October 19, 2005

10/19: Hannah And His Brothers

The blogosphere's in a holding pattern, at least topically: the CIA leak probe and Harriet Miers SCOTUS nod continue to dominate the landscape -- Especially the leak investigation. Anticipation is running high all around, from those on the left, who are eager enough for indictments that they've been studying the sentencing statutes, to those on the right, who just want the whole thing over with.

In today's edition, we also bring you the latest installment in our occasional series on political blog ads, "Political Money Blog."

And for those of you keeping score at home, today we retire our "Rove-Plame-Miller-Libby" slug. It's been good to us, just as "Rove-Plame-Miller" did for awhile, not to mention "Rove-Plame" before that, and very early on, simply "Rove." Instead we go back to the old standby, "Plamegate." Which is probably what we should have stuck with in the first place.

PLAMEGATE I: Bear Bryant Would Be So Disappointed

Lefty news site Raw Story reported last p.m., "Individuals familiar with" special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's case say ex-aide to now-UN Amb. John Bolton at State/VP Cheney dep. CoS John Hannah "was told in recent weeks that he could face imminent indictment for his role in leaking [Valerie] Plame-Wilson's name to reporters unless he cooperated with the investigation. Others close to the probe say that if Hannah is cooperating with the special prosecutor then he was likely going to be charged as a co-conspirator and may have cut a deal." More: "Hannah's involvement will not come as a surprise. Wilson pointed to Hannah as a possible leaker" in his book, naming him along with fellow VP office official David Wurmser. As of 7:00 a.m. EST, Drudge Report had nothing on the Hannah story. Left-leaning War and Piece posts an excerpt from DC's insider Nelson Report, saying the "hot gossip" is that Fitzgerald "may have sent" a target letter to Hannah. "According to sources which have been right from time to time, Hannah has told associates he has been forced to cut a deal, and that they think this includes testifying against" Libby. Josh Marshall, who also posts this excerpt, comments: " "A number of well-placed sources are now saying this. But there are logistical and inter-personal mysteries raised by Hannah's claimed cooperation that still make the whole picture appear murky to me."

Hannah's a big deal all right, such that when we last checked, "John Hannah" was the #1 search on Technorati. "Cheney" is in the top 10, and various Plamegate words (Rove, Miller) have been on the list throughout the week.

And even a few conservative bloggers are taking notice: JustOneMinute locates and summarizes a 12/15/03 Newsweek report that Hannah "was a conduit for intel from Ahmed Chalabi and the INC." He adds: "But so was Judy Miller! Might he be a source about whom Judy did not want to be questioned? ... One presumes that the possible connections between Hannah and Miller are endless." Righty Ace of Spades HQ: "I don't know enough about them, and their vague sourcing gives pause, but they weave a pretty good tale on how Hannah would tie in with" Miller's "curious" jail visitor, Bolton.

PLAMEGATE II: The '08 Switch?

One of the biggest stories on 10/18 p.m. was the U.S. News-floated rumor that Cheney would resign and Pres. Bush would appoint Sec/State Condoleezza Rice to VP. Via Radioblogger, U.S. News' Paul Bedard appeared on Hugh Hewitt's talk show with guest host/ex-Defense Undersec. Jed Babbin, where Bedard conceded there's "probably not a lot to it." Bloggers don, but more than a few are willing to weigh the consequences:

From the left -- Rook's Rant is one of the credulous few: "Ok, someone hit me with a bat. Seriously. ... Despite all the resulting pain and physical damage it would still be more pleasurable then having to think of Condi as Vice President. Honestly, could she even survive the 'who could have imagined' line about 9/11 being brought up in questioning during the Senate confirmation hearing?" Shakespeare's Sister: "The funny thing is that I've been predicting for a long time that Cheney would resign during the second term so they could set up Condi for an '08 run, but I always thought the excuse would be his literal bad heart, not his figurative one." Steve Gilliard: "Rice is an empty suit, and people keep wanting to push her, mainly because she's black and Republican. Promoting her would be like letting Donna Brazile run another campaign." Bow-tied Michael Froomkin: "My only contribution to this fest is this: Rather than ask, 'Will Cheney resign if indicted,' far better to ask, 'Will Cheney resign if named as an unindicted co-conspirator.'" Liberal MyDD: "This would make every Republican blogger's dream come true."

