When a Bush Takes a Leak

"Bush is a far better man than Bill Clinton," an unnamed Republican consultant told ABC News on Friday, "but unfortunately, this will sound to people like something you would expect from Clinton."

What the anonymous consultant is referring to is the disclosure that Lewis "Scooter" Libby was instructed to leak what had been classified material about Saddam Hussein to the press, not by some mid-level flunky in the West Wing, not by Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney, but by President George W. Bush himself. You remember him -- he's the one who said that he hates leaks and didn't want anyone in his administration doing it. Except, he left out at the time, when I specifically tell them to in order to undermine my critics and their credibility.

Actually this is not something I would expect from Bill Clinton. This is something I would expect from Richard Nixon, whose approval ratings during Watergate Bush's own approval ratings are now starting to emulate (he's currently at 36 percent, and falling).

The person who was sounding like Bill Clinton last week was Scott ("The Human Piñata") McClellan, who said the following at a press briefing:

"The president believes the leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. And I think that's why it's important to draw a distinction here. Declassifying information and providing it to the public when it is in the public interest is one thing. But leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious, and there's a distinction."

Do we understand the distinction? Let me see if I can elucidate:

Leaking classified material is illegal. Therefore, if anyone in the White House except Bush and Cheney had told Libby to leak the material, that would have been a criminal offense subject to either a fine or imprisonment, or both. But since both Bush and Cheney have the ability to declassify material ex cathedra if they so choose, if they tell Libby to leak the material, then by so doing they are declassifying the material, therefore it is no longer classified material therefore disseminating said information is not a crime. And, presumably, not a leak either.

In October of 2003, President Bush said (according to the Houston Chronicle, from which I've drawn this quote) that "I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information. As you know, I've been outspoken on leaks. They can be very damaging."

Maybe the next time Bush wants to know who's damaging the country, he could look in a mirror.

But then, self-examination is not one of this president's strong suits. To put it mildly.

Tom Moran