McClellan argued the release of the declassified information was very different from what he called the potentially damaging leak of information about Bush's domestic eavesdropping program which aims to track phone calls and e-mails in the United States to suspected terrorists abroad.
"Democrats who refuse to acknowledge that distinction are simply engaging in crass politics," he said.
Did any of the reporter ask Scott why Libby leaked only part of the analysis instead of the whole thing, including the parts expressing reservations about aluminum tubes, etc.? if the White House line is going to be that leaking part of an anlysis (but only the part that fits their argument) somehow improves the national debate, they are going to be tarred over it.
What would have improved the National Debate would be for the White House to have simply turned it all over, openly and honestly, and let the American People make their own judgements. If, as McClellan said, the information did not need to be classified anymore, then why not just present the whole thing openly, the good and the bad together? I think this would have ultimately been a better result for the President. If Joe Wilson was blowing smoke, the Administration could have said "look, here is what we had to work with".
Why set Libby up secretly as "former white house staffer"? |
