Felons Rn’t Us

President Bush assured the nation yesterday if anyone in his administration committed a crime in connection with the public leak of the identity of an undercover CIA operative, that person will “no longer work in my administration.”

Clarifying the extent of his previous commitment to fire anyone “involved” in the leaking of former CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity, Mr. Bush roiled placid inside-the-Beltway waters, striking fear into the hearts of countless government officials and well-placed lobbyists with a take-no-prisoners threat “to end [this] as quickly as possible. If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.”

Not exactly Harry Truman but, …hey.

In the prospect of doubts about the President’s devotion to the cause of truth (and some semblance of awareness of his authority as the Leader of the Free World), he affirmed for a world anxious to learn how a covert agent of the U.S. government was deliberately unmasked for the purpose of discrediting her husband’s public confirmation of the President’s mendacity –“We have a serious ongoing investigation here, and…it’s best people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. I don’t know all the facts. I want to know all the facts.”

This appears to have been his strategy all along, as he also said, in response to a question about his pledge to fire anyone found to have leaked Ms. Plame’s identity during a press conference a year ago in June, “[it’s] up to the U.S. attorney to find the facts.”

The annals of time are filled with tales of leaders, captains, coaches, prophets –indeed charlatans, con-men, gurus, and petty theifs– who inspired average people to rise beyond their limitations and achieve victory in the face of interminable odds. Mr. Bush, unfortunately, will never find his story recorded therein.

The man is a eunuch non pareil. Who ever heard of an American President who would not demand the head of an administration official found to have compromised the nation’s security for crass political revenge? Who ever heard of an American President who would disavow the notion that He is in charge?

This is what you get when you elect a male cheerleader to run the show.

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