Tim Noah: The Karl Rove Death Watch

[BurtWorm]

http://slate.msn.com/id/2122682/


The White House and Bush are still stonewalling. But Rove may have taken one small step forward on the plank today. As I've noted before, Rove's departure will likely be signaled when the president starts saying things like, "I'm behind Karl 100 percent." (A few readers have asked me to provide a rational explanation for this paradox. I can't. It's just a mysterious Washington ritual, like the consumption of Senate bean soup.) Today's White House briefing included the following exchange:

Q: Scott, from Africa, Mrs. Bush says, Karl Rove is a very good friend of mine; I've known him for years. And she's not going to speculate on any other part of the case. Well, does the President feel the same way about Karl Rove, the relationship with Karl Rove, a very good friend for many years?

A: Yes, he does.

This is a departure from McClellan's previous stance, which was to state that Rove had the president's full confidence only insofar as anyone else who worked at the White House had the president's full confidence. Today McClellan personalized the president's relationship with Rove; he's a "good friend." The optimist in me interprets that as a subtle signal that the bloom is off the Turd Blossom.

[complain jane]

1. I wonder what Clinton's thinking these days...

And I'm thinking that Rove's longing for the days of a blue stained dress.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Have had similar thoughts lately

[bmcatt]

4. Maybe he needs one?

Should we start a fund so we can buy Rove his very own stained blue dress? I'm not sure we could find one in his size, but, even so...

[barb162]

3. I think Rove is here to stay. What does Bush have to lose

by keeping Rove? Somebody gonna impeach him? He's got a lock on Congress and the Supreme Court. I think this is already turning into a game to go after Joe Wilson BIGTIME, way bigger than anything we have seen to date. Check the RNC website

[emulatorloo]

5. prosecutor will not fall for Rove/Bush BS EOM

[BurtWorm]

6. As Blumenthal has pointed out, Rove may win over the gasbags

but he has to get through a criminal investigation as well, where it's just him and his lousy lawyer against the law. Apparently, the investigation has undergone an "unexpected shift," too, according to Blumenthal. Reminiscent of the shift from Whitewater to blue dress, perhaps? We'll see. I'm not counting my chicks, that's for sure.

[barb162]

7. And I most definitely am not holding my breath that Rove is going

down. "They" are now going to do a slimeshow on Joe Wilson that will put the swifties to shame. It's getting really ugly just the last week

[BurtWorm]

8. But Americans like Joe Wilson.

They didn't know what to make of Kerry. It's different. Wilson is more accessible than Kerry--and, more important, vastly more accessible and likable than Rove. The RNC smear on Wilson could really seriously backfire on them.

PS: The media like Wilson too. Score two against Rove and Co.

[barb162]

9. I hope you are correct. Wilson speaks simply, to the point

and he is so damned articulate. I hope people listen to him. But then again, check the slime machine deluxe working away like little ants below:

http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=5620

[emulatorloo]

11. Well, here's what the GOP is up to today, and it is just DUMB

http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=5630

Basically it says:

Wilson says the CIA contacted because Cheney wanted to know something.

GOP: VP CHENEY NEVER CONTACTED WILSON! HE IS A LIAR!

[BurtWorm]

16. Those are so easy to refute!

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Joe Wilson's Top Ten Worst Inaccuracies And Misstatements


1.) Wilson Insisted That The Vice President’s Office Sent Him To Niger:

No.

http://www.yuricareport.com/NY%20Times/The%20Ambassador%20Verifies%20Lies.html

"In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office."






2.) Wilson Claimed The Vice President And Other Senior White House Officials Were Briefed On His Niger Report:


No.

http://www.yuricareport.com/NY%20Times/The%20Ambassador%20Verifies%20Lies.html

"Though I did not file a written report, there should be at least four documents in United States government archives confirming my mission. The documents should include the ambassador's report of my debriefing in Niamey, a separate report written by the embassy staff, a C.I.A. report summing up my trip, and a specific answer from the agency to the office of the vice president (this may have been delivered orally). While I have not seen any of these reports, I have spent enough time in government to know that this is standard operating procedure."




3.) Wilson Has Claimed His Niger Report Was Conclusive And Significant

No.

http://www.yuricareport.com/NY%20Times/The%20Ambassador%20Verifies%20Lies.html


"There was nothing secret or earth-shattering in my report, just as there was nothing secret about my trip."


...

6.) Wilson Claimed He Was A Victim Of A Partisan Smear Campaign

Well, Yes he did. But:

http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=5630

[BurtWorm]

12. They're all on message, I know.

They're robots, the bastids. But they were during impeachment too and they managed to totally turn off the country anyway. And back then they actually had the media on THEIR side!

[H2O Man]

10. I going to guess

that the neocons are not sleeping well this week.

[BrotherBuzz]

13. Oh yes they do...can you say...

Ambian? ;)

[H2O Man]

14. I think it is

more likely "anxiety" .... the type that makes fellows talk in hushed tones late at night during informal meetings .... but not on the phone, or by e-mail.

[Enraged_Ape]

15. Ask yourself: Would Bush rather remove Rove or his genitals?

'Cause that's the importance of Karlo to that idiot, and he knows it.

In short, Karlo ain't goin' down without a serious fight.

[SuperWonk]

17. My opinion...

Is that Rove is not going anywhere.
Everyone is talking these days, except for Fitzgerald.
And his opinion is the only one that counts.