Zuruck wrote:Do you feel that Clinton's perjury/obstruction charges warranted the attention they got?
Since the perjury / obstruction led to another crime not being prosecuted (recall that the only reason we heard about Lewinsky is because it was brought up in a sexual harassment trial) and because it was obviously intentional (he didn't just forget having sex with her), I think it warranted some attention, though certainly not as much as it was given.
In this case, I'm certain there was no underlying crime -- Valerie Plame was not undercover, her ID was not actively being protected, her husband made clear in his book that she had lived in the US for several years, etc. -- so I don't think the charges deserve that much attention. If it turns out he was intentionally lying, of course, they warrant some attention, but certainly not the level they've already been given.
What would you think if she happened to be an active spy at the time?
That would've changed a lot, of course. If an active spy whose ID is being protected is outed, that's a serious problem. If, on the other hand, she's introduced at parties as "my CIA wife" and most reporters were able to find out she worked for the CIA without much effort, and she hasn't done covert work in years, I don't see what's wrong with saying "yeah, Joe Wilson got this job because of his CIA wife."
Do you really think the filth in the White House would have subsided for the sake of national security?
Yes, I do.
instead, they told Novak and various others verbatim, his wife is an operative and we want him smeared.
Source?
I've heard a number of times that people mentioned his wife was an operative, and that furthermore, some reporters contacted the CIA and asked if it was OK to publish the info. The CIA didn't object. Obviously, her status as an operative was not a secret, and was not something the CIA wanted protected. So, what's the problem? Why should we still care about this? Someone whose identity as a CIA employee (I'm not even sure she was an "operative") was well known is now more well-known.
don't you guys feel a little reluctant to believe your party?
Of course I am. But I'm not getting my info just from the party. I'm listening to what the reporters involved have said, and what Joe Wilson says in his own book. He himself said his wife hadn't been covert or living overseas for at least 6 years. All the facts -- all of them, not just some of them, coming from every source on every side -- point to there being no crime. A political dirty trick, maybe, played on someone who was playing politics anyway. But no crime.
