November 16, 2005

11/16: And The Name Of The Star Is Called Woodward

The collection of controversies generally known as "Plamegate" had virtually disappeared as a big subject since the indictment of Scooter Libby, SCOTUS nomination of Samuel Alito and Dem offensive on pre-war WMD intel. Well, today the issue is back. Washington Post reports that Bob Woodward was "casually" told by about ex-Amb. Joe Wilson's wife being a "CIA analyst" on WMD "senior administration official" about a month before the fact was disclosed by reporter-columnist Bob Novak.

In other news, the company formerly known as Pajamas Media goes online today -- and is holding its launch event morning panel at deadline, conservative bloggers consider the Senate's vote to require reports on Iraq progress, the "bridge to nowhere" is defunded, and a VA GOV campaign manager fires off an angry e-mail to a would-be ally.

PLAMEGATE: The Man Who Fell To Earth?

The Post report, headed "Woodward Was Told of Plame More Than Two Years Ago," seems to have almost everyone's head spinning to some extent. Many simply link to the story, but don't add much comment. Others report their stunned state before saying more: Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum: "I can't begin to make sense of this. The only thing that's clear is that Mr. X must have had some reason to suddenly come clean, and that reason must have had something to do with [prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald's ongoing investigation. Perhaps Mr. X is a cooperating witness, or perhaps he's someone who started to feel some heat and decided to come forward because he got scared. Who knows?" The Anonymous Liberal: "It's hard to even put into words how strange a development this is."

>> More from the left, which as yet seems to have more to say about it -- The Note's Steve Clemons writes that "Woodward's celebrity-status has seriously blinded him and affected his judgment about quality journalism and his responsibilities to the public. He should never have been making such comments on television about the Plame case if he was, in fact, involved." War and Piece's Laura Rozen, who compares Woodward's freedom at the Post to Judy Miller's at the Times: "Several colleagues I discussed this with disparaged my comparison, telling me that Woodward had shown himself to be a far more consummate pro than Miller throughout the years. No doubt." But she recalls hearing about Woodward's book "Bush at War": "[I]t was full of highly classified information the Bush administration had apparently passed to Woodward, because they thought it would make Bush look good. Some Senators had actually tried to get this referred to the CIA for another leak investigation, but it didn't go anywhere, because the CIA recognized that someone very high up in the Bush administration had authorized these leaks to Woodward." Firedoglake makes the same comparison, calling him "Mr. Run Amok." Although not from the left per se, so does The Moderate Voice. Whiskey Bar's Billmon nicknames him "Judy Woodward," and Photoshops together a (truly hideous) representation of that concept. At BOPnews, Stirling Newberry just heads it: "Woodward Lied about Plamegate." The Left Coaster: "On the surface, this appears to be an effort by Libby and Cheney and the third senior administration official to undercut Fitzgerald by undermining a key claim in the indictment that Libby was the first government official to reveal Plame's identity to a reporter. But as the Post piece states, this does nothing to get Libby off the hook for the issues Fitzgerald indicted him for." Daily Kos' Armando quotes from the story, Woodward says he told Post reporter Walter Pincus about Plame, but Pincus "said he does not recall Woodward telling him that. In an interview, Pincus said he cannot imagine he would have forgotten such a conversation around the same time he was writing about Wilson. 'Are you kidding?' Pincus said. '"I certainly would have remembered that.'" Adds Armando: "Sorry Bob, your credibility is shot. Walter Pincus gets the nod in a big way here. Question is why are you making that part up? The gossip angle?" Pandagon: "The formerly-straight-shooting Woodward has been slagging prosecutor Fitzgerald and downplaying the significance of the leak all this time as a talking head, which amounts to propaganda for the Bush Administration. Now we know why he did it - it clearly wasn't in his best interest to spin it truthfully." The Next Hurrah's Emptywheel writes, "maybe the reason Fitzgerald didn't hit Libby with the full force of the Espionage Charges that are obviously just beneath the surface of Libby's perjury indictment is because he wanted to smoke out all the journalists that Libby would produce as evidence that, either he's an idiot, or he's an idiot."

