I’d like to think that if the shoe were on the other foot here that I would act the same way but I’m not so sure. So in that respect, you’re probably right.

Having said that, if this is more than one woman with a conscience (a possibility that I accept as less than 50-50 at this point) than you would have to agree it is umprecedented.

I have been following politics for more than 30 years and have never seen so many “selective” leaks done with if not the intent, than the effect of hurting a sitting President. And given the fact that many of these leaks were perfectly timed during the 2004 election to do a maximum amount of damage to the Bush candidacy, the idea that they were non-partisan in nature strains credulity.

Yes Republicans leak especially Presidents and their staffs. Leaking, as you know, is an art form in the bureaucracy and is done for a wide variety of reasons including spite, boredom, partisanship, career advancement, and others. But to look at the body of leaks over the past 2 and a half years and say that they are all patriots with a conscience or that partisanship was not involved is just not believable.

That’s why this McCarthy case is so important. If, in fact, there is a loose confederation of CIA personnel who took it upon themselves to leak classified information to try and destroy the President, then they must be ferreted out and fired, prosecuted, and jailed. And if, per chance, they coordinated those leaks with outside facilitators like VIPS or even (not likely) former Clinton Administration officials, that would constitute a conspiracy of monstrous proportions and should be rooted out for the sake of the country.

In principle, I’m against all leaks, no matter the source. Most people in the intelligence community, especially since 9/11, have internal pathways to register dissent. They don’t always work however. Even when they don’t, there are much better ways to address the problem McCarthy (and others apparently) saw than to talk to the press. Leaking is the easy and cowardly way out in my opinion, but it’s also a dangerous one, as Ms. McCarthy is now learning

Newsweek pointed out that any evidence obtained through polygraph can not be admissable in court. DOJ has to start from scratch and try and prove a case without using anything they got from the lie detector.

My only question is, why isn’t she under inditement?

Its our country, and we have a right to know what is being done in our name, with our money. Not tactical details, but thats not the issue here. No doubt the administration is going to continue to try to crack down, but its probably useless. These are lifelong public servants, patriots, and they will probably continue to reveal things that their conscience tells that they must.

You are on the wrong side of this one Rick - your partisanship has landed you on the side of defending the indefensible, and lashing out at those who inform the citizenry of the things we have a right to know.

Its Opensecrets.ORG, not com. Com is sleazy ripoff ad site that has enough windowdressing up to fool someone who has never been to the real site.