From the right -- The Political Teen: "Two things: (1) Just about everyone in DC has been affiliated with this now infamous garbage we call a 'leak.' Liberals need to pick and choose their arguments; they also need to pick and choose the people they smear. (2) Cheney is not stepping down. Bush needs Cheney and Cheney needs Bush." Professor Bainbridge, who is semi-credulous: "In which case, she becomes the frontrunner for 2008. Wouldn't that be the proverbial kick in the head? ... Anyway, while I admire the Secretary, she's too much of a Bushite on foreign policy and too liberal on social issues for my taste, but your mileage may vary. And I remain open to persuasion." Outside the Beltway: "Well, gee whiz. ... This thing has dragged on for years now and it seems that all we have is two senior White House advisors telling reporters that Joe Wilson got the job because his wife, a CIA officer, suggested he be hired. And for that we'll have a political shakeup of a level not seen since Watergate? I don't think so."

PLAMEGATE III: Keep The Salt Handy

Even without an Espionage Act indictment, liberal atty Jeralyn Merritt points out that sentences could be very steep: "I would guess anyone indicted in this case is looking at a minimum of hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Many will be tempted to cut their losses now, particularly if they can plead to a misdemeanor, rather risk a felony conviction and mortgage their families' future. ... This is the week that all of the subjects facing Indictment will be faced with their "come to Jesus" moment. Spouses will be telling them to cut their losses and think of the family. ... My experience tells me that only those who truly believe they are innocent -- and those whom Fitzgerald advises are looking at felonies and jail time even with a deal -- will hold out." On 10/7, lefty Velvet Revolution had looked at the statutes, and concluded life in prison would be possible for some.

Liberal film producer Jane Hamsher reports on the leaking of Libby's curious "aspens are turning" letter to Miller -- encouraging her to testify, but as many suspect, possibly also coaching her testimony -- which Fitzgerald "had in fact asked not to see," and so Libby probably "wrote his saccharine prose thinking that Fitzgerald would never lay eyes on it." But who leaked it? Hamsher had thought the Times had done so, "since the letters demonstrate that she did, in fact, seek a waiver from Libby, contrary" to what Libby atty Tate was saying. But now, "a source" at the Times confirms to her that the letter, and a couple related ones, "did in fact come to them via an outside leak. According to the person who wishes to remain anonymous, the documents were in circulation and available to 'journalists working on the story' as early" as 9/29, the day of Miller's release from jail. She writes: "Who leaked the letters? Nobody who knows is telling." But one plausible theory is that "when Bennett received Libby's letter he realized he had a hot potato in his lap. If he didn't turn it over to Fitzgerald, his client might be looking at serious obstruction charges if it was ever discovered."

Conservative Mark Kilmer writes, the Washington Post reports that Fitzgerald "has assembled evidence that suggests Cheney's long-standing tensions with the CIA contributed to the unmasking of operative Valerie Plame." Writes Kilmer: "This contradicts Joe Wilson's assertion that it was all about him," but it suggests Cheney had Libby "leak the name of a CIA desk-jockey to enact revenge against an agency for which he didn't care." However, considering that Libby got her specific job wrong, he likely "did not know that Plame was classified." He concludes: "I almost feel bad for these folks. Someone give them a decent scandal."

A contributor to liberal TPM Cafe writes: "I don't have access to Lexis-Nexis, but someone or ones with access should start compiling all the 1998 quotes from conservatives arguing that perjury is a high crime -- and why." Publius at lefty Legal Fiction thinks this is a mistake: "The problem, though, is that Republicans can play that game too. They will pull out quotes from Democrats from the same time period saying that perjury isn't that bad. ... The point being that Democrats are hypocrites. ... Under the hypothetical above, I think the Republicans get it wrong both times. And the reason is context. Perjury -- like all things -- must be viewed in context." The Debate Link adds: "It's the whole 'which is worse, lying about sex or selling weapons to terrorists in Nicaragua' point. ... We should not tolerate attempts to equate the two."

