SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/233352_karlxed.asp
Leaking Standard: No pal left behind
Thursday, July 21, 2005
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
President Bush likes to talk about high standards, accountability and
personal responsibility. While Bush expects students, school systems and
future retirees to toe the line, his friends get an easier deal.
Consider White House political strategist Karl Rove, now implicated in off-
the-record discussions that preceded the exposure of a CIA officer's
identity. Viewed in the best light, Rove was engaged in leaking information
about national security for the political purpose of making the president's
sales pitch for the Iraqi invasion appear to have been honest. Whether Rove
did anything illegal, he did exactly what the White House repeatedly said
he had never done. Rove offered the media information about Valerie Plame's
role at the CIA after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson,
criticized the administration's attempts to connect Saddam Hussein with
weapons of mass destruction. And Rove's conduct met the standard for
removal from his post that the president laid down in 2004 when he promised
to fire anyone involved in the leak.
Now that Rove's involvement in leaking information has been confirmed, the
president has decided to modify that pledge. Bush let it be known on Monday
that he would fire any staffer who "committed a crime."
Schoolchildren, take note. There will still be high standards for you, your
teachers and your schools. But at the White House, the rule is a little
different: No pal left behind. Unless, of course, he is an out-and-out
criminal. That's quite a standard.
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