Credibility And Cover-Ups

So much for not knowing who leaked classified information. Today we learn from court filings by our superhero, Patrick “ProsecutorMan” Fitzgerald, that I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby testified he was authorized by President Bush to leak classified information. This certainly explains why Bush didn’t follow advice from reporters that he just go around and ask his staff who was responsible for leaking Valerie Plame’s name to the press, he already knew. Of course, most of us suspected as much, but having it confirmed is nice too. If Bush had any credibility left to lose, this could really hurt him.

Bush isn’t up for re-election this year, but many of his friends on the Hill are. Republicans are going to try and distance themselves from this new stink coming off of the White House, but they are complicit. This is not about a leak anymore, it is about the cover up and Libby, Rove, Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rummy and every single Republican in the House and Senate have done everything in their power (and many things beyond) to make sure the truth of this matter never made it to the American people. The Republican Party is broken, corrupt and desperate, this should make us all a little concerned about how much farther they are willing to go to hold onto power.

Bush may not face legal problems as a result of this revelation by Libby, but politically, it is very bad indeed. When asked about the leak, he lied to reporters and by extension the public, and he did so in the most public of ways and then lied to cover the lies. And this isn’t simply a matter of lying about a sexual indiscretion, it is directly tied to the lies that led us to war. We now know that President Bush, authorized Scooter Libby to make selective leaks from the classified National Intelligence Estimate to the press. The President, in essence ordered the leaking of classified information to bolster his case for war and for partisan political gain (notice that he didn’t authorize the leaking of information in that same NIE that cast doubts of the veracity of Bush administration claims about WMD). For Bush, his political survival and political agenda was worth lying to the American people for, and he’s made it clear that he’d do it the same way again.

The more people who fall around him, the harder it becomes to trust him, even for that last 30% or so who are still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. You can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps, and Jack Abramoff, Scooter Libby, David Safavian, Tom DeLay (all men facing jail time) have all been, at one time or another, close to this President. In addition to these S.O.Bs (Supporters Of Bush), he surrounds himself with others who are just mean spirited jerks like, Cheney, Rove, Rummy, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Any thinking person who’d still like to have a beer with this guy, who still thinks he shares their values, who would defend his actions in any way, should be ashamed of themselves. The only reason to have a beer with George W. Bush is not passing up the opportunity to throw it in his face.