>> From the right -- Betsy Newmark: "So, if Woodward and Pincus both testify to different memories of their conversations, how is that different from Libby and Russert both testifying to different memories of their conversations? If we can believe that the great Bob Woodward is misremembering when he told someone something, isn't it possible that Tim Russert could misremember something, too?" Power Line points out that Wilson's wife was, so far as the article says, "unnamed" to him. Captain's Quarters: So much for the covert status of Valerie Plame. Even the CIA didn't think she worked under cover -- a rather obvious conclusion, given that she went to work rather openly at the Langley facility. Someone will need to remind me why we've spent two years on this investigation, because at the moment it looks like a gigantic waste of time and money." Right-libertarian Bill Quick takes the same point of view: "This whole thing is as evanescent as Ted Kennedy's brain. Millions of dollars spent to investigate a "crime" ginned up by unpatriotic Democrats and their allies in the media, especially the NYT, who are hell-bent to destroy GWB for nothing more than their own political power, moreover, a "crime" those same Democrats knew at the time never happened." Like Power Line, Instapundit turns to conservative Plamegate expert Tom Maguire to make sense of it: "Tom Maguire, call your office! And don't miss the Pincus angle." At Just One Minute, Maguire has plenty: "Based on the Woodward story, we have clear indications that at least one reporter, Woodward, knew about a Wilson and wife connection and kept quiet. Is he the only one? If Fitzgerald lacks for names, we have some here: In addition to [Andrea] Mitchell, Martin Peretz, Hugh Sidey, Cliff May, and General [Paul] Vallely may be worth a chat. ... Fitzgerald blew it -- he had White House phone logs, he had sign in sheets, he had Libby's notes, he had testimony from many, many people, he had two years, and still, somehow, he did not include Bob Woodward on his contacts-of-interest list." Wizbang's Paul: "This has to be an embarrassment for Fitzgerald. It really makes him look like a bumbling Inspector Clouseau."

THE ALITO NOMINATION: Lies, Damned Lies And Job Applications

Think Progress notes that Alito is distancing himself from his '85 DoJ application, saying: "It was different then. I was an advocate seeking a job. It was a political job." Think Progress interprets: "Translation: those weren't my personal views, I was just lying to get a job." Conservative Robert George has a similar take: "I think the current environment makes principled individuals deny who they are. Alito is going to have to downplay his comments to get confirmed -- which means that, just like Clarence Thomas, you have someone who is essentially lying to get on the highest court in the land. ... Everyone swears to 'tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' when they testify, yet members of highest court will say a blatant falsehood to get on it."

At Confirm Them, Carol Platt Liebau disagrees with Washington Post's Marcus, who asserts that justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not "to liberal as Alito is to conservative." Marcus calls Ginsburg a "consensus choice," and cites Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Liebau points out that Hatch is the only example cited, and adds: "I was a Senate staffer at the time, in charge of nominations for the senator for whom I worked. And Marcus is just incorrect in suggesting that Republicans were relatively complacent about the nomination. They weren't. Almost every Republican senator knew what RBG stood for, knew how she would vote on the Court ... and was unhappy about it."

Captain's Quarters observes that the Alito app isn't making waves as some assumed it might have, noting: "This came out in the middle of the dogfight on the 'Bush lied!' meme that has sucked up most of the media oxygen on politics. The Senate vote yesterday on the Warner amendment took up the rest of it, and now the Woodward revelation on the Plame unscandal will probably overshadow Alito all the way to the confirmation hearings."

IRAQ: What We Need Is More Paperwork!

Many conservative bloggers are up in arms over the Senate's overwhelming vote to require the Bush admin to give regular updates on Iraq; as far as we can tell, the lefty bloggers didn't have nearly as much to say about it. Righty Martin's Musings: "Congratulations to the Senate Republicans on passing a resolution today that demonstrated no qualities of being resolute." Conservative Daily Pundit: "Those fools -- including those Republican fools -- who are hoping for a complete withdrawal of all American troops are objectively advocating surrender in the war on terrorism." Conservative Ankle Biting Pundits: "Once again, the Democrats are essentially running the Senate. And, sadly, this time it appears the Republicans have no interest in staying to fight." Conservative Power Line: "To the Democrats' cowardice the Republicans have added the stench of panic." Conservative Hugh Hewitt: "GOP Senators who wake up this morning to discover stacks of angry phone messages and e-mails have a stark choice: Keep their collective heads low and wait for the furor to pass, or quickly admit an enormous mistake was made, one which they regret and will not repeat."

But Captain's Quarters doesn't agree: "It doesn't have to be a net negative for Bush to come to the Senate to present his side of the story ... Given the frustration many in the GOP feel with the White House in communicating all the good that our intervention has created, it sounds like a very good idea indeed, one that might be cast as a long-overdue bullhorn." CQ updates to defend his position: "I am no great fan of the Senate GOP leadership, but when faced with an increasingly skeptical public, a more or less silent White House, and the Democratic initiative to force a timetable from Bush, this might be the best of a bad situation."

Moderate Joe Gandelman: "In reality, the message sent by the GOPers, in a bipartisan vote, amounted to the GOP leadership 'stealing the thunder' of the Democrats who had been pressing for just this."

Matt Singer at Sirotablog, on the failed vote for a specific timetable: "The move forced the GOP to put forward an alternative that still demands more accountability from the Administration, proving that even putting up a fight can result in far better policy." He notes that 39 Dems and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) voted for it. "That makes Lincoln Chafee a better vote for responsible foreign policy than Democrats like Joe Lieberman." And, he adds: "Every single Democrat in the Senate eyeing a run for the Presidency voted correctly this morning."

