When White House spin spins out of control

[Jon8503]

By Howard Fineman

WASHINGTON - Live by spin, die by spin.

That will be the lesson if Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicts anyone in the Valerie Plame leak case. Poetic justice is a concept as old as drama, but it applies time and again in the theater of presidential politics. Traits and tactics that lead to power lead to overreach, and ruin. In our day, justice is administered (and balance restored) by law, not by gods. Still, the idea is the same.

You dont have to reach far back to find examples. Richard Nixon¡¯s rise was made possible by his calculating, outsider¡¯s mind. He knew how to use fear in the service of power because he was so full of fear himself. But this perfect instrument for Cold War and diplomatic realpolitik metastasized into Oval Office paranoia, CREEP and Watergate.

Bill Clinton's gift was his rogue charm and ability to convey a sense of empathy. But his personal story ¡ª ¡°The Comeback Kid¡± who still believed in a town called Hope ¡ª became all too personal when Monica Lewinsky walked through the door. Winsome became tawdry, charm became mendacity and Clinton nearly was booted out of office.

George W. Bush rose to power on the strength of a disciplined, aggressive, tightly focused, leak-proof spin machine ¡ª one that took issue positions and stuck to them, divided the world (including the media) into friends and enemies, and steamrollered the opposition with ruthless skill while the candidate remained smilingly above the fray. Sure of his social skills but not of his speaking ability (let alone his ability to speak extemporaneously), Bush (and Karl Rove) learned to stick to their bullet-item talking points, to operate through surrogates, all the while steering the initial course they had set for themselves.

Story continues below ¡ý
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9751606/