Rovegate

As Rovegate threatens to sink into the usual trench warfare -- with liberals preparing an apple for Rove's mouth and a spit to roast him on; and conservatives insisting that "Raymond Shaw Karl Rove is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life" -- it's wise to take a step back and remember the big picture. Thankfully, both Frank Rich in the New York Times and Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen in the Washington Post do precisely that.

As these pieces remind us, "Rovegate" is much bigger than just what Karl Rove did to Valerie Plame, just as "Watergate" was much bigger than the "third-rate burglary" at the Watergate complex. Indeed, just as the Watergate break-in was a thread that unraveled a much larger set of conspiracies and cover-ups, one that exposed everything from the illegal bombing of Cambodia to the illicit f-bombing in the White House, so too is the scandal over Rove's activities here connected to a much larger, and much more important, set of issues.

The right is in a panic now because they realize that the Rove story goes much further than Rove. If followed, these threads -- like the threads that began Watergate and gave that scandal its name -- will unravel the administration's handling of the war in Iraq. It will highlight their tendency to make up facts to fit their agenda (WMDs, yellowcake, the Saddam-al Qaeda "connection"), their ruthlessness in destroying anyone who dared object (Shinseki, Clarke, O'Neill), and, most of all, their easy willingness to sell out the nation's security for the administration's political gain.

It may be slow in coming, but most of the pieces are there. I doubt we'll hear insider leaks from another high-placed Deep Throat, but if the Democrats can reclaim at least one house of Congress in 2006 -- and with it, the all-important subpoena power -- then we just might see this thing unravel. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, as long as I mentioned Deep Throat, let me use this post as an excuse to post a favorite photo. This is, I believe, the grandfather of Inanimate Carbon Rod, circa 1972. Enjoy.