With the indictment of Scooter Libby, the strategy of the Bush administration has been to change the subject. (The White House staff is probably saying, "What indictment? No. Look over here at the nice nominee." or "Don't talk about Scooter, let's talk pandemic".)
In order to distract the public and the media from the discussion of an indicted W.H. staff member, the president marched out his new Supreme Court nominee on Monday morning. On Tuesday, in an effort to try to control the news, the president gave a speech about the avian flu. According to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, the president said the word "pandemic" seventy-six times. This evening, Senator Tom Harkin said that Bush's avian flu proposals resembled the same items that were passed by the Senate LAST WEEK. Sen. Harkin said that the president cut over $100 million from state and local health agencies. The senator said if the president really cares about the health of Americans, he'd restore the cuts to the health agencies.
A Georgia TV station has an interesting report about Karl Rove:
"A Southern Baptist leader says the White House called him with advance notice that President Bush would nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.The Reverend Richard Land says Karl Rove called him less than an hour before the president's announcement Monday morning. The head of the Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission says he told Rove that he thought some conservatives had been too hard on him and Harriet Miers. Land says Rove appreciated that, but said he wanted Land to know that Bush had chosen Alito instead."
Despite being under investigation by the special prosecutor, Karl Rove is still at work influencing the president and his political supporters. Why should he remain in such a position if the president promised that anyone who was responsible for the leak would be fired? How long will we need to wait?
Update:Americablog has a great suggestion on how to thank Sen. Harry Reid. Senator Reid should be thanked for standing up today to force the GOPers to investigate the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq.
