I haven't seen a whole lot of this particular issue/scandal/right wing bloviation? on Dkos and I haven't been following it too particularly closely through the media either - though I have had seen it trumpeted as the next scandal!!! of the Obama Administration on some right wing blogs.
Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame seems to think that it's the next Iran-Contra of this decade - YMMV and take that as you will - With a giant grain of salt
However, as CNN is reporting, it does look like the acting head of the ATF, Kenneth Melson, will soon be forced to resign over the allegations that the ATF's Joint gun tracking operation - Operation Fast and Furious - went south in a hurry - no pun intended. The damning information seems to be coming from a congressional probe spearheaded by Rep. Darrell 'Subpoena' Issa.
ATF to resign
Kenneth Melson is expected to resign as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in the next day or two with the agency facing scrutiny over the controversial "Fast and Furious" anti-gun trafficking operation that cost the life of a border agent, CNN's Terry Frieden reports..........Mr. Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) are leading the congressional probe of Fast and Furious, which came to light after an Arizona shootout in December that killed a U.S. border agent. Two assault weapons bought in a gun shop that was part of the operation were found at the scene. The shooter and the gun used to kill the agent haven't been identified. A Mexican national is charged in the shootout.
Here's some additional background on the Fast and Furious Operation: (Wikipedia Warning)
Operation Fast and Furious
I don't know what to think about this actually. My reading of these events seem to point to the ATF head being an egotistical jack-ass and that the whole operation itself appears to have been a bad idea from the outset, poorly implemented and with disastrous results:A dead Border Agent, killed by one of their guns. I tend to think that this is more a reflection of the agency rather than the President of his policies. It would seem to dovetail with the some of the idiocy of the ATF over the last year - the "90 percent of firearms used by Mexican Cartels were bought in the U.S." canard that they were screaming about seems right up the alley of this whole operation.
Anyway, just curious about people's thoughts were on this. Sorry that I can't find a lot more links - the majority of those people talking about this tend to be right-wing and rabid.
Update: Yes, Issa's a Rep not a Senator. Missed that entirely.