It's Bush's move now

Wilson, Plame and Libby. Put them all together and we have a little lie triangle going on. And the White House needs to accept that. The special prosecuter's indictment of Libby seems incredibly strong. And of the legal analysis I have read, many have surmised that "the guy lied his ass off".

Why? Reports are conflicting. He had a bad memory, he wanted to keep the press from getting to Cheney, he actually did mention her name, he likes the idea of jail, he thinks he can beat it, he was arrogant, Rove planned all of this, etc., etc. It is a mystery, but one not so large as those on the left hope for. The special prosecutor did not charge him with violating the secret identities protection act, or with actually leaking Plame's name, and so one must conclude that either Fitzgerald cannot surmise, or cannot prove, that Plame was even covert at the time. Some have suggested that just mentioning Plame worked for the CIA was illegal. Perhaps. The CIA has not said, nor will they probably, unless compelled to in court by Libby's lawyers.

Truthfully, I find it baffling that Libby lied so blatantly. But he'll have his day in court. And perhaps then the prosecuter's case won't seem so air-tight. But I have my doubts.

What I have absolutely no doubt about though is the course of action the White House should take. And that is, stop defending Libby, cut him loose and move on. He served, he will have his day in court, wish him well--and end the relationship there. The left has tied the entire justification for the Iraq war to this leak investigation. Bush cannot do the same.

In fact, I highly recommend President Bush take the lead and clean house a bit more. I'm not saying fire anybody. But people have to identify with their elected representatives in order to feel any empathy for them at all. And Bush needs to show that he is going the extra mile to create an atmosphere of creativity, energy and above all honesty with the public. His forthright nature is his best defense against the ever-louder screeching calls of "liar" from the left. And people, above all else, want a President who is a leader. And leading means you cauterize the wounds, get some new supplies, and then you press on.

The climax of this investigation was the indictment. The press can only convict in the court of public opinion with indictments. Trials and verdicts are no good for them because then the truth outs. And the truth about Wilson and Plame is so much more dishonorable than the press has led the public to believe, it can only hurt them in the long run. The Senate Intelligence bi-partisan committee concluded Wilson was a liar. And if the press was ever forced to report on that large scale, their accusations would fall apart.

The press needed Rove. They wanted Bush's Brain, and instead they got a guy with a "bad memory" named Scooter. Doesn't have the same punch, ya know? The case against Libby is strong, and serious, but baring any startling revelations, this will not hurt Bush as badly as the left had hoped.

But now that they've shot their bolt, Bush needs to take the offensive. In fact, if one were optimistic, you could almost say that it's morning in Washington. Bush still has Rove, the war is going well, the leak investigation is about over, there is a year before mid-terms, the economy is soaring, the hurricanes are over for now, he gets to pick another nominee for the Supreme Court, and he has a base that is ready and willing to fight for him...so long as he leads like he said he would.

And now it's his move.