Scott McClellan finally decided to come clean (too late), and admit to something that I've been preaching for very near three years now. Back when Scooter Libby took the rap as scapegoat for Bush and Co., I still was saying it. I wanted to say it publicly back then, but had to remain satisfied with merely mentioning Karl Rove (I was a new columnist, and didn't want to scare the editor in my first run.) But, I knew it from the start that there was no way that a CIA operative was outed without the knowledge of the president, even in the Bush administration.
Although many (including myself) are saying that for the most part, these revelations are too little, too late, it begs an interesting question. Is there any chance that anyone will have to nerve to call a spade a spade, and begin impeachment proceedings? In my lifetime (although the first was before I was old enough to understand), there has been a resignation to avoid impeachment and one impeachment of a president. One was for wiretapping, and the other for getting a blow job in the oval office. When set against the actions of the current administration - wiretapping is commonplace regardless of reason now, and there is little chance of the latter happening now without a financial transaction involved - both pale in comparison.
When making the argument about how wrong the entire Plame affair was, I consistently put one question to the Bush-ites. If a general citizen of the U.S. found out the true identity of a CIA operative, and leaked it to anyone (let alone the press), what would happen? Answer: That person would promptly be taken into Federal custody, charged with conspiracy and treason, and would be facing the death penalty. Now, that penalty was on the books long before the Patriot Act was even a consideration.
So, are these revelations really "too little, too late"? The primary problem is that the media has systematically minimized the importance of the various crimes committed by the Bush administration over the years. They have been asleep at the wheel - a charge that is nothing new, but no less important. True, McClellan is coming out now for the benefit of his own pocketbook instead of for the benefit of the people, but there's nothing stopping the press from demanding action from Congress. There is nothing stopping the people from doing the same. If what McClellan has revealed is the truth, "impeach Bush" should be more than a graphic on bumper stickers and t-shirts - it should be the mantra of the people. It's all well and good to point out what's wrong, but if it goes unpunished, all the talk in the world will just place the people in the same negative light as Bush to historians. Call me stupid, but I don't think I want to be part of the brain-dead generation that stood by and watched.