Ian Bremmer hits the nail on the head in his piece in The Australian:
THE main reason the growing scandal around Karl Rove matters – aside from the fact that a senior White House official may have committed a felony – is that it damages George W. Bush’s declining political capital.
From social security reform to Iranian nuclear proliferation, from Supreme Court nominations to US-China confrontation, a president needs domestic political capital to achieve his policy goals. Bush’s chip stack is clearly shrinking.
This shows the merits of sticking on the Plame story. I wouldn’t say we should be on Plame 24/7, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. But in the current climate, Plame is the walking, and anything else is chewing gum. We’ve finally got the White House on the defensive and it is already showing results.
Most second-term presidents have 18 months to govern before lame-duck status sets in. Bush is already wrestling with Congress on foreign and domestic priorities. The battle over Rove’s possible involvement in a felony dangerously distracts the White House and is likely to undermine support for the President’s agenda.
I agree.
