Washington Post Plays Bush Defense

If ever there was a sign that there is no significant liberal media anymore, today's announcement by Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Washington Post, that he suspects Richard Armitage leaked Valerie Plame's name to the media, surely must stand out. Most speculation regarding the Valerie Plame leak has centered on Dick Cheney's office: Armitage was over at the State Department, and out of that circle. To me, it sounds like utter balderdash, the lamest of lies. Bradlee is doing everything he can to get Bob Woodward out of the hot seat for having done so much to tar Plame's reputation at the behest of the Bush Administration, and if he has to back the Bushies to the rafters, so be it.

Liberal media, RIP.

[Update: Digby apparently commented on this line of attack some time ago, and concluded that it doesn't much matter whether Armitage was involved, or not, in revealing Plame's identity to Woodward. What matters for a free American press is that the vaunted Washington Post feels compelled to protect Bush officials from their misdeeds, thus hopelessly compromising their reliability.]