Are we getting "warmer?"

Remember that game you used to play as a child. Someone would hide something and someone else would look for it and you could say, "you're getting warmer," or "you're getting colder?" Doesn't that pretty well describe what is going on now with respect to the Rove scandal. With every denial, every obfuscation, every denial of previous statements, etc., we seem to be getting warmer. There seems to be no doubt that Rove is guilty of something, whether illegal or merely unethical. But his attempts to defend himself are just leading us further and further into a much more complicated criminal conspiracy. How did Rove come by his information so that he could assure Novak that, yes, he knew about that. It is pretty obvious that he did not hear it first from Novak as Novak claims it was given to him, not vis-a-versa. And who is the second "High-level Source" that Novak claims to have spoken with? There are so many questions involved here and they appear to be breeding very fast.

The one most important question in my mind at the moment has to do with Judith Miller. What source is she defending? It is clearly not Rove as he has already been outed. It seem to me most unlikely that she would go to jail to protect McClellan or Ari Fleisher or even some other relatively low-level source. Whoever it is has to be a player of genuine importance. So how about Cheney? He would have known about Plame's position in the CIA. He would have been angry with Wilson. Miller was not just a reporter, she was a player. Could Cheney have leaked Plame's name to Miller? And Miller, in turn, playing her part in the conspiracy, made sure it got to Novak? Remember Fitzgerald wanted her jailed, an unusual demand in such a situation. Other lawyers, judges, or whomever, reviewing the situation agreed that it is of such national importance that she should, indeed, be compelled to testify. She could also be charged with criminal contempt which would keep her in jail for a much longer time. She has to be covering for someone of real importance, not sacrificing herself for some (in this case) very questionable cause. She is not a martyr but, rather, a key figure in some criminal conspiracy that involves someone very high up and very powerful. Don't forget that she played a key role in leading us into this obscene war because of her connection with Chalabi. And who were Chalabi's backers in the administration? Why, Dick the Slimy and the rest of the neocons. Imagine.

Whatever the outcome of this mess it is clear that Rove did wrong. But he is still just one player in a criminal conspiracy of monumental significance. If Bush doesn't fire him watch out. They are not going to be able to just stonewall this one into oblivion like they have all the other scandals. Hope for the best.