July 14, 2003. President Bush discovers a breach of national security. Two "senior administration officials" have apparently exposed the identity of a covert CIA operative while attempting to discredit one of Bush's critics.
President Bush immediately swings into action to cure this shocking, illegal breach of national security. Here is a detailed, day-by-day chronology of the president's decisive action:
Day 1: Nothing
Day 2: Nothing
Day 3: Nothing
Day 4: Nothing
Day 5: Nothing
Day 6: Nothing
Day 7: Nothing
Day 8: Nothing
Day 9: Nothing
Day 10: Nothing
Day 11: Nothing
Day 12: Nothing
Day 13: Nothing
Day 14: Nothing
Day 15: Nothing
Day 16: Nothing
Day 17: Nothing
Day 18: Nothing
Day 19: Nothing
Day 20: Nothing
Day 21: Nothing
Day 22: Nothing
Day 23: Nothing
Day 24: Nothing
Day 25: Nothing
Day 26: Nothing
Day 27: Nothing
Day 28: Nothing
Day 29: Nothing
Day 30: Nothing
Day 31: Nothing
Day 32: Nothing
Day 33: Nothing
Day 34: Nothing
Day 35: Nothing
Day 36: Nothing
Day 37: Nothing
Day 38: Nothing
Day 39: Nothing
Day 40: Nothing
Day 41: Nothing
Day 42: Nothing
Day 43: Nothing
Day 44: Nothing
Day 45: Nothing
Day 46: Nothing
Day 47: Nothing
Day 48: Nothing
Day 49: Nothing
Day 50: Nothing
Day 51: Nothing
Day 52: Nothing
Day 53: Nothing
Day 54: Nothing
Day 55: Nothing
Day 56: Nothing
Day 57: Nothing
Day 58: Nothing
Day 59: Nothing
Day 60: Nothing
Day 61: Nothing
Day 62: Nothing
Day 63: Nothing
Day 64: Nothing
Day 65: Nothing
Day 66: Nothing
Day 67: Nothing
Day 68: Nothing
Day 69: Nothing
Day 70: Nothing
Day 71: Nothing
Day 72: Nothing
Day 73: Nothing
Day 74: Nothing
Day 75: Nothing
Day 76: "I want to know the truth."
* * *
As the public tells the Washington Post-ABC News Poll that it thinks Wilsongate is very serious indeed, the White House is struggling mightily to frame Americans' perceptions of the scandal.
Their story: There might be a bad man in the White House and the President is fully cooperating to root the bad man out. The President wants the truth just as much as you do.
The real story: If he wanted to determine the truth, President Bush could have taken action on July 14.
Inaction is a harder story to relate than action, but inaction is the story here. Robert Novak's column, in which he outed CIA employee Valerie Plame and wrote that "[t]wo senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger," appeared in the Washington Post on July 14, 2003. Seventy-six days ago. It has taken Bush 76 days to say the words, "I want to know the truth."
He could have said this, and acted on it, July 14. He didn't.
Why not? That's the story.
Imagine for a moment that Bill Clinton were President. And a liberal columnist, citing "two senior administration officials," casually outed a CIA agent while attempting to trash one of Clinton's loudest and most effective critics. What would every conservative in America have expected at that moment?
The same thing we all should have expected of President Bush on July 14: Find the leakers and punish them.
Article comments
1 - Steve Rhodes
But remember Bush doesn't actually read articles. Perhaps Condi neglected to brief him on it.
2 - Brian Flemming
You make a good point.
I wonder if that statement in the Fox interview that he doesn't read "opinion" pieces was planned to support his future claim of ignorance about the Novak piece.
But, of course, if Condi did in fact fail to brief him on it (in the context of, say, requesting a freaking investigation of the apparent breach of her department) for so much as a day, let alone 76 days or so, she'd deserve to be fired.
Of course, Bush almost certainly knew about this whole thing on July 14. But I wonder if he'll claim not to have known for much longer. He's told bigger lies.