Rove...The Hit Man

Richard Cohen has a good commentary in The Washington Post today, Rove Isn't the Real Outrage. He puts Plamegate/Rovegate into perspective and thinks that concentrating on Rove is like blaming the hit man for all of the sins an organized crime mob. And a hit man is all Rove is. His defense at best has been he didn't mean to pull the trigger and at worst, from that vile John Gibson at the Bush/Murdoch crime family news, he should get a medal for trying to take out someone who was telling the truth about "the boss". The real issue is not the hit man Rove but:

The inspired exaggeration of the case against Iraq, the hype about weapons of mass destruction and al Qaeda's links to Hussein, makes everything else pale in comparison. It was to protect those lies, those exaggerations, that incredible train wreck of incompetence, ideologically induced optimism and, of course, contempt for the quaint working of the democratic process, that everything else stems from. Wilson was both armed and dangerous. He claimed the truth.


The truth about that truth was contained in a Post story about the leaks. It quoted "a senior administration official" who said that the outing of Plame was "meant purely and simply for revenge." It also said that two -- not one -- "top White House officials" had called "at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife." This response might be reprehensible, but it was routine for the town and, particularly, the vindictive Bush White House. What it was not, though, was a crime. The law prohibiting the outing of a CIA agent is so restrictive that it has been applied only once and does not seem to fit this case. I find it hard to believe that Rove or anyone at the White House specifically intended to blow the cover of a CIA agent. Rove is a political opportunist, not a traitor.

A "political opportunist", AKA hit man--that's Rove. We must not overlook the real crime here--the real criminals in our zeal to bring down the hit man.