[governsleastgovernsbest]

Yes, Lauer's skeptical tone about Schumer and his motivations was shocking.

Good point about Lauer's failure to cite Novak's unequivocal statement that no one in the Bush administration had leaked the information. Here's a link to an article on that:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/

[Dane]

This may seem like a minor point, but at the end of the interview Matt Lauer thanked schumer for coming on the Today show and schumer was silent and didn't say "you're welcome". Just a stone cold stare.

Maybe schumer was mad that he didn't get the katie pep rally treatment.

[Khaibit]

Unfortunately, while Novak said that 'Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this' what he MEANT was that they leaked it after HE called THEM. He definitely did implicate two officials in the Bush administration. Later in the same article it says;

"Novak said Monday that he was working on the column when a senior administration official told him the CIA asked Wilson to go to Niger in early 2002 at the suggestion of his wife, whom the source described as 'a CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction.'

Another senior administration official gave him the same information, Novak said, and the CIA confirmed her involvement in her husband's mission."


As for Wilson... there is absolutely no question that he is out to get the Bush administration and spinning like mad to do it. Unfortunately he can >claim< some degree of impartiality because he was heavily praised by George H.W. Bush for his work as acting ambassador to Iraq in the time leading up to the Gulf War.