doubt the Plame case will be the straw that broke the “decider’s” back, however. Because it’s been going on for several years now, it’s complex and doesn’t fit into 30-second soundbites, and the media have been distorting and misrepresenting it all along. It’s not clear if or how far Fitzgerald has expanded his investigation, or if indictments against Libby and Rove will be enough to make them spill the beans? Also, I find it scary that dirty trickster & slanderer extraordinaire Rove will be directing the GOP for the upcoming elections. That doesn’t sound like a demotion to me, not to mention any semblance of accountability in all this.

Lord Chancellor Cheney will do whatever is doable. THis is a guy with nothing to lose. He is going to retire to his gazillion dollar retreat on the eastern shore to hang out with his wife and obsess about his rotten heart, swelling feet, and clogged blood vessels?

Everything they said (via their proxies) about the Clintons predicted their behavior. They said that Clinton would never ever leave the white house because he loved power too much. They predicted he would declare martial law and the National Guard would have to be called in to remove him. I think it would be prudent to treat that as a possibility.

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Good post! I believe you hit the nail on the head. The CIA underestimates the support its has from us average Joe’s out there who respect those STARS on the wall at LANGLEY a HELLUVA LOT MORE than we respect shit bags like the Bush junta.

Sailor Sam, depends on whether they do decide to bomb Iran. I know they really, really want to, but I am not convinced they will yet, despite all the signals. Maybe just me being naive.