It’s not good news for Rove

October 28, 2005

When Karl Rove left his home this morning, a reporter yelled out to him as he got into his car. “Are you in good spirits?” the reporter asked. “Are you in a good mood?”

Rove replied: “A very good mood today. I’m going to have a very good day.”

In fact, after learning today that Rove was not indicted today, there are some on the left who are disappointed. Seeing Libby face charges is encouraging, but not long ago, many were calling this scandal “Rovegate.” Wasn’t today’s announcement a setback?

It wasn’t. If anything, this is probably the worst possible situation for the Bush White House. On this, I think Andrew Sullivan is absolutely right.

[I]t seems to me to be a pretty horrible scenario for the president. You have Libby indicted and Cheney thereby under suspicion, with a raft of potential questions heading his way; and you have Rove still under threat from the Grand Jury, fighting for his legal and political life, but required to stay mum (and understandably distracted) if the prosecution continues. You don’t even get a clean break, and a chance to start over.

Ann Coulter, of all people, acknowledged largely the same thing this morning on CNN.

No matter how one spins this, it’s an unbelievably bad day for the White House. There are indictments, Cheney’s right-hand man is gone, the criminal investigation continues, and no one knows when another shoe (or shoes) will drop.

I don’t think it’s as bad as it could be. I have a hard time believing this will end badly for the White House – those bastards always seem to get away in the end.

Libby is going to be put on the chopping block to appease the public and the whole thing will settle down. Remember this White House has 3 more years ahead of it and it will not allow those 3 years to be mired with controversy – the Republican propaganda machine will be working full-tilt and as we’ve seen in the past the American people are EASILY convinced by whatever the propaganda machine says.

  • Indictment, Count One, Charge # 21:

    “Libby was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife.”

    Official A…

    That other shoe may not have dropped yet, but it’s dangling.

  • Official A, UnderSecretaryB, Press Secretary C. Looks like our Fitzmas gifts included certificates that may be redeemable at a future time.

  • CBBB let’s remember that when the machine works as a unit it does its job. If pieces start flying off the machine cannot function as well. They can spin and dodge questions but they are no longer the force they were before this. “Fool me once…shame, shame on me….we won’t get fooled again.” People are no longer afraid to question the White House now that they have seen behind the curtain. Plus a lot of Repubs are wondering if they want to hitch thier political wagon to this horse anymore.

  • Most encouraging sign I’ve yet seen is that Libby didn’t cop a plea, so he will instead be put on trial. That will expose a lot of Rove/Cheney/Shrub shenanagins that desperately need to be brought to light. So, no, they didn’t “get off”.

    As for Libby, it seems evident to me that Fitz is excruciatingly detail-oriented and careful– I sense he doesn’t fire wild shots. If Libby has been indicted, then that means Fitz has him dead to rights– a case he’s confident to actually win.

  • “Ann Coulter, of all people, acknowledged largely the same thing this morning on CNN.”

    Excuse me.
    I don’t watch much television.

    But given what I’ve read concerning all the violent and mean-spirited things this woman has said… are you telling me she still has a place on mass marketedTV news shows ????

    That’s outrageous.

    If so, someone should indict mass media for peddling hatred.

  • Ann Coulter is a television favourite – especially on Fox and sometimes CNN. People LOVE the mean spirited, illogical things she says.

    I have a feeling once Bush annouces his surpreme court pick and it turns out to be a major wingnut the people will once again rally to his banner.

  • “Most encouraging sign I’ve yet seen is that Libby didn’t cop a plea, so he will instead be put on trial.”

    Indeed.
    Pride goeth before the fall.

    I think CB is also right.
    This is wonderfully devastating news.

    There now is a crack in this administration’s stone wall.
    Nature always exploits cracks.
    She widens them into rifts.

    It is just a matter of time before the whole nefarious structure crumbles away.

  • Libby would NEVER rat on his bosses with a plea bargin. Loyalty to BU$HCO above all is the official religion of the White House.

  • Hey CB,

    I think you’re right…it is an unbelievably bad day.

    If there had been mass indictments, I was convinced Bush was going to pardon the lot of them. However, there has only been one person indicted to date – ie. one “bad apple.” I think Bush will find it much more difficult to pardon this one man beforehand – this aberration from the rule of law – or it will stink of a cover-up from up high. Now, I can imagine the trial going forward and it still ain’t gonna be pretty for the White House…

  • I can imagine the Libby trial going forward but it’s probably the last thing the White House wants…maybe there will be pressure on Libby to plea bargain. So Libby pays a fine (I imagine Scooter will be re-imbursed at a later date…lol) and Bush pardons him of any prison time.

    But Bush can’t stop the civil suits from going forward, can he???

  • ricardo makes an excellent point: Bush cannot pardon Libby, alone, especially when Libby is charged with perjury.

    The two old reliable strategies, which Republicans have used to short-circuit investigations, are not available. They cannot just pardon the guilty; nor can they easily stage a hapless Senate investigation, to spoil the evidence.

    But, before I got too excited, I’d note that David Addington will replace Scooter as Cheney CofS. Addington is a dedicated “waiting for Sulla” type — a true believer in the President-as-authoritarian-dictator doctrine, which threatens the American Republic as nothing since Aaron Burr.

  • If Libby plea-bargains, it won’t be just to avoid the inconvenience of a trial. Fitz will only give him that if he sings like a canary, so either a plea bargain or a trial will be bad news for the administration, just in different ways.

  • Excuse me.
    I don’t watch much television.

    But given what I’ve read concerning all the violent and mean-spirited things this woman has said… are you telling me she still has a place on mass marketedTV news shows ????

    That’s outrageous.

    I had the same reaction. And…. She’s nuts! I mean, I don’t like her opinions, but even more, I don’t like anyone who essentially makes things up off the top of her head. Most things she says are pretty much content-free — and the networks still court her?!?!? Bizarre…..

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