Woordward's Revitalization

Bob Woodward's recent disclosure that he, in fact, was among the very first to know Plame's name, and that his source was not Scooter Libby, has, according to AMERICABlog, counteracted his attempts to dismiss the Plame Affair's relevance. In fact, it has sent the hunters back into the labyrinth on the search for the minotaur at the center - exactly the opposite effect Woodward's dismissive analyses seem to have been espousing.

As Atrios has so deftly documented, Woodward has been dismissive of the Plame story -- that is, before we knew he was actually involved in it. Now, he has singlehandedly guaranteed that the story will stay in the news with a whole new round of guessing of who told him. The White House can't love that [...]

Mr Woodward's source was carefully dodged here:

A senior administration official said that neither President Bush himself, nor his chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., nor his counselor, Dan Bartlett, was Mr. Woodward's source. So did spokesmen for former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; the former director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet; and his deputy, John E. McLaughlin.

A lawyer for Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff who has acknowledged conversations with reporters about the case and remains under investigation, said Mr. Rove was not Mr. Woodward's source.

Mr. Cheney did not join the parade of denials. A spokeswoman said he would have no comment on a continuing investigation. Several other officials could not be reached for comment.

Now. The Right loves Woodward's after-the-last-minute admission because they think it vindicates Libby and refutes his Indictments, and essentially cuckolds Fitz and his entire investigation. The point for refuting the charges has past- they need to war against the reasons for the investigation.

This is, of course, ridiculous. Here's four reasons why, according to the AntiC:

1. It reinvogorates interest in the investigation- it does not pull interest away. There are, currently, no more SCOTUS openings or controversies to pursue, so the best attempt on the Right currently is full-out battle against Fitz.
2. Libby was not indicted over outing Plame. His charges all stem from attempts to willfully inhibit the investigation during the investigation. The language and charges could not be more clear- so when those Righties attempt to tell you that he's been vindicated for the leak, just say "That may be so. But what about those other 5 things he was charged for, that may contribute to his imprisonment for the next 20 years?"
3. Libby's indictment does not claim he's the first person to leak the name of Valerie Plame. In fact, it states that he is the first "known" person to have done so at the time of the indictment. Woodward's insights only reopen this investigation further. It remains to be seen whether they don't actually harm Libby for further obstructions assisting/covering for whomever the initial leaker was.
4. Fitz never said his intention was to charge for the leak- he stated clearly that his job was to determine if a crime has been committed and prosecute for that crime.

So who thinks this is "good?" Well, nobody. Libby's lawyers are attempting to use it as leverage to feed any controversy or confusion going into trial. The more confused the jury is, the more it helps your client. The Right is trying to use it to invalidate the supposed reasons for the investigation. But this is just silly- the investigation is not over, nobody's been indicted for the reasons that they say have been disputed by Woodward's new admissions.

Their attempts to spin this are simply attempts to control the spin to their advantage- something they've only been able to accomplish in the past by misdirection ["Oh, Look! A New Good/Bad/Conservative/Underqualified/Excellent SCOTUS nominee who Loves/Hates abortion!"], something they cannot do know. But it's not a good thing for them. None of this investigation is.

And they know it.

And by the way, The Washington Post is relatively upset that their starchild reporter/editorjust sat on this vital information for 2 years while one of the largest scandals unfolded in the top tiers of The Administration. This is, of course, the kind of secret Woodward had build his career upon in the Nixon era- and it has become the kind of secret he keeps in order to protect that career... simply reeks of ethical, journalistic, political conflicts of interest.

Also, check out Arianna's 15 Questions for Bob.

But it's okay, Bobby [and The Administration!] Hang in there!