So, what happens if (as looks increasingly likely) Rove and Libby go down for, at the very least, perjury? Will we have yet another case of "a few bad apples"? Will Rove and Libby willingly take the fall for the "greater good"?
If so, how do we tie things back to Bush and the GOP in general?
Well, I have a few ideas--you knew that was coming, right?
First off, Bush's reaction thus far (backing off the promise to hold leakers responsible) doesn't look good, and this alone will be a source for ongoing trouble. Bush has obviously been attempting to protect Rove, and has made essentially no effort to take responsibility for dealing with a man who leaks national security information casually.
Second, there are open questions at this point as to just how many people in the administration knew about the conspiracy to blow Plame's cover. Ari Fleischer may have been involved, as well as others. This was clearly a big pushback effort, extending from the administration to people the State Department, to defuse and distract from the administration's dishonesty in the runup to the Iraq War. Who was involved? How many people knew Rove and others were leaking classified information, and how many were involved in the effort to compound the administration's lies with more lies?
Third, there has been a major effort on the part of the Republican National Committee to confuse and distract from Rove and Libby's lawbreaking and unethical behavior. We need to put this behavior front-and-center.
Josh Marshall is also spearheading an effort to get GOP congresspeople on record regarding the Rove affair.
Other thoughts?