Reply #5: I wrote this to him regarding his comments on Wilson in today's Howler...

[trumad]

It's a bit harsh:

What Bob??? No mention of Ms. Plame and her er supposed push to get her husband hired for the Niger trip... Or are you shying away from that criticism? Then again, you could continue to side with the 3 Republicans on the panel who think that it was Plame herself that pushed for that Gig for Dear old Joe. OR you could mention on your site the other side of the story and state that 3 Democrats on the panel and CIA personnel disagree with the assessment of the 3 republicans on the panel.

Otherwise you and Safliar will continue to be bed buddies regarding this issue.
Safire today:
"Contrary to his indignant claim that "Valerie had nothing to do with the matter" of selecting him for the African trip, the Senate published testimony that his C.I.A. wife had "offered up his name" and printed her memo to her boss that "my husband has good relations" with Niger officials and "lots of French contacts." Further destroying his credibility, Wilson now insists this strong pitch did not constitute a recommendation."
BTW: Did I tell you that you are one of my true hero's on the web and I pimp you almost daily on the forum called Democratic Underground? I'm also the guy who sent you my glowing review and thanks for putting me on to the movie "In America".... So don't think I don't love you Bob.... I just disagree with you on this one.

Bob
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This is what he wrote me the other day:
Somerby:
"But other parts of Novak's column are strong. Wilson persistently overstated
all sorts of things, including in his long on-line interview with Josh,
where he ridiculed the very idea that his wife was involved in his going on
the trip. The dude is bad news--he has overstated almost everything at every
poiint of the case. But the press corps chased around after his exciting
adventure story, ignoring much stronger examples of pre-war deception in the
process. The tubes were a much clearer (and more influential) case of
deception than the 16 words."


As you can see he's pretty adamant that Wilson is full of it... I think Bob's dead wrong.