Joe in DC:

It's really amazing that the press corps doesn't just break in to laughter when Bush gets like sanctimonious about leaks.

They aren't programmed to laugh.

Hail Dubyus!

Somebody ruined Fitzmas:

op White House aide Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Tuesday, lifting a heavy burden from one of President Bush's most trusted advisers....

Fitzgerald called Luskin late Monday afternoon to tell him he would not be seeking charges against Rove. Rove had just gotten on a plane, so his lawyer and spokesman did not reach him until he had landed in Manchester, N.H., where he was to give a speech to state GOP officials.

"In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation," Luskin said. "We believe the special counsel's decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr. Rove's conduct."

Well, it seems clear that Mr. Rove's conduct placed partisanship over national security; that it didn't rise to the level of a crime-- or that Fitzgerald was unable to muster enough evidence to form an airtight indictment-- does little to exonerate him. What is already publicly known is damning enough: the White House, with the complicity of some of the most prominent journalists in the nation, waged a retributive campaign against a political enemy and outed an undercover CIA officer out of petty revenge. That's not speculation, that's fact. And Mr. Rove's conduct will be judged by history, if not by a jury.

In short, enjoy the exoneration, Carl. It may be the last piece of political good news you hear for a while.

Is he or is he not a target of Fitzgerald's investigation? Conflicting reports have circulated all day, and tomorrow's WaPo doesn't shed much light-- and claims that Rove himself is in the dark:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove sought to convince a federal grand jury yesterday that he did not provide false statements in the CIA leak case, testifying for more than three hours before leaving a federal courthouse unsure whether he would be indicted, according to a source close to the presidential aide.