Who's on First? Politics of the Absurd

Bush affects an air of perplexed innocence when asked about Rove's part in the Plamegate affair. What a liar! Helen Thomas, in today's Boston Herald, nails it.

Although he's the nation's chief executive, President George W. Bush apparently is going to have to wait for special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to tell him about the involvement of key White House aides in the CIA-leak affair.

Bush­ told reporters earlier this week that he doesn't "know all the facts" but that he wants to.

Of course, he could invite Karl Rove to an Oval Office meeting where the president could say, "Karl, what happened?" Or he could ask I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, to come clean.

Both Rove and Libby have been publicly identified as sources of information about an undercover CIA officer. Fitzgerald is investigating whether they or anyone else in government violated the federal law that makes it a crime to out someone with that status.

But Bush says he'll wait until Fitzgerald completes his investigation -- now in its second year.

"I want to know all the facts," he said. "I would like this to end as quickly as possible. If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

Shouldn't the President KNOW what his staff is up to?