But the larger issue has been lost in this entire matter. Why was the truth-impaired buffoon Joseph Wilson Jr., Jr., Jr. (or whatever Roman numeral he is) sent on such an important mission in the first place? I have to agree with Mark Steyn who says:
I don't see that there is anything significant about the Valerie Plame leak that makes this leak so much more important than all the other leaks that have come out...the CIA has been leaking against this president for years, for example. I don't understand why leaking the name of Valerie Plame, which isn't a crime, should be the most important leak ever to come out. The real issue here is that Joe Wilson should never have been sent to Niger on that mission in the first place. The president was right on this. British intelligence, French intelligence, and even a former prime minister of Niger agree that Saddam Hussein was trying to acquire uranium from Niger. Why have we got into a huge criminal investigation, defending some obscure matter relating to the spouse of a buffoon, and an unqualified fraud who basically lied about everything he discovered in Niger?
Until I know why this important mission was assigned to the District Idiot, I can't begin to really care that Libby lied about what he knew, when he knew it, and what reporter he talked to. On principle, he should pay for violating the law--but Wilson, Plame, and the CIA which pretended to do their jobs should be the real issue. Really, the Left used to be upset when the CIA tried to destabilize governments. I guess we have a Bush exception to the rule.
I bet the press won't see it that way. They haven't so far--why should they now?
UPDATE: Somebody linking here complained that I shouldn't have used the word "buffoon" in the title. Started by Steyn, invoked by me, and now a spreading realization (via The Corner) of even the liberal side of the aisle--Wilson is a buffoon: "It's always good to see another liberal come to the realization that Joe Wilson is a buffoon."
Can I get a "heh" from the blogosphere?
