Rove Likely Off the Hook

I had a feeling that Rove wasn't as dumb as the facts seemed to indicate. An article just posted on the New York Times website, if true, greatly advances our knowledge of what happened back in 2003. According to the article, Robert Novak learned from another source that Valeria Plame worked for the CIA. Rove was asked to confirmed this fact, which he did. The article suggests that Rove was not the original leaker and is therefore not likely to face prosecution. Yes, he confirmed something he probably should not have, and, based on Matt Cooper's email, appears to have passed that information on before it was a matter of public record. But his involvement in the matter does not appear to be criminal. This is going to cause a lot of political whiplash. Though Rove is far from blameless in this matter and the White House has been far from honest, the fact that Rove is not the principal wrongdoer will be shouted from the rooftops by the GOP and its surrogates, and all else will be forgotten. Unfortunately, the way in which the facts of this case were exposed worked to Rove's advantage. Though his involvement in this matter was unethical and inconsistent with what the White House led us to believe, it was not nearly as bad as the initial reports seemed to indicate. The conservative media will spin this article as total and complete vindication of Rove, and at the end of the day, that perception will likely become the conventional wisdom. I guess this just goes to show that the old saying is true, things which seem too good to be true usually are.