Following a round-up of the latest speculation, The Moderate Voice offers a "CAUTIONARY NOTE TO READERS: The reality is, no one knows a THING until the Special Prosecutor announces his intentions. The worlds of journalism and blogs are littered with logical-sounding predictions and worst/best case scenarios that never happened."

Considering the fiasco this whole thing has been, Wizbang's Kevin Aylward suggests: "Perhaps it's time to look seriously at changing the Presidency to a single 6 year term. You have to go all the way back to the Eisenhower administration to find a two term Presidency that didn't go to hell ... in the final years of their second term. Sure we'd have to live with future Jimmy Carters for a couple extra years, but it might be a gamble worth taking..."

PLAMEGATE IV: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Fitzmas ...

Via Memeorandum, we see that a particular Daily Kos diary has attracted some comment from the right. The post, "Dealing With Fitzmas," is positively exuberant at the possibility of indictments: "Doesn't it feel like the hap-happiest time of the year?? And...and...don't 'cha just feel like you're going to exploooooooooooode?" At The Corner, Byron York points out that the Christmastime theme has been raised at Daily Kos before. Conservative Balloon Juice: "I am now beginning to worry that absent indictments in the Plame affair, our friends on the left are going to do bodily damage to themselves our of rage/agony." Later at the same blog, non-Brat Packer Andy McCarthy jokees: "I knew Pat Fitzgerald before he was a holiday, so hopefully I'm safe. If not, I'll just stay in The Bronx -- Krugman and Kristof will never come for me there!"

However, New York Times reports that not only will Fitzgerald not make an announcement re: whether to indict this week -- there will be no final report. The Left Coaster: "That is an all-or-nothing proposition that frankly has me concerned, given this late date just before the conclusion of this grand jury. Yet the Times correctly points out that even a special prosecutor is limited in what he or she can release publicly if it is the result of secret grand jury deliberations ... The down side of course, as the Times also noted, is that we may never know the full story of the Administration's misbehavior."

THE MIERS NOMINATION: Good Thing For Her This Isn't A Popularity Concert

RedState's Erick Erickson reports: "'We are not in denial. Miers is going to be confirmed,' a White House contact told me. The emphasis in the voice and on 'not' were the emphasis of one who has to believe it true, whether or not it is. ... Privately, some Republican senators are thinking this may just be the time to go on the offensive against the White House. One Senate aide tells me the White House acts like it is in a bunker, oblivious to the reality going on outside. ... Perhaps once Fitzgerald hands down his indictments, should there be any, the staff can regroup and reassess. Right now there is a growing sense among low level staff and others outside the White House that the wheels are starting to slip from the axle of the Miers bandwagon."

As Washington Post's Campaign for the Court relays the AP report about a newly-surfaced '89 TXans United for Life questionnaire where Miers states her support for anti-abortion legis. Ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum, a leader of the anti-Miers conservatives, is troubled that some conservatives -- Hugh Hewitt, a leader of the pro-Miers conservatives, among them -- count this as an argument in her favor: "To the extent that the proponents of the Miers nomination offer any case at all for their nominee, they argue that her religion and her personal views on abortion be treated as relevant information, indeed as decisive information. But if this information is relevant to all judges. In other words, the example of this nomination invites senators" of both the Dem and GOP persuasion "to quiz every Catholic nominee, every Evangelical nominee about their faith and their personal views of morality." Centrist Dinocrat: "That seems to us the worst of all possible worlds: for conservatives, it says nothing about whether she would overturn Roe as a judicial matter; for the Left, it provides an absolutely valid and legitimate opening to question" that she cannot avoid. Right Wing-er John Hawkins: "Note that Souter, who was also a stealth nominee, had a CONSIDERABLY more reassuring resume than Harriet Miers does." On the other hand, there's this from Althouse: "[O]ne of the questions was: 'If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prohibit the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature?' She answered yes. That shows more than a personal view about abortion. She supported ending the right to abortion. "

