Yeah, media wing of the Democratic Party...hahahahahaha!!!

I guess that's why FoxNews is claiming Bush never literally said he'd "fire" the person who leaked the identify of an undercover CIA operative working to prevent the spread of WMD (not to mention then compromising the entire CIA-owned front firm and all its undercover operative employees - a fact often ignored)...In fact, when asked last year if the leaker in fact works in the White House, "...will you fire them?", his reply was "YES"...

Or how about that other lib-loving reporter Kyra Philips of CNN, who introduced her story on Rove with "Bob, definitely a major smear campaign going on." Yep! That's definitely supporting the Dems!!

No, so far some of the White House press corps appear flatout angry, an honest understandable reaction given they've been lied to by McClellan for two years (or else Rove lied to McClellan). The WH Press Secretary has been telling the press for 2yrs that Rove "absolutely" did not leak the identity of Wilson's wife...Except now we know he did! Yet when they ask about it, suddenly the WH claims they can't talk about the 2yr old ongoing criminal investigation that they've been talking about for 2yrs years! Not even to answer if Dear Leader still stands by his often repeated promise that if the leaker worked in the WH, he'd be fired!

Tim Russett, this morning, got it right when he said a GOP friend had pointed out to him that if this were a Democratic White House, there would be Congressional hearings underway already, and calls for another Ken Starr investigation! But since its a GOP-owned Congress, they can cover for Bush.

Notice the GOP strategy? Bush and the WH will just ignore and refuse to comment. The press will quickly lose interest (like the Downing St Memos). Meanwhile, the faxed GOP talking points will be repeated ad nauseum on TV and radio, telling the American public its a Democratic smear job (since when is pointing out the truth, admitted truth, a smear job??), and then attack Wilson over and over, diverting attention from the treasonous Rove!

Isn't it ironic that the GOP, with their self-proclaimed superpatriotism, turn out to be the source of a serious violation of national security? And for a political hack job? Demostrating yet again, patriotism is fine but if you're a Republican political power ALWAYS comes first!!

Zoomie, how can it be a leak if most of the Washington Press corps already knew it? When Joe Wilson himself had his wife's name and the fact she was his wife on his own website? If you want to see what a real leak looks like, check here. Note who's really doing the damage to national security.

AOG - "how can it be a leak if most of the Washington Press corps already knew it?"
And you know this...how??

Novak admits he didn't know it, until he was told by "two" WH staffers. Miller didn't know it. Cooper admits he didn't know it...In point of fact, can you name me one single journalist who has come forward claiming he/she knew Plame was a CIA agent BEFORE Novak's column? I haven't seen one yet...Its also an irrelevancy, since the law involved says its a felony to leak the identity of an undercover CIA op (she was one) if you know she is an undercover op (evidence is he knew) and you leak it deliberately (the only real question, and part of why journalists had to be interviewed).

A few minor details - Plame didn't sit a desk at Langley. In fact, as at least one retired CIA op has confirmed, while most CIA undercover ops are "official", meaning they work overseas but have "black", or diplomatic passport (get caught, you get declared PNG and sent home - the old "cultural attache" story), Plame was a "NOC" or non-official cover agent. She had NO diplomatic passport, which meant were she caught engaging in espionage she could be jailed or executed by the gov't of whatever nation she was in (and remember, she was a CIA agent more than a decade before she and Wilson even met). In fact, she "sat a desk" at a place in D.C. with the name Jennings-Brewster & Assoc on the door. They were known to be lawyers, activists, and worked to encourage nations to not move to WMD development or technology. In reality, they were CIA agents, all, who developed contacts in dozens of nations and were actively preventing the spread of WMD. Rove's leak blew not just her cover but the entire firm (which is now shuttered). After the story broke, it is known by the CIA (per some ex-agents) that several less-than-friendly nations scoured their citizens contacts with the firm, and its likely this has lost the CIA numerous friendly contacts in unfriendly nations. In other words, he blew a critically important national security effort to slow the spread of WMD when he leaked Plame's position.

You are also falling for the GOP spin point - the fact Wilson and Plame were married was not the secret. The fact Plame was an undercover CIA operative WAS a secret!

And you demonstrate (again) the moral collapse of the GOP when you equate Rove outing a national security effort just to get even with Wilson with a journalist doing a good job of investigation to discover that the Bushies are using private aircraft to kidnap (correct word since they are grabbing people off the streets without ever charging them with a crime) and flying them to foreign nations who then happily torture the kidnapped person. Some of these people may well be scum, in which case we should be bringing them to trial (you know, like what the Clinton admin did to the first WTC bombers? No Patriot Act, no unconnected war, just plain old good police work and the US Constitution to capture, try, convict and jail the criminals...meanwhile, where exactly is Osama these days?? 'cause it ain't dead or in jail!),
but its a certainty many were innocent civilians (ie. some Brits, at least one Canadian), imprisoned without charge, tortured, and finally released months or years later because they were innocent...

"Rove was asked why the Bush administration would send someone like Joe Wilson to Africa on a secret mission for the CIA. Rove answered: “We didn’t. His wife works at the CIA. She got him the assignment.”

Umm, except per Rove's lawyer, Cooper and Novak (at least), neither Cooper nor Novak asked about Wilson. Novak in fact emphatically stated he was tipped about Wilson's wife being a CIA operative, that the leakers called him.
Another point where this spin collapses - Rove's supporters are claiming he only wanted to "right" the inaccurate and biased claims of Wilson. Fine...you dispute the issue point by point. You demonstrate Wilson had a bias (hard to do - he was in fact a lifelong GOPer, decorated by Bush-1 for being the last US Embassy official to leave our Baghdad Embassy in 1991, and for publically standing up to Saddam while still in Iraq - not 10,000 miles away with an entire army and navy to protect you like someone I won't mention - even to putting a mock hangman's noose around his neck and telling the press he dared Saddam to enter our Embassy to shut him up; Bush-1 thought such behavior brave and heroic vs Bush-1 describing Rove's behavior as the act of a "traitor"), but naming his wife as a CIA operative turns it to a personal vendetta.
Also, check Wilson's on the record statements and interviews PRIOR to the SOTU message he took issue with. In every one he supported Bush-2, supported pressuring Saddam, supported strong sanctions, supported the war in Afghanistan.
And why send him to Niger? He was a 23yr State Dept vet, with more than 15yrs in Africa including Niger, as well as in Iraq. He knew all the politicians, officials, players. Indeed, there is serious doubt there was anyone AS qualified to look into the Iraq yellowcake story.
He also never said Cheney or Tenet sent him on the mission. What he said was that the CIA asked him to go BECAUSE THE VICE-PRESIDENT WANTED ANSWERS ABOUT THE IRAQ-NIGER CONNECTION. That is not saying the VP or Tenet sent him, nor that they even knew he was going.

Face it - Rove is running scared.

And didn't Bush - the great leader who means what he says, is a straight-shooter of high moral character - say very clearly when asked "Will you fire anyone working for you if they leaked Valeria Plame as a CIA operative?" answer "YES!"? Indeed he did, and on more than one occasion (until Monday, when suddenly he and his press spokesman suddenly started refusing to speak about it)!

So if he doesn't do exactly what he repeatedly promise to do, he paints himself as a liar and protector of traitors!