More on '08 fallout from the previously cited Hugh Hewitt post: "This is also a moment of huge opportunity for Rudy Giuliani and Governor Mitt Romney: The vast majority of the Republican rank and file want a clear declaration of support for victory in the GWOT. Incredibly, and I suspect and hope fleetingly, Virginia Senator George Allen left himself open to being flanked on this issue."

BUSH: 43 Is The Loneliest Number

Washington Times' Insight reports in a header: "Bush rarely speaks to father, 'family is split.'" In a "flash" report, Matt Drudge reports that Bush "maintains daily contact with only four people": first lady Laura Bush, his mother Barbara Bush, Sec/State Condoleezza Rice and Undersec/State Karen Hughes. The sources also say that Mr. Bush has stopped talking with his father, except on family occasions." AMERICAblog: "So basically Bush is melting down. ... It honestly sounds like he's losing control. And he's in charge of our country. Not just worst president ever. But quickly becoming scariest president ever." Political Animal: "Needless to say, all of these stories are sourced anonymously and there's no telling if there's any truth to any of them. But who are these sources? At the very least, there seem to be a fair number of people who can be plausibly labeled "insiders" and who are gleefully passing along rumors of serious presidential angst. What's going on?" Daily Kos' Hunter: "This is a president who even in the best of times is insular, out of touch, and completely unwilling to have alternative points of view brought to him. Now, according to administration sources he's kicked out everyone else in his Oval Treehouse except for his mom, and three people who remind him of his mom?"

Conservative Brian Maloney, subbing for a book touring Michelle Malkin, asks: "Within the conservative movement, is there a growing sense of malaise? Or is it merely something the other side desperately wants us to feel?" Maloney offers reasons for feeling upbeat -- GOP fundraising is "clobbering" Dems'; if this is Bush's low point, better now than in '06; the '05 contests were "inconclusive; GOPers have "unrealistic expectations; Dems still "offer no clear reason why it deserves to be in power."

PENTAGON: Blogging About This Topic Must Be Torture, Because Even Andrew Sullivan Is Punting

Obsidian Wings follows up on Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) habeas corpus-restricting bill -- which passed 84-4 -- recapping: "What the hell happened? And what will it mean for the people in Guantanamo? No one seems to know. I mean that quite literally: I don't think there is a single person in the country who could tell you with any confidence what effect this bill will have. ... Most of the people who could make the best guess at what this will mean don't want to talk about it."

Marty Lederman, at SCOTUSblog: "I have not had time to review it carefully, let alone to consult with folks who know much more about these matters than I do. But my initial impression is that this bill, if amended, would still cut off numerous sorts of challenges to the Administration's detention policies and practices and GTMO, and would raise innumerable ambiguities and unanswered questions."

SPENDING: Terabithia Will Have A Real Bridge Before Don Young

Club for Growth's Andrew Roth writes this a.m.: "CNBC's Squawk Box is reporting that the “Bridget to Nowhere” has been officially defunded. However, this can only be seen as a small victory. The millions of dollars allocated for this pork project will go to the Alaska state government for them to spend as they see fit... instead of the money going to the Katrina relief effort... or, heaven forbid, back to federal taxpayers." But libertarian Radley Balko says "not so fast": "This is smoke and mirrors. It's a cheap stunt by the GOP to deflect public criticism that doesn't really change much of anything. All the conference committee did was remove the earmark for the bridges. Alaska will still be getting the same obscene amount of money from the federal government, it's just that the state won't be required to use it to build those two particular bridges."

IN THE STATES: You've Got Hate Mail

On 11/15, ex-VA GOV candidate Jerry Kilgore (R) manager Ken Hutcheson sent an angry e-mail to VA Club for Growth pres. Phil Rodokankis over Rodokankis' latest column at Bacon's Rebellion. In part, the column contended that Kilgore was not anti-tax enough. VA blogger Waldo Jaquith posts the Hutcheson e-mail in full, including this: "You see, it's people like [me] who actually get out there and roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty and work the long hours for the cause while folks like yourself and plenty of others like to sit back and type away on your computers and BLOGS, but in reality, each of you is kind of sad and pathetic in your own right." And this: "P.S. Ignoring you and other nutjobs ... was perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of this campaign. We may have lost in the end, but we did so with our dignity and pride intact and our principles firmly in place and by not selling out to you and your merry band of misfits, I am very much at peace with myself." Lefty Jaquith applauds the letter, but adds: "Two points to Ken Hutcheson for bad-ass-ness. Minus one point for bitching about blogs. Minus one point for me for being smacked down by Hutcheson for being 'sad and pathetic in [my] own right.'" Not Larry Sabato writes that Hutcheson has "humiliated himself and destroyed any hopes of ever being seen as credible again." Shaun Kenney: "Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is always an orphan. And this will either mean war, or it should blow over soon. Given that this is Tuesday, expect the mainstream press to play this one up (as they rightly should)."

