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Watergate Deja Vu

By Last Night in Little Rock, Section Valerie Plame Leak Case
Posted on Tue Jul 12, 2005 at 04:33:44 AM EST
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by Last Night in Little Rock

Listening to audio of Scott McClellan's dissembling and stonewalling on Morning Sedition on Air America Radio gave me flashbacks to Ron Ziegler's performances during Watergate in 1972-73.

For once, somebody in the Fourth Estate actually had the spine to cross-examine him and "call him out on his lies" about "Rove, Abrams, and Libby," and, smelling blood, others joined in. McClellan was reminded of his denials and was running for cover, and you could hear fear in his voice. McClellan, however, continued to stonewall and hid behind the fact of a "criminal investigation" to not comment. He was more than freely denying everything about Rove's involvement when the criminal investigation started.

While the Republican press in the audience must have been devastated, Fox News did, at least, report it from an AP story: CIA Leak Denials on Rove's Behalf Crumble.

I would say "better late than never," members of the Press, but the stonewalling lasted long enough to get George W. Bush re-elected.

Ziegler, however, publicly apologized to the Washington Post and Woodward and Bernstein when it was obvious that the jig was up as reported here, and he died with a clear conscience.

I commend to you John Dean's Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush. After I read that, I dug out my copy of his Blind Ambition and read it again. Uncanny.

When will the White House throw Rove to the wolves? Just 18 days ago, the White House was defending Rove's idiotic comments about how "liberals" wanted "therapy" for the 9/11 terrorists, also reported here. Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX) came to Rove's defense, but that was quid pro quo because Rove came to DeLay's defense in April.

What is wrong with this picture: Judith Miller is in jail while Rove sits in the White House? Miller is a woman of conscience, willing to go to jail to protect a source. If that source was Rove the national security traitor, she might as well give him up because Time gave up Matthew Cooper's notes and Rove released Cooper from confidentiality. This was not a magnanimous gesture on his part: Time turned over Cooper's notes to the grand jury, so there was no point in Cooper going to jail, too.

One could infer from this scenario that her source is someone else.

We are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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    Watergate Deja Vu | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: Watergate Deja Vu (none / 0) (#1)
    by Mreddieb on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:06 PM EST
    I have noticed how the wingnuts are begining to frame their Sinspin and echo machine to protect Rove. To me they are developing Three tracks 1> Attack the victim and her Husband. 2> Convert Rove into the Victim of rabid Democrats aligned with a vengeful Liberal Press out for blood. 3> A continuous barrage of half truths double talk and legalistic mumbo jumbo. This is typical, take a simple case of Treason and turn it into a confusing pile of political mush. Hold on to your hats this time the spin machine is going to set off a lot of tornado alerts in Washington!

    Re: Watergate Deja Vu (none / 0) (#2)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:06 PM EST
    A continuous barrage of half truths double talk and legalistic mumbo jumbo
    I agree. There's going to be so much smoke as to make the road ahead invisible.

    Re: Watergate Deja Vu (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:06 PM EST
    I heard Russert saying that an unamed republican had told him that if this was occurring during a democratic administration, they would have already convened congressional hearings. Yup.

    Re: Watergate Deja Vu (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:06 PM EST
    (7/12/05) TOON O' THE DAY:A Story With Wings

    Re: Watergate Deja Vu (none / 0) (#5)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:01:06 PM EST
    Watergate is exactly what I'm reminded of with this case. Just as with Watergate, what sets this apart is that people high up in government have actually committed a crime. Nixon was done in by his tapes. This time there may be nothing to link the president to the crime (but who knows? As I recall, initially the people implicated in Watergate were the Committee to Re-elect the President, or CREEP). However, there is likely to be a direct link to Cheney, who is arguably an even more important figure in the neocon imperial organization than Bush.

    Watergate Deja Vu | 5 comments (5 topical)