If Novak's account of his conversation with his CIA contact is correct, then the CIA contact erred by not emphasizing that the reason Wilson was picked had to be suppressed to protect people's lives. Since Valerie is listed as Wilson's wife on the web, there was no greater harm done in including her name in the article. Simply saying the Wilson's wife, who worked for the CIA, recommended him for the job would have been enough.
The most despicable people in this whole affair are the press and Democrats who are causing such a public fuss about something that should have been handled quietly and discretely.