Judge/ex-SCOTUS nominee/original Borkee Robert Bork is getting some attention from the right for his Wall Street Journal op-ed on the Miers nod: "With a single stroke ... the president has damaged the prospects for reform of a left-leaning and imperialistic Supreme Court, taken the heart out of a rising generation of constitutional scholars, and widened the fissures within the conservative movement." Ed Morrissey calls it a "scathing denunciation" of Bush's SCOTUS approach, "arguing that Bush could hardly have damaged the conservative movement more with the Miers nomination than if he intended to do so -- and Bork more than implies that Bush may well have had just that in mind." Houston's Clear Thinkers, which agrees with Bork, snarks: "But Mr. Bork, what do you really think about the Miers nomination?"

REPUBLICANS: Infight Club

New York Times reported on 10/18, conservative econ. analyst Bruce Bartlett was "dismissed" from the Dallas-based Nat'l Center for Policy Analysis after the center's dir. received a manuscript of Bartlett's forthcoming book, "The Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy." Fellow excommunicated conservative Andrew Sullivan: "I cannot say I'm surprised. Bruce Bartlett is an actual fiscal conservative. ... If I were him, I'd be delighted to be fired for dissent. It's good publicity for his book; and a sign of his integrity. Memo to Bruce: get a blog." Conservative Greg Ransom: "Funny, the NCPA has yet to take down Bartlett's bio page, which still lists him as a 'Senior Fellow.' Bartlett is one of the best in the business, and it would be poetic justice if folks responded to this action by ordering a copy of Bruce's book."

Liberal Matt Yglesias points out that Bush's still-falling poll numbers are from ever-more-dissatisfied Dems and indies, not conservatives, as has been suggested. He adds: "Not only is the rank-and-file still loyal to Bush, but dare I say that the pundits who matter are. Fox News and the talk radio hosts with big audiences are still in his corner. ... If Rupert Murdoch decides to turn on the GOP leadership someday, then that would spell huge trouble for them, but there's no indication that's happening." NYC conservative Karol Sheinin doesn't believe a "conservative crack-up" is in the making, explaining: "Bush haters make people like me Bush lovers. While we have our problems with the man, the unserious left makes sure that we are constantly on the defensive about him. A Republican will say 'I don't like the Miers pick' or 'I think his spending has gotten completely out of hand.' A Bush-hater will reply 'yeah, that's what you get for voting for that idiot chimp, who went to war to profit his Halliburton buddies and take away our Democracy'. So, of course Republicans start defending him against these idiotic attacks and disregard the fact that there is so much they dislike about the Bush presidency."

POLITICAL MONEY BLOG: What Sherrod's Department Has In Store

The latest installment in our long-dormant series covering political blogads:

All-but-announced OH SEN candidate/Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) has bought a series of blogads on a dozen-plus left-leaning blogs, including Eschaton, MyDD and TAPPED. The ad links back to Brown's official non-House site, where he has posted "Open Letter to the Blogosphere". In the letter, Brown lists a number of recent accomplishments by cong. Dems, such as: "We have stopped and probably killed Social Security privatization." Toward the end of the letter: "I will officially kick off my campaign for the United States Senate" sometime before the end of 11/05."

The letter also calls attention to the activist blog he sponsors, Grow Ohio, which provided assistance to ex-House special election candidate Paul Hackett (D-OH). Hackett is now Brown's primary opponent. (For previous coverage on the liberal blogs' split between the 2 candidates, see the 10/6 and 10/7 Blogometers. Once the bloggers supporting/working for the 2 candidates made their decisions, no one has spoken much about it.)

Brown's blogads went up on 10/16; the spot will stay in circulation for approx. 4 weeks. As yet, they don't have an estimate of how much the buy will cost, as the list of blogs being advertised -- where rates run from 100s to 1000s of dollars -- continues to grow. According to Brown spokesperson Joanna Kuebler, blog ads and the blogosphere in general "will be a substantive part of the overall communication's strategy."

For previous installments of this series, see here, here, here and here.

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: So What If He's Happy?

