Finally it ends

You know, I’ve just about had it with this Scooter Libby-Valerie Plame issue. This is one of the most ridiculous and overblown “scandals” in American history, basically created for the sole purpose of getting Karl Rove out of Washington. Not that I care about Rove, but I think that every phony scandal like this does nothing but weaken our country.

Let’s recap. Valerie Plame is tasked with investigating Nigeria and whether Saddam attempted to purchase yellow cake from them. Plame works at the CIA, but is hardly an “operative” as many people make her out to be. She’s not an undercover agent behind enemy lines and in constant danger. She is a desk jockey. She is in no more everyday danger than you or I. She decides to send her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, to Nigeria. She convinces her supervisor to agree to it, knowing that Wilson is substantially anti-war and opposed to any action Bush may take in Iraq. Wilson is, in so many words, a bumbling fool. He has no real intelligence gathering background. He is not a spy. Nothing he has done in his political past comes even close to resembling the competence this mission required.

So in his vast investigation he concludes that Saddam did not try to purchase yellow cake. Yet, many major intelligence organizations found that he did, and that Joe Wilson was simply wrong in his discovery – among these were the British intelligence. Afterward, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report would find that Wilson was wrong and Wilson's own notes suggest the same even though he disagrees with his VERY OWN findings and said so in a New York Times editorial. So the US decided to go with what the British and other intelligence agencies said instead of what former ambassador Joe Wilson said. Wilson and Plame reacted by basically attacking the administration for ignoring their intelligence report and going to war without evidence that it was necessary. Basically, it was politics as usual.

So somewhere along the line some administration official said that Plame worked at the CIA. Not that this was a surprise. Apparently, just about every journalist in Washington knew that. But, nonetheless, the administration had “outed” a CIA desk jockey, thereby putting her life in danger – supposedly as revenge for her criticism of the administration. Politics as usual.

Now, Scooter Libby faces jail for denying he acted surprised or not telling someone about an interview or what he said that she said when they said it and what they said and whether or not he was surprised by what they said…or something like that. Who cares? Basically, Libby is guilty of gossip or, more accurately, not paying proper attention to the gossip. Never mind that the prosecutor was appointed to investigate the possible illegal outing of a CIA agent. Never mind that he couldn't find ANY evidence of this in the Administration. Apparently, the best he could do is get the Vice President's Chief of Staff for gossiping and failing to have an adequate memory of the gossip. Again, this is about as ridiculous as it gets. And, somehow, the jury considers Tim Russert to be a credible witness, in other words non-partisan, and they’re sympathetic with Libby because he was a fall guy and others should be facing the music. For what?

Scooter Libby committed perjury, I guess, which is the same thing Bill Clinton did. He obstructed justice similarly to Sandy Berger - who removed classified documents from the national archives. Clinton was disbarred, Berger got community service (or some other slap on the wrist) and Libby faces PRISON? Are you kidding me? And now Clinton makes millions on the lecture circuit. And they want to say that justice was done? Gimme a break. Ann Coulter makes a good point when she says that it is clearly against the law to be a Republican (I love this article) in the eyes of the Dems, the Justice system and the mainstream media.

This whole thing was nothing but an overblown witch hunt that was used to help oust the GOP in the 2006 elections and will no doubt be used for the same purpose in 08. I’m just glad it’s over…at least I hope it’s over. America is better than this and I’m tired of our politicians reducing this country to a two-bit circus act.