This is what you’re supposed to believe.

Although all evidence points to Karl Rove as “The Leak” who outed a CIA agent in the run-up to a war — and although there have been repeated rumors of Rove’s affinity for “dirty tricks” like planting a bug in his own office and claiming his opponent did it — you are to believe this:

1. Karl Rove did not speak the woman’s name when he confirmed to Robert Novak that she was a CIA agent. Oh — excuse me — when he confirmed that he “heard” she was a CIA agent.
2. Karl Rove didn’t actually tell this to reporters; he heard about the story from reporters. And it’s just a coincidence that at least one of those reporters (Novak) was apparently asking Rove for confirmation.

Has anyone stopped to consider that even if this was true it doesn’t excuse Rove? When a journalist calls someone from the President’s inner circle and says, “Hey, I heard that so-and-so was a CIA operative” and the President’s man says, “Yeah, I heard that, too,” is that not still violating the law? Remember, among other things, that at that point there was no public story, no awareness of anyone who was not legitimately supposed to know, that Wilson’s wife was a CIA agent. So even if this were true — and I don’t think it is myself — Rove’s confirmation of it to Novak was a wrongful and illegal act. Forget the coincidence that Rove had this confirmation with Novak, just coincidentally, at a time when Bush really needed to send a message to those who would challenge his Administration.

The thing that provides me such morbid fascination about the Bush Regime is not actually so much what they’re doing — they successfully shredded the Constitution and turned the government into their own corporate toy at least two or three years ago — what really amazes me is how predictable the evolution of their activities is.

Something “bad” happens. You know, someone accuses Senator McCain of fathering a black baby, which torpedoes his campaign against Bush; someone denigrates Kerry’s war-time activities with lies and innuendo and, when that doesn’t work well enough by itself, they decide that “he’s wooden” works just as well; or maybe someone starts a war for the wrong reason, lies to the American public; or outs a CIA agent…. First the watchdogs — that would be people like me and other “liberals” — get the story and start to run with it. The White House (and this is actually a smart move) waits to see what, if any, reaction from the people who really matter to them — “average” Americans — begins to brew. If it doesn’t, great! They continue to ignore the story…. If it does, uh-oh! First, abject denial — after all, they need more time to come up with a story. By watching closely, they begin to get a feel for which line the right-wingers are cooking up will work the best. And then, that’s what they usually adopt.

Nearly always, though, there’s some variation of: “We weren’t involved in this. Someone else did it/started it/said it. We just happen to be the beneficiaries of every such act.” It’s coincidental, don’t you see?

When someone was sending letters to everyone in Arkansas and West Virginia saying that liberals were going to ban the Bible if Kerry was elected, that wasn’t Republicans…well, at first. Later, they admitted it, but never apologized.

In June 2004, the Bush campaign created a web video with images of Hitler, Gore, Dean, Kerry and others. They did this, supposedly, because MoveOn.org — they thought — had created a video splicing together Hitler’s and Bush’s images. One problem: MoveOn didn’t do that. Someone submitted it to a contest at MoveOn. Once MoveOn discovered it, they removed the ad, stating it was in poor taste. The Bush campaign never did apologize for having taken the step of creating a similar ad of their own. So, on the one hand, you have some individual submitting a tasteless ad to a contest; on the other, you have the Bush campaign doing one up themselves.

In the Swift Boat Veterans affair, the White House denied any connection. When it was proven beyond a doubt that White House officials were involved — and not until it was proven beyond a doubt, although they must have known something sooner — two of Bush’s staff were sacrificed.

Republicans have repeatedly tried to keep black voters from voting. But there’s no story there — and not because there’s no story there, but because no one wants to print it or read it.

In fact, for as long as there has been a Bush-Rove connection, there have been seriously dirty tricks. Anyone remember Ann Richards?

The bottom line here is that Bush is, so far, and with Rove’s help, far better than a Teflon President. Bush’s armor is impenetrable, so far, and anyone testing that is politically annihilated.

My own guess is that we’re all pretty much screwed. The frustrating part is that half of us know we’re screwed and are — no doubt vainly — trying to stop it. The other half actually believes they’re benefiting. And if the country somehow survives another 50 years, that’s when people are going to realize the significant harm Bush has really done to the United States.

And not a minute before.

But then, the work of undoing the damage will be much harder. It might be that it can’t be undone, without going the same route the Founders of the United States took back in 1776.

On a side — but related — note, Categories: The Bush Regime

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