Woodward and Hadley?

Woodward and Hadley communicated in June about Plame's role in sending her hubby on the snipe hunt to Niger before Lewis Libby mentioned her to several reporters in July, 2003, according to The Times of London, still owned by Rupert Murdoch by my understanding.

The reason I mention Murdoch is that I suspect that the Dark Lord of the Conservative Press may have an interest in keeping the story simmering. The explanation of Maguire and Newsweek which I agree with is that Richard Armitage, Undersecretary of State and longtime Woodward source, may have mentioned this factoid to Woodward before it became the latest shout-out from the nitrous-oxide giddy-freaks on the Left [You know who you are, Barbra!].

Armitage simply doesn't fit the bill as a Lord Valdemort of the Right, epitomized by Karl Rove and his supporting cast of neo-con hench-people. Indeed, Armitage has OPPOSED much of the empire-building engineered by Doug Feith of the shadow-CIA in the Pentagon and Dick Armitage supported Colin Powell in Powell's good soldier policies---these two gentlemen are not the target of the substance-abusing political commissars pushing a conspiracy agenda in Plamegate.

No, Armitage just won't do as Woodward's source.

Not for the Hollyweird Left and perhaps not for the Murdoch myrmidons on the Right. Rupert may have several reasons to keep the pot boiling. First, any dust-up that makes the Left look like it's overreaching and perhaps foolish pleases the Foxy Right. The Plame Affair is just too tattered and it now looks a bit like the rabid MSM is pushing a peanut with its nose down the middle of the street. For instance, Plame herself had not been under covert cover for more than five years, which means she is not covered by the statute. Libby got mousetrapped by an overzealous Torquemada, not nailed in a conspiracy to defame egregious showboat Joe Wilson.

Second, keeping Fitzgerald on an eternal quest allows the President his "I won't comment on an ongoing investigation" standard line.

Third, the shelf life of these perennial snipe hunts is shorter than the American public's support for any military conflict the US gets into---about two years. So the Democrats may have to look for another process-oriented imbroglio to invent and propagate, much as they did with the Wilson/Plame Affair. There are plenty of narcissistic careerist spotlight seekers like Richard Clarke and Joseph Wilson just waiting in the wings to strut out with their own process horror story. [The Democrats can't have a scandal on substance since their philosophy abhors principles based on permanent values.]

Anyhow, Hadley is enjoying his fifteen minutes so far and may extend them, much as Wilson has as he now embarks on speaking tours and is doubtless negotiating a book deal. Ski bum, druggie, diplomat, much-married, the Wilson saga begs to be told.

Another reason the Murdoch minions may be pushing forward alternate sources for Woodward lies in keeping the easily-distracted Dems eyes off the ball, which of course is the Alito nomination. Although even the Democrats may be realizing that their histrionic hysterics could be becoming a bit tedious as the country begins to tire of spasms from the Left.