AMERICABlog is considering the possibility that Bush left himself some
wiggle room to get out of this Rove catastrophe. Some are suggesting that Bush won't ever fire Rove, and that he will likely stay on staff until
the end of his presidency.
Whatever the decision may be, it's not going to be good for the President. The press corp seems to have found a fire they want to stoke, and the public is getting numerous news reports from various (and supposedly) non-partisan sources that Bush and his Administration has repeatedly lied for two years about Rove not having a thing to do with the Plame leak. All that Bush can do is put on a good face and hope he can achieve a couple more major changes for our country, while the Democrats have gotten another, and possibly last, chance to really undercut the right-wing machine.
Bush can fire Rove or have him quietly resign or be suspended, and some of the heat can be taken off his administration. Needless to say, even if he did so, the stench of lies is so strong now that credibility with this administration is near nil with the press and a majority of the country.
However, if Bush doesn't do a thing with Rove, that undercuts two key provisions for Bush's second term: 1. the equivalent of a campaign promise (given the time it was answered), and 2. Bush's comment that he is "a man of his word." Both will be broken and irreperable, and Bush will probably no longer have any credibility for the remainder of his term with the press or the majority of Americans.
This is where the Democrats MUST take full advantage of the situation. Bush fails to stand by his word, why should the Democrats in Congress feel he will do the same with them with legislation or even future court picks? Why should Democrats even bother working with the President, much less conceding to his agenda time in and time out? Democrats have the chance now to turn the tables on the Republican-controlled government and establishment, and get to the real business of the American people. If they fail now, given the clear opening they have, they don't deserve to lead this country, much less control the government.
With a looming Supreme Court battle, Patriot Act II on the cusp, a housing bubble about to burst and give a whole new meaning to "economic pain," and a war in Iraq that's just about reached the point of complete discomfort for the American public, the time could not be more important for a shift in mainstream politics toward the left, Democratic side - if only the Democrats in charge have the stomach for such a battle.