The public sees the significance of the Plame scandal

November 9, 2005

A recent CBS News poll asked Americans whether they consider the Plame scandal a serious matter. Despite the fact that the leak controversy didn’t generate many headlines during most of the two-year investigation, the public responded strongly — 86% said it’s important, while only 12% said it’s not important, making it the most serious scandal, according to the public, of any WH controversy of the last 30 years, including Watergate.

A new report prepared by the Pew Research Center discovered largely the same thing.

Just 36% now believe that Bush has lived up to his campaign pledge to restore integrity to the White House. In contrast, fully 79% of Americans say the recent indictment of I. Lewis Libby, formerly a top aide to Vice President Cheney, on perjury and other charges is a matter of at least some importance to the nation; that is greater than the percentage who said that in 1998 about charges that former President Clinton lied under oath about a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky (65%).

When asked for a one-word response in reaction to the Libby indictment, among the top responses were “shocked,” “disappointed,” and “disgusted.” (Not far behind were “guilty” and “treason.”)

Sounds to me like this is a scandal that the nation is very interested in and that Republican talking points (perjury is just a “technicality”) aren’t working terribly well.

With this in mind, it might also be worth noting that Susan Ralston, a top aide to Karl Rove who testified before the Plame grand jury in September, is having to answer questions once again. (thanks to R.S. for the tip)

Ralston, Rove’s right-hand man, is scheduled to appear again before Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald who is investigating the circumstances surrounding the leak of Plame’s identity in the media.

Rove may want to keep that dodged-bullet champagne on ice a while longer.

Despite the fact that the leak controversy didn’t generate many headlines during most of the two-year investigation

I’m still trying to figure out why that’s been the case. Is it just because there was no sex involved? Really?

  • Susan “Ralston, Rove’s right-hand man,”
    Hmmmmm. Am I having the bad day,
    or is someone else?

    That’s great news, if it’s true, that
    the public perceives Plamegate
    as so serious. But I have a real
    problem believing that 86% of the
    American people have even
    heard of it. And a prior CBS poll
    revealed that 51% think of it
    as political. Just doesn’t jibe.

    I’d like to see a poll question on
    whether there should be an
    independent investigation for
    the (mis)use of intelligence for
    going to war. Why don’t the
    Dems commission one, and
    then stick it in the Repubs faces?
    I have a feeling the DLC doesn’t
    really want one either. But I
    bet the public, finally, does,
    and the media/press should
    be demanding one. It’s
    time.

  • Brian, the reason the media– and therefore the public– hasn’t been covering this until the Fitzmas circus, is because there was no *drama*. For 2 years, it’s been a geeky/wonky/lawyerly story. Yawn.

    Remember, “news” is an entertainment medium. It only exists to sell soap, cars, and other consumer products. This is America: nothing happens unless it can be used to sell some crappy product or another.

    “News” producers are only interested in stories which have an emotional, dramatic arc…. preferably with suspense, and even better if it has stunning pictures. Examples being sex scandal, the war, the Schiavo circus, etc.

    The Fitzmas story definitely had human drama: all the speculation and mystery, the treat of jail time, all the frightened and desperate spinning from Scotty and his ilk. Plus the perennial story (dating back before Shakespeare to Homer and even farther back to Gilgamesh) of hubris and “Power Gone Wrong”. Stories with a grand dramatic arc and suspense sell airtime and ad space.

    The right wing has known for 40 years how to manufacture these kind of media-friendly dramas on demand. We’re only learning how to do it now. And Fitzgerald isn’t helping us; we just happened to be in the right place at the right time (i.e. on the opposite side of someone he is investigating). He has no interest in stoking the media story; he’d rather keep it quiet so he can get his job done.

    So here we are in a quiet spot. It’s all geekery and wonkery again, and there isn’t any real information anyway, since Fitzgerald’s investigation is so tight and relatively leak-free.

    If we’re going to keep this alive, we have to find our own media-friendly way to keep it alive. A public Senate hearing would certainly help, which is probably why Reid pulled his brilliant media stunt last week.

    We’re playing catch up, but we’re learning.

  • From the same Philipine News article:

    At 37, Ralston, a graduate of management, had worked as assistant to Jack Abramoff, a powerfully connected lobbyist, at the Preston Gates and Ellis and later at Greenberg Taurig law and lobbying firms. Story had it that Abramoff, indicted on alleged corruption charges involving, among others, former Republican majority leader Tom DeLay, had offered Ralston to Rove when the latter was looking for an efficient and trusted assistant.

    http://www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4997403295ea354107194d4960b18353

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