Downing Street, Rove, Other People's Words

First of all, thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes. That was pretty awesome, really.

Next, I realize that I haven't said anything at all about Karl Rove, nor have I posted about the Downing Street Memo in days and days.

Third, I'm very lazy so I figured that once again I'd just steal completely from Shakespeare's sister, and today's dispatch for the BBA:

Well,
the big story today continues to be Karl Rove and his role in the Plame affair. Some people have expressed concern that this story has the potential to eclipse the Downing Street Memos, but I don'’t think we ought to be viewing them as separate issues. Instead, we need to view this as an opportunity to create a narrative that ties the two together.

My post on that issue is here: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2005/07/connect-dots.html,
and says, in part:

"[R]ather than viewing the Plame issue, and particularly Rove's role in it, as separate from the issues raised by the Downing Street Memos, it's important to see them all as part and parcel of one larger issue. Practically and factually, that issue is information manipulation and message control, and allowing ideologically-driven and designed propaganda to trump fact-based intelligence. Philosophically, that issue is a severe and appalling breech of ethics, most notably the betrayal of the trust of the American people."

One thing that's working in our favor is the media's heightened interest in the Rove part of this narrative (check out the lede on this AP report: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/11/politics/main708165.shtml). We need to work our tails off to connect these two stories, so that each time a story is filed about Rove's involvement in the Plame affair, there's a mention of its most important aspect: that the Bush administration feels politics is more important than national security- —as has already been amply demonstrated by the Downing Street Memos (among other things). It is our job to hammer away at this, never letting one be spoken without the other, to demonstrate that each is part and parcel of a pattern of behavior for which the Bush administration must be held accountable.

The media has taken interest in the Rove story (see here http://rawstory.com/news/2005/TRANSCRIPT_WHITE_HOUSE_GRILLED_0711.html
for a transcript of today'’s press briefing and here http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/11.html#a3868 for video- it'’s truly unbelievable the change in tone over this story), and that's half the battle. Now we must just connect the dots for them as to how this is indicative of an overarching problem.

We should be pushing this narrative as much as we did the Downing Street Memos and keep calling for accountability.

I have to say I agree 100% with this assessment. When a President lies, it hurts the country. I understand that you can't tell everyone everything, that's a security nightmare, but you can't pull this crap, either. Why are we living in a country where the administration hides its true intentions from the citizens of that country? Is it because if the true plans were revealed that no one would want to go along with them? Instead of plain dealing, we get lies and denials. The spin machine has spun too far. When will our administration level with us? When will people doing illegal or immoral (no, immoral does not always imply sex) things be fired for their activities, or even punished? When?