October 12, 2003

Bush too unruffled by CIA leak
From an OpEd in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

President Bush seems oddly complacent about the fact that one or two of his top people may have intentionally exposed an undercover CIA agent, compromising that agent's work, safety and undercover contacts.

That's an incredibly serious matter, and the continued presence of such a person in the White House ought to worry the president immensely. The fact that the exposure was an act of petty, mean-spirited political revenge against a political opponent ought to outrage him, particularly given his pledge to restore integrity to the White House.

But apparently it doesn't. Bush has shown no sign of anger at the leak and, in fact, has publicly suggested that he doesn't think an investigation will succeed in finding the culprit. That doesn't concern him much either.

Bush, by his apparent indifference, sends the disturbing message to his staff that such behavior is no big deal. That reveals more about his administration than all the investigators in the world ever could.

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