Nice little article in Friday's
WAPO saying yeah, the scandals are getting to the White House. What's different about this article though, is that some sources are
named. How often do you see that? Here's my favorite:
Other White House advisers see politics behind the recent spurt of investigations. "Some of it is cyclical politically," said Leonard A. Leo, who has taken leave as executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society to help promote the Miers nomination. "And some of it, I'll be honest, is when the left and the Democrats are losing the battle of ideas, they turn to manufacturing scandal."
Jump, will ya?
Before anyone else tries to,
I get credit for manufacturing the scandals.
I started with Abramoff, and I cleverly threw some Dems in, to make it look legit:
Twin investigations of Abramoff by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and a multi-agency federal task force appear likely to tar a host of lawmakers the White House has relied on for passage of critical legislative initiatives. At the same time, the House ethics committee, which has been essentially shut down over a staffing dispute, is expected to get back in business and look into allegations against DeLay and nearly a dozen other lawmakers, Democrats included. This is where the Abramoff and unrelated investigations could start to merge.
Yes, I do have the power, in the Republican-ruled Sentate, to do this.
Then I went after Frist:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) deals with a subpoena in an insider-trading investigation
I got the SEC in my pocket.
Who could forget De Lay:
The indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for alleged campaign funding illegalities has thrown Republicans into one of the most tumultuous periods of their 10-year reign and created the prospect of a leadership battle.
Earle's my boy.
My all-time-favorite manufactured scandal?
Several Republicans close to Bush said they believe the CIA leak investigation has taken a particular toll, reducing Rove's role in key decisions and prompting Bush to rely on other, less sure-footed advisers.
In the interest of fairness, of course the WAPO reminds us:
The current atmosphere is not what Bush envisioned as a candidate in 2000. Coming off the Clinton years, which were dominated by seven independent counsel investigations and the impeachment of the president, Bush vowed to run a cleaner and more ethical Washington.
Now, there's some manufactured scandals.
Finally, all the big, still brewing Republican-made scandals coming home to roost. They are scared of the Abramoff investigations, and they're on the floor over the possibility of Plame indictments. They thought they had "let the earthmovers roll over" Plame.
Looks like they're wrong.