Treason

One Stop View offers comments by three prominent Democrats on the Rove affair. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) declared that if Rove was indeed the source, he was guilty of treason.

According to Harry Reid (D-NV), months ago, the Bush administration promised that if anyone in the White House was found to be involved in the Valerie Plame case, they would no longer be welcome in government. Now that Karl Rove seems to be that source, Democrats are finally licking their lips for what is sure to be an awkward situation for Republicans at the White House and on Capitol Hill alike. However, because the GOP has a substantial majority in both chambers of Congress, the case is not likely to receive the same attention that the it would under Democratic rule.

However, another hopeful option emerges for Democrats in light of the administrations promise that it was unassociated with the leaking of the status of a covert CIA agent to Robert Novak, a syndicated columnist. Under pressure from the public, congressional democrats, and a few prominent members of his own party, President Bush would have to consider the option of dismissing Rove before any embarassing investigation could take place.

Before liberals jump to idealistic conclusions, they should remember a similarly embarassing case for the Bush administration that took place more than a year ago at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Although there was significant evidence that the military disaster was largely attributed to top administration incompetence, the president refused to dismiss Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, perhaps because Rumsfeld is the best man for the job, or maybe because Bush wanted to thumb his nose at public opinion. Nonetheless, Karl Rove is a close confident of the president and is credited with the president's political victories. Bush is in his second term and he will not let his friend go down without a fight.

Liberals respond: How are they going to sweep this under the rug?