Inside Politics

Case of disloyalty

“From its very start, the ballyhooed case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak has been drenched in partisan politics and media hypocrisy. The more we learn, however, the more it also reveals about the internal dysfunction of the Bush administration and the lack of loyalty among some of its most senior officials,” the Wall Street Journal says in an editorial.

“The latest news is that the Bush official who first disclosed Ms. Plame’s identity was none other than former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. According to a new book by liberal journalists David Corn and Michael Isikoff, Mr. Armitage was Mr. Novak’s primary source for his now famous column of July14, 2003, that first publicly revealed Ms. Plame’s CIA pedigree,” the newspaper noted.

“In other words, the leaker wasn’t Karl Rove or Scooter Libby or anyone else in the White House who has been accused of running a conspiracy against Ms. Plame as revenge for her husband Joe Wilson’s false accusations against the White House’s case for war with Iraq. So what have the last three years been all about anyway? Political opportunism and internal score-settling, among other things.

“Mr. Armitage, recall, was part of Colin Powell’s team at State and well-known as an internal administration opponent of the ’neo-cons’ who supported the ouster of Saddam Hussein. The book alleges that Mr. Armitage knew as early as October 2003 that he was Mr. Novak’s prime source, yet he kept quiet about it even as his colleagues in the administration were dragged through years of criminal investigation and media accusations as the possible leaker.”

Case of disloyalty II

“So now we know what we’ve pretty much known all along about the CIA-leak case: The leaker was Richard Armitage,” the editors of National Review write at www.nationalreview.com.

“A new book by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, ’Hubris: the Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War,’ reports that it was Armitage, the former number-two at the State Department and a confidant of former secretary of state Colin Powell, who told columnist Robert Novak about Valerie Plame — thus setting off the CIA leak ’scandal’ and a years-long investigation,” the magazine said.

“Today, nearly three years on, we are basically right where we started. There’s a lot of blame to go around. First up is Armitage. There was absolutely nothing illegal about the original leak he committed, but he chose to remain silent while others — principally [Karl] Rove and [Lewis ’Scooter’] Libby — endured years of accusations in the press. (Armitage’s close friend Colin Powell also deserves a dishonorable mention for keeping quiet after learning of Armitage’s role.)

“The administration’s leftist adversaries in and out of government who have spent years shrieking ’traitor’ should be ashamed of themselves. Likewise, the New York Times editorial board, which screamed for an investigation until it got bit on the backside in the form of the media subpoenas.”

Losing the middle

“$23,700. That is the household income level at which a white person became more likely to vote for a Republican over a Democrat in congressional races in 2004,” Anne Kim, Adam Solomon and Jim Kessler write in the Democratic Strategist (www.thedemocraticstrategist.org).

“That’s $5,000 above the poverty line for a family of four, less than half the median income of the typical voting household of all races, and an emphatic repudiation of all things Democratic among the white middle class. Obtaining a sustainable Democratic majority in either house will be impossible unless there is a significant change in this economic tipping point,” the writers said.

“To solve this problem, Democrats must first realize that they have a problem — no, actually a crisis — with the middle class. Democrats — the self-described party of the middle class — have not won the middle-class vote in at least a decade. Among all voters with $30,000 to $75,000 in household income, Bush bested Kerry by 6 points and congressional Republicans won by 4 points. …

“The second step is to admit that our deficit is as much due to economic disconnects as cultural and national security disconnects. That may be harder for Democrats to swallow. Many believe the middle class have been duped by a what’s-the-matter-with-Kansas scheme in which clever conservatives trick the beleaguered middle class to vote against their own economic interests through the use of irresistible cultural wedge issues and national security concerns.”

Broadcast flap

Three congressional Democrats yesterday asked President Bush to dismiss the head of the agency that oversees government broadcasts abroad, who is accused of misusing government money, overbilling for his time and hiring a friend as a consultant, the Associated Press reports.

A summary of a report by the State Department’s inspector general released Tuesday said Kenneth Tomlinson misused government funds for two years as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other U.S. government broadcasting abroad.

“We urge you to immediately remove Mr. Tomlinson from his position and to take all necessary steps to restore the integrity of the Broadcasting Board of Governors,” Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Reps. Howard L. Berman and Tom Lantos of California wrote to the president.

Mr. Tomlinson said the investigation was “inspired by partisan divisions inside the BBG.”

Investigators found that Mr. Tomlinson signed invoices worth about $245,000 for a friend without the knowledge of other board members or staff. Mr. Tomlinson also used the board’s office resources to support his private horse-racing operation and is said to have overbilled the organization for his time, in some instances billing both the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the same time worked.

On charges of using government funds for his horse farm, he said: “I am confident that I spent far more time on broadcasting responsibilities at my farm and my private residences than I spent on my horses at the office.”

Gingrich vs. Pelosi

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said yesterday the thought of Democrat Nancy Pelosi becoming the next leader of the House and third in line to the presidency is frightening.

“The prospect of her bringing San Francisco values and a whole attitude on foreign policy that is, I think, an attitude of weakness and appeasement and surrender, I think, would be a disaster for the country,” the Republican said in Columbia, S.C.

Mr. Gingrich said keeping power out of the hands of Mrs. Pelosi, the House minority leader, and other Democrats is one of the reasons he was in South Carolina this week raising money for the GOP, the Associated Press reports.

• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.