the sad truth is - that the adminsration fears the "reaction" from the inside the beltway culture, which is dominated by the left wing media. you need someone who is willing to smash that culture, that permanent un-elected structure that believe they run the country, because they set the agenda through the media.
Could the media possibly be more unfriendly to Bush than they already are?
They all supported the investigation into the Plame "leak." They stood by when Judith Miller was put in jail, and they even attacked her after she came out.
It seems to me that they have never been more vulnerable than they are now. And I can hardly think of an issue more likely to appeal to people than the issue of protection against nuclear attacks by terrorists. The press would have a very hard time spinning this against Bush.
What would they say? We stand up for the right of Muslim terrorists to assemble nuclear bombs in our cities without risk of being spied on?