The Sin of Hypocrisy

It's got to be hell when you're a liberal and you think you have the President's henchman in your sites for the takedown, and all of your facts fall apart.

The media and the left have totally gone over the edge on the Karl Rove - Leakgate story. They thought they had their archenemy, Karl Rove, taken down in a scandal for leaking the name of a CIA agent. A few problems though:

- First, it's clear if you've been following all of the evidence, not just the press briefings or the Democrat talking points, that their has not been a crime committed here. Period. All you have to do is listen to the folks who wrote the relevant law about divulging the name of a CIA agent. Victoria Toensing and colleagues who drafted the law have been clear on the talk shows that this case does not in anyway violate that law. End of story. Or at least it should be.

- Second, the Rove haters have allied themselves with Joe Wilson, the CIA agent's husband and supposed "whistle-blower" who took on the Administration about Sadaam's nuclear program. The problem is that Joe Wilson credibility has been thoroughly damaged by, among other things, the Senate's bi-partisan investigation into the matter which concluded that Wilson misrepresented every aspect of this case and is not credible. That hasn't stopped the left from lionizing him and completely tying their credibility to his.

- Third, after all of the facts have deserted the left on this one, they have fallen back on their favorite charge: hypocrisy. In fact, in can be fairly asserted that the left's one recognized cardinal sin - amongst a group that regularly discounts the existence of sin - is hypocrisy. They love to take a person of character, someone who espouses a standard, and "catch" that person in a contradiction of the standard. Then they leep out from behind the bushes and yell "Hypocrite!". Remember, for example the case of William Bennett, author of "The book of Virtues". A year or so ago Bennett had an issue with gambling. He didn't hurt anyone. He didn't lose money he couldn't afford to. In fact, I'm not sure why it was even news - other than the fact that liberals could point at him and yell hypocrite. They don't, in and of itself, think gambling is wrong. They just gleefully loved catching Bennett in a supposed act of hypocrisy.

The same is true of Rove gate. After all of the facts have failed them, after it's clear that no law has been violated, after it's clear that Bush is not going to fire Rove short of an indictment, the press is left yelling hypocrite. For days now they have been trying to argue that President Bush has changed his standard of ethics from firing anyone if they "were involved" in the leak, to firing them "if a crime has been committed". The press has been trying to trump up a case of cover up because of this alleged moving of the goal posts. The problem is that Bush did not change his standard. But that's all the press is left to shout about: hypocrisy. Ridiculous.

As infuriating as it is, it is useful watching the press and the Democrats join hands in marching off the credibility cliff with Joe Wilson.