By now you have probably heard about the first alleged Bush scandal. The administration has been charged with leaking the name of a CIA "operative" to the media, a woman who happens to be married to an Administration critic, Joseph Wilson. It is against the law to disclose the names of CIA operatives.
Factually, this is much ado about nothing. The CIA employee was not "covert" and her identity was widely known in Washington, D.C.
Joseph Wilson is hardly an unbiased player. He is a Clinton appointee who has financially supported a number of the current crop of Democrat presidential contenders. He has been affiliated with far left-wing groups that not only opposed the liberation of Iraq, but which also wanted to end the sanctions on Iraq during the Hussein regime.
But the "scandal" is important in this sense - it is a signal that the 2004 campaign will be one of the most bitterly fought in our history. The President's enemies hope to prove Karl Rove is responsible for the leak in order to cripple a key player just as the battle for a second term begins in earnest.
In short, take what your hear on the evening news with a "side order" of great skepticism. The "long knives" are out!
For more information about Gary Bauer and the American Values organization, visit their
