So the Whitehouse leaked this news BEFORE the Democratic Convention? How is that any different from the Democrats leaking a 30 yr. old DWI arrest a week before the election? It's politics. Everyone with a brain knows that politics is a dirty business. Get over it.
I agree, but the Dems would reply that accusing the Republicans about the "timing" is just politics too -- and they'd have a point. It was their strongest card so they played it. Of course, anticipating this would have been a nobrainer, so hopefully the Pubs have prepared a countering move.
The worst case scenario might be that the leak *wasn't* planned and that the administration was caught off guard and wasn't prepared to counter what will now be a coordinated attack by the Dems and their media allies. The Dems seem to have an edge in these sorts of transient developments since they get their ducks in a row more quickly.