Lefty Pam Spaulding calls out Dem Tim Kaine's campaign for alleged gay-baiting in its latest radio ad, which calls GOPer Jerry Kilgore "too weak to lead" VA, and includes the line: "Jerry Kilgore is not being straight." Spaulding: "The Kaine campaign in my mind is crossing the line. If you have some factual information about Kilgore being a gay hypocrite and not just a homo-bigot with a sissy-boy voice, then out the guy. If you want to just point-blank ask the man if he's gay, do it. Don't do bush-league crap like this. ... Also, what about openly gay candidates that run? Is it OK for an opponent to run ads saying someone is 'weak' if they are effeminate? What about dyke-baiting? Is that OK to do if you're a purportedly pro-gay Dem?"

MIDTERMS '06: Behind Enemy Lines

As Swing State Project points out, Air America producer Josh Orton has created a Fighting Dems page to promote Iraq war vets running for Congress, including OH SEN candidate Paul Hackett, plus House candidates David Ashe (VA), Bryan Lentz (PA) and Patrick Murphy (PA). For coverage of Murphy's appearance at the 1st annual convo of Eschatonians, see the 9/9 Blogometer.

IRAQ: Saddam On The Docket

Power Line's John Hinderaker asked last a.m.: "Is it just me, or has there been astonishingly little interest in the trial of Saddam Hussein, which is scheduled to start tomorrow?" This a.m. when the trial opened, the news nets and bloggers both gave it a fair amount of coverage: In The Bullpen: "Whew. The trial of Saddam Hussein started today and from reports I've read, it was a real doozey. He actually plead 'not guilty' and then court was adjourned until November." Blogs for Bush's Matt Margolis: "I caught some of the coverage of Saddam Hussein's trial this morning... And I began wondering if Saddam Hussein is going to be the next Mumia for the radical left." Michelle Malkin points readers toward MRC's NewsBusters for a "good rundown of Saddam-friendly coverage from the networks." NewsBusters header: "ABC Gives Saddam Hussein Balanced Coverage, Cite Worries He'll Not Get Fair Trial."

DELAY: Big Boxed In?

The Wal-Mart Watch blog points out that Wal-Mart cut a check to ex-House Maj. Leader/Rep. Tom DeLay's cong. cmte in late Sept., around the same time he was indicted by Earle. According to the Wal-Mart PAC's "monthly filing, the transaction with DeLay occurred" on 9/23, but according to Delay's filing, the "check was received" on 9/30 -- after his 9/28 indictment. They ask: "When did Wal-Mart write their check to 'the Hammer'? When did the 'exchange' occur? Did the world's largest corporation have any qualms about funding criminal politicians?"

THE MARCH OF BLOGS: Everybody's Talking

Marshall's Talking Points Memo underwent a redesign last night: at "just shy of five years old... this is either the third or fourth major redesign of the site, this time to put "more real estate on the page" and "incorporate more of what's going on over" at the community site Marshall debuted in early '05, TPMCafe. More changes are on the way, including a TPM Cafe re-design. Just for kicks, he throws in a link to what the Talking Points Memo looked like in late '00.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: No Fair! She Can't Even Respond In Public

In his just-posted Pajamas Media profile, Aussie journalist Tim Blair, by way of a dig on New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, explains the overlooked strengths of blogging: "People wrongly think the benefit of writing online is that you have infinite room to go on, but the true benefit of not being locked into a word count per page is that the writing can be as brief as you can make it. A lot of mainstream journalists could benefit from that. Maureen Dowd, for instance, whose columns I think run to about 850 words, could easily pare her columns down to ten, fifteen or even five words, and that includes the byline."

LEST WE FORGET: Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein is given to brief conversations with the inanimate objects that populate his life, such as his Cherry Coke, sometimes even with horribly deformed historical figures/movie characters, among other recurring series. One of his latest:

"a short conversation with my fourth double martini"

me: 'Man, could I go for some Supertramp right now.'
fourth double martini:
me: 'Or some Styx...'
fourth double martini:
me:
fourth double martini:
me: '... 'Oh Mama I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law --''
fourth double martini: '-- Uh huh. Time to go to bed, brother.'

Don't miss the follow-up: "a short conversation with my hangover"

Posted by at October 19, 2005 12:34 PM