Mainstream media reports are not typically known for their subtle nuance, but an MB reader has picked up on one of the most irritating aspects of the Plame investigation coverage:
Howard Kurtz typifies the MSM’s conventional wisdom on the Plame affair. From today’s Media Notes: “Yes, all this stems from what appears to be an act of petty partisanship, the outing of a CIA operative to rough up her husband.”
Couldn’t one just as plausibly write: “All this stems from what appears to be a White House effort to correct Wilson’s implications that VP Cheney had ordered his fact finding trip to Niger. In fact, a Senate panel later confirmed that Wilson’s wife had recommended him (despite Wilson’s denials). Apparently, the White House told reporters the same thing.”
Jim VandeHei also pushes the “punishment” story line in the Washington Post today:
Lawyers in the case said Fitzgerald has focused extensively on whether behind-the-scenes efforts by the vice president’s aides and other senior Bush aides were part of a criminal campaign to punish Wilson in part by unmasking his wife.
I’m not sure whether this language is VandeHei’s or the lawyers, but it’s hard to believe any intelligent person familiar with the details of the case could think that the White House’s objective in connecting Joseph Wilson’s trip to his CIA wife was to “punish” him by “outing” her.
Although that motive certainly makes White House officials seem more sinister, it suffers the drawback of being totally implausible in light of another, more plausible motive: that the White House wanted to show that Wilson was married to the CIA, which was at that time was engaged in an effort to blame intelligence failures on the White House, and that Wilson was lying about key aspects of his trip.