McFreedom

Whatever the latest movement in the Plame Affair, I expect this case to mostly (yet again) expose the hypocrisy of both the Democrats and Republicans, as they easily slip the bonds of their principled positions.

I expect to see strong-military, pro-US Republicans not call for the investigation of the blowing of a CIA operative's cover. Had this happened in the Clinton White House, it is difficult to imagine the Republicans not calling for Clinton's head (yet again).

I expect to see Democrats, normally champions of things like source-shield laws, demanding conservative columnist Robert Novak be subpoenaed to reveal his sources. I also expect to see the same Democrats who criticized the special prosecutor laws in the wake of the Starr investigation of President Clinton to call for one in this case.

Much as political hypocrisy was revealed in the Clinton/Flowers and Thomas/Hill mirror images, this case will see Republicans unselfconsciously mouthing Democratic arguments, and vice versa, in an attempt to gain a temporary advantage.

What will be most interesting will be to see who chooses principle over position - Republicans who call for an independent investigation, and Democrats who insist that Mr. Novak's sources should remain sacrosanct.

For the record, while I have not had time to research this completely, my feeling so far is that the White House has been mealy-mouthed at best. If it wishes to avoid an independent investigation, it should be investigating the leaks with at least the same vigor it investigated whether or not General Clark called Karl Rove to enlist (as Mark Kleiman has suggested). I'm not quite willing to call for an independent investigation (given Congress' limitless ability to foul things up), but it's heading in that direction.

As for the other side, I believe that Mr. Novak should be subpoenaed for his sources. Although, in a way, I feel sorry for him - I don't believe he knew what a bombshell this would end up being, and such a subpoena would either force him to defy the courts and risk jail, or lose a lot of trust from his sources. Perhaps some other columnist contacted for this story could anonymously leak the source and save him from this dilemma.