PAJAMAS MEDIA: Open For Business

Pajamas Media -- the long-awaited, today-launching blog news/advertising/TBA company started by Roger L. Simon and Charles Johnson -- is now Open Source Media. The full list of participating blogs is here. And AP has a story about it. Founder Roger L. Simon, blogging from NYC: "We are seek trademark on the initials OSM and our chances seem good. We tried for osm.com, but that was taken by the Oregon Steel Mills. Maybe osm.org is just as good anyway. We're lucky as it is." Balloon Juice: " I am a member. And nothing will change here, other than the advertising. I promise."

At the NYC launch event, Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds is speaking, as is "Pulitzer prize winner" Judy Miller. The event is available streaming over the net in WMV and Real Audio. Among others speaking at the event were Simon, Johnson, Internet impresario Andrew Breitbart and in the opening panel, shoe-blogger The Manolo. The 2nd panel included Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds, The Nation's David Corn, CNBC's Larry Kudlow, New York Post's John Podhoretz and WSJ's Claudia Rosett.

OSM skeptic Jeff Jarvis listens in, and writes: "I just tuned in from Munich to their Rockefeller Center event and they're into a panel about fashion. The first person says she doesn't blog and thinks blogging is absurd and never reads them and is liberal and feels like Ann Coulter in a room of Democrats. How is this going to be open source? What did they need $3.5 million for once the lunch is paid for? Oh, and by the way, are they paying Judy Miller to speak?" Among non-participants, this concern and confusion about Miller's participation is the general sentiment. Daniel Drezner writes, "this is not an auspicious beginning."

Pajamas Media partner-turned-critic Dennis the Peasant notes: "Someone call or email Christopher Lydon at the real Open Source Media and alert him to the possible trademark infringement by The New Media Formerly Known As Pajamas. Email me results."

Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein, an OSM participating blogger, is pretending to live-blog his trip to NYC; in fact, he is not attending and is just pretending to blog it for fun. For a short while, Philly Inquirer's Blinq was fooled into thinking it genuine.

INTRODUCING: Vote Early And Often

Liberal OH-based Tim Russo of Democracy Guy today launches a new site, Buckeye Politics. He kicks things off with a post summarizing a number of rumors involving GOV candidate/Rep. Ted Strickland (D) and SEN candidate/Rep. Sherrod Brown (D), adding: "Bottom line, this is a lot of clumsy chicanery in a lot of places where Ted & Sherrod have no business sticking their noses, for a couple of guys who by no means are guaranteed to get out of their primaries. After more than a decade in the wilderness, you'd think top-of-the-ticket-wannabe Ohio Democrats would actually wait until they won something before they started playing power politics."

Redstate co-founder and Tacitus blogger Josh Trevino launches a new site: No End But Victory, a non-blog news site geared toward Iraq coverage. He manifests: "The calls for a cut-and-run from Iraq are growing stronger. On this very day, the Democrats and Republicans in the United States Senate have duelling amendments before that body which each, in their own way, fuel the political impulse to abandon Iraq to the murderous elements that would destroy it. This is not a partisan issue. This is not a left- or right-wing issue. This is an American and Iraqi issue, and all men of good faith must now come together to remind our leadership that whatever our politics, and whatever we thought of the decision to go to war, there can be only one end: Victory."

Open today for voting: the 2005 Weblog Awards.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Peer Pressure

Slate's Robert Boynton considers the perils of blogging as an untenured academic -- using as an example soon-to-be-ex-U. Chicago Daniel Drezner, whose blogging may have contributed to their decision not to tenure him. Boynton suggests that the academy's "current antipathy toward blogging may have something to do with the fact that universities have no tools for judging blogs." He suggests that blogs themselves be subject to peer review: "One can imagine a rating system in which visitors to a blog evaluate what they read and leave feedback -- the significance of which is weighted according to what kind of reputation and background they have. A physicist's views would carry more heft on a physicist's blog than on a sociologist's (and vice versa). Someone who has a reputation for leaving serious, informative comments will be ranked higher than the Web surfer who just glances at a few lines before jetting off to the next site."

LEST WE FORGET: Raise Your Hand If You Knew T.O.'s Middle Name Is "Eldorado" (Prior To Reading This Subhead)

Eric Pfeiffer, formerly of The Buzz and contributing to Wonkette, points out that Philly Eagles receiver Terrell Owens getting suspended for the season is just the start of his problems: "As if that weren't bad enough his chief defenders now are professional sports litigation experts Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader. T.O. your season is so over. But Ralph wants to know if you're busy in 2008. With your combined record in big contests, you can't lose."

Posted by at November 16, 2005 12:20 PM