If Rove get's off lightly that would explain the Right Turn of the Media

[KoKo]

last night. Matthews whose been all over the Indictment story...went back to his old conservative whoring last night and CNN was showing Bush's "Economic Speech" in full yesterday.

I think they got the word that the "dreaded Rove" would still be out there and on their backs. That's bad news for us. Rove always had the gun to the Media's head. I hope Steve Clemons source on this is wrong.
If Rove isn't out of here...it's going to be hard fighting back the spin
on the other indictments even if it's Cheney and Libby.

[...of J.Temperance]

1. On Edit: Forget about it, self-deleted

[KoKo]

12. Here's a comment on "Fitzmas"

from the Digby site. I agree that calling it Fitzmas seemed kind of fluffy and I worry it could have turned off Fitzgerald..if he even was aware it was being used all over the internet. I wish we hadn't all started to use it.

Anyway, this is an interesting read and more hopeful about the delay from Fitz. I could only post a snip:
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Kids Who Couldn't Wait For Fitzmas

It's driving me crazy too. But we need to take a longer view of this, I think. If we get sealed indictments, if the grand jury is extended, if a new grand jury is empaneled it is only our nerves that are stretched.

Mark Kleiman writes, and I agree:

Yes, I'm as eager as everyone else to know what Fitzgerald is going to do. But today's delay strikes me as both a Good Thing in itself and a good sign as to the eventual outcome.

It's a Good Thing because it keeps the Plame scandal on the front page and keeps the bad guys paralyzed with fear. Moreover, after two years of steady drumbeat of conservative propaganda about no crime having been committed and no charges forthcoming, the more time the commentariat and the public have to wrap their heads around the idea of All the President's Men going to stir over burning a CIA NOC, the better.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

[...of J.Temperance]

13. Well, okay

I agree, but I'm STILL as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I just am is all. I wish it was next Wednesday, so we could know SOMETHING.

[KoKo]

16. We've had so many disappointments.

It's hard not to figure things could turn out differently than we hope.

I'm very nervous about this, too.

[...of J.Temperance]

18. That's what I mean

And people should be advised to at least entertain the thought of these pigs doing a deal, a plea bargain for example.

The past five years have taught me, to at least keep things on ice, until I have SOLID proof about whats being speculated on.

I'm SO nervous, there's only one thing for it...I'm going to have to watch "Rosemary's Baby" again.

[pacalo]

17. I have to agree with you, KoKo...

I worry about rubbing it in before we even know for sure that we have something to rub in, if that makes sense. Gloating with the term "Fitzmas" seems too presumptuous at this point.

And knowing that Fitzgerald takes extra precautions about appearing partisan, I also have a feeling that the term may turn him off.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Wouldn't surprise me a bit.

But it means everything is just going to get nastier. When you have someone like Rove with his take-no-prisoners style, well, the prisoners sooner or later realize they have nothing to lose.

I'm hoping they use their camcorders to give Rove a death by a 1000 cuts.

[emulatorloo]

3. If rove gets off lightly, maybe part of the deal would be "Cut out your BS

Spin-Attack Machine or I will come after you again for obstruction of justice and violation of civil rights"

<only way I see rove getting off lightly is if cuts a deal and fingers his masters>

[...of J.Temperance]

7. Yes but the bullshit spin-attack machine is STILL in operation

STILL in operation last night, STILL in operation today and it'll probably STILL be in operation next week.

Also, Friday is a notorious news dump day. It's established that if you want to dump something bad, knowing it'll get ignored at the weekend and then something else will come along Monday, then you release that news on a Friday.

If I had the goods on the pig fuckers, I'd have done the thing YESTERDAY or TODAY at the latest, I certainly wouldn't be doing it on Friday AND telling them I'm doing it on Friday...why give them a heads-up? They're planning a distraction for tomorrow now I bet.

This stuff isn't what people want to hear, or even think about, so yes it's going to get ignored. Keep those fingers in your ears.

What I'm TRYING to do, is to tell people to keep their options open. How many times have we been disappointed when we thought we'd nailed the bastards, ONLY for nothing to happen?

The chickens have YET to hatch, so we shouldn't be counting them yet.

[mtowngman]

4. fall guy

Past performance gives me the feeling that Libby's the fall guy on this one. I'm at best 50-50 expecting a Rove indictment especially with the recent plea bargain rumblings. It sucks but that's the feeling I get.

[mmonk]

5. Or corporate bosses still loyal

to the bushco prostitution of the treasury.

[rpannier]

6. Sounds to me more like

they're trying for that "Pro-Democratic story one day" then "Pro-puke story the next"

[mirandapriestly]

8. I heard several "commentators" speculate yesterday

that Rove/Libby were going to get some kind of charge of not speaking truthfully and that was it. One was a woman guest on Stephanie Miller, Suzy something, and another was on NPR which has turned into neocon headquarters, only very subtly.

[mirandapriestly]

9. dupe

[Lucille]

10. Matthews et al. are responding to reports that Rove is more confident

And as for origin of Rove's confidence, the ever-insightful Digby sez:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

Confidence Man

Steve Clemons reports:

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/


The one interesting tidbit that came my way by way of an unnamed senior American journalist is this:

My sense is that the Rove team is feeling more confident today (10/26), the Libby team despondent.


I would just remind everyone that Rove has a faith based belief in the psych-out. He believes that if you can influence events by acting as if you have knowledge they do not have. (See: bandwagon effect, election 2000, final swing through California.)

If he's still negotiating with Fitzgerald, he could easily have issued an edict to his people (or even lied to them) to give a certain impression of confidence to the press. That's the kind of thing he does.

The thing is, the bandwagon effect is bullshit and cost him 2000. If it hadn't been for good company men on the Supreme Court, instead of having the reputation as the most brilliant political strategist the world has ever known, he would have been remembered as the man who blew the most expensive presidential race in history because of his arrogant belief that he could shape events just by acting like he knew things that nobody else knew.

Like everyone else I'm ODing on speculation, and he may very well have gotten some good news. But let's just say that when I hear that Karl Rove is acting like a winner before the score is posted, I'm skeptical.

[KoKo]

11. Thanks for Digby link. It's a good read on this.

I forgot to check his site in the last few days. Reading it kind of calmed me down.

[s-cubed]

14. If Rover thinks he"ll get off lightly, then one

of the following is probably true:

1. Fitz really doesn't have the evidence to get Rove.
2. Scooter is the fall guy and is going along with it to save * & Vice.
3. Rove has made a deal to finger * or Vice to save this sorry ass, in which case he is cooked anyway.
4. Fitz hasn't played all his cards yet re Rover: he'll let him off lightly this time and go in for the kill in the next phase.

Personally, I think 1 is unlikely, 2 is possible, but 3 or 4 are more likely scenarios. Remember this Fitz is one hell of a poker player, and he goes after the smaller fish to get the big fish. I will be VERY surprised if he isn't really investigating the comspiracy to take us to war, and the Plame cash is just the first salvo.

[mmonk]

15. Has Libby struck a deal?

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=7776

[KoKo]

19. Another good read.

I guess if we have to suffer Rove getting off lightly, temporarily, (because maybe he fingered Libby and Cheney), to get after these Big Fish that go all the way back to Iran-Contra, then it's worth it. Rove's turning might have opened the door for Fitz to go after all those who pushed for years for an Iraq Invasion and were involved with pushing the Niger forgeries.

The other thing to consider is that if Rove has to resign, he could be picked up as a Commentator by the Cables and who needs to listen to his trash and spin if Fitzgerald is going to be working to blow the OSP and the NeoCon's into the open. Better he stays where he is in shame. :shrug: