World-Herald Soft on Crime (in the White House)

Oh, those silly, shameless folks at the Omaha World-Herald....is there no depth to which they will not sink? In their latest attack on jouralistic integrity - also known as their pathetically partisan editorials - they have the audacity to treat revelations about Karl Rove's criminal act of political retribution via media manipulation like it's just some hatchet job by the Democratic Party. The sub-heading of the editorial reads:

Hasty judgment would provide unearned score for political foes of the president.

How disgusting. They think this is just some game without giving a damn about the facts of the case. Wait, it gets worse:

Headlines out of Washington said President Bush has confidence in his adviser, Karl Rove. Of course he does. But that's not at issue. The question is whether Bush will allow himself to be stampeded into firing Rove, thus giving Democrats a symbolic victory in the political wars.

The only issue is whether or not the Democrats will gain points when the most senior level White House adviser, who some have called the most powerful man in Washington D.C., has likely committed a crime that borders on treason at a time of war??? It doesn't matter that the president continues to put his trust in such a man??? This is all just symbolic???

Yes, Bush said earlier that he would fire anyone in his employ who told reporters that the wife of an administration critic worked for the CIA. And it now appears that Rove disclosed such information, or at least enough information to allow a reporter to infer that the person was Valerie Plame Wilson....

If subsequent investigation demonstrates that Rove broke the law, he should of course be held accountable. If he was merely using his access for an act of political retribution, he has damaged his own good name.

But a crime is one thing. Political retribution, however tawdry, is another. So if Bush still wants to get to the bottom of this, let him find out which it is and not rush to judgment. A president who allows his adversaries to dictate his agenda can only weaken his own ability to lead.

What delusion - as if the President's acknowledgment of criticism, which he usually deflects by smirking and repeating himself in an endless spin cycle, would make him a weaker leader? The World-Herald really thinks the Administration's permanent block-out of reality, creating the political landscape of their choosing by turning a blind eye to anything that doesn't conform to their fantasy, can go on forever.

Worse than that, this newspaper seems eager to contribute to this fantasy. The World-Herald hasn't been duped into "drinking the Kool-Aid"; they're begging for more and want to share it with each and every one of their readers on a daily basis. They may even be addicted to the stuff...

Karl Rove may have ruined "his good name?" That's precious - a man who's become a legend for his ability to win elections through the sleaziest means possible (Ann Richards' sexuality, McCain's black child) has a good name - HA! Only in this backwards world they're trying to perpetuate.

Nevermind that then-Republican Party chairman Ed Gillespie said on 'Hardball' when these allegations first arose, "I think if the allegation is true, to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA operative -- it's abhorrent, and it should be a crime, and it is a crime." Nevermind that when asked by Chris Matthews if it would be worse than Watergate, he said, "Yeah, I suppose in terms of the real world implications of it."

Nevermind that Bush had already characterized this action as a crime and had promised the perpetrator would be "taken care of" back when it was being sworn up and down Rove had nothing to do with it. Bush can't do as he promised: a)he'd be admitting he was wrong and b)he'd be admitting to more Republican abuses of power that could hurt his party politically.

We can't have that. No, this is all just a game. It's all just more vicious partisanship by Democratic Party attack dogs.

They're so sure that if they hold-out against the truth long enough, it will just go away. It's happened before. It will happen again if the World-Herald and the Bush Administration have anything to say about it. Are we going to let that happen? Do we have such contempt for democracy and ourselves that we're really willing to accept this behavior from our leadership or their self-appointed mouthpieces in the press?

History cries for vigilance against abuses of power. The World-Herald says wait and see, hoping all this fuss will just disappear...serving their agenda while rotting away our democracy. Better to protect the president's power than to protect the people from the same.

How long, O Lord...how long wilt thou look on?