Basically, as I understand it, there are 2 kinds of bureaucrats.. career-types and political-types.
Career-types slog along through their GS ratings, year after year, sucking at the taxpayer’s teat until they get that hefty retirement, trying to do as little work as they can along the way.
Political-types are appointed for services rendered during the previous campaign. They can rise quickly and also find themselves out of a job on sudden notice if star they attached themselves to loses an election.
Although both Plame and her husband are liberals, she was a career-type and Wilson was a political-type. Plame was driving her desk, waiting for retirement and Wilson was out of work. They hatched a scheme to smear Bush in exchange for Wilson getting a coveted ambassadorship, with the French Embassy being the prize, as it would be for any socialist bureaucrat. She did the paperwork for getting Wilson a CIA funded trip to Africa and he comes back with...nothing. So, something had to be fabricated. Here, the MSM pulled out all the stops to help.
While damage was done to Bush and Libby lost much of his life’s work, it wasn’t enough to oust Bush and get Wilson that cushy job he desperately wanted....