Worth exploring: In the case of the Plame Leak, how many moves out are they playing on the chess board at the White House? I don't know, but I think it's worth considering. Were they simply going after the closest target, Plame, in a tactical gambit to undercut Wilson? Or were they abusing the role of anonymous source in a way that ultimately unravels the power of the press.
In the end, somebody may end up getting caught in the legal snare of leaking the name of a CIA operative, but in the meantime, what have they won? They were able to fight an illegal war by muddying the water around an otherwise highly credible critic of the war (Wilson). Beyond that, they have managed to undercut the power of the press to check their stranglehold on power.
What they have done in the Plame case is use, witting or unwitting, journalists to attack their opponents in a clearly illegal breach of security. It's really legally indefensible to out a CIA operative, particularly for political gain. But the WH gets the double bonus of undermining the public trust and credibility of a press that seems unconcerned about the fate of American security. It has the triple bonus of setting up a story meme that keeps all of the stories focused on the well-being of the reporter as media outlets focus on their self-interest, rather than plumbing the depths of the scandal. And finally, the quadruple value of providing a basis to undermine the legal protection of the press going forward, in maintaining the confidence of sources in the face of a growing culture of secrecy.
If they achieve all that, they might even be willing to throw someone like Rove into the ditch as collateral damage to achieve structural change in the power of the 4th estate to check the growing power of Sauron.
In the face of an administration that is so devoted to secrecy
it's hard to see how throwing reporters in jail (however despicable you might think that particular reporter's work) can be seen as a positive outcome for transparency and the broader progessive program.
They create a culture of government secrecy, where citizens and their representatives in the Fourth Estate are greatly limited in what they can learn about the workings of government. At the same time, the government is building tremendous ability to obtain information about its citizens.
Overall, this shifts the balance of power away from the people and into the hands of a small clique of corporatist, theocratic thugs.
It's a small point, I know. But we have to think about the full impact of what they have unleashed.