THE WILSON/PLAME AFFAIR: I haven't had much to say lately about the alleged CIA leak that may have come from the highest levels of the Bush Administration. I think it's because even after reading all about it for weeks, I still haven't the slighest idea of what exactly happened.
And I think that's the main issue here- we may never know what exactly happened because Robert Novak isn't going to give up his sources (although he did, interestingly enough, divulge that double agent Robert Hanssen had once been his source). Therefore, it's unlikely that any prosecution will ever succeed.
But even moreso, I don't believe, as some do, that this will be the scandal that eventually brings down the Bush Administration. While a recent poll found that 70% of respondents favor the appointment of a special prosecutor in the matter, that number is meaningless because who knows how many of those people are even following the case, let alone understanding it?
While I'm not someone who enjoys calling the American people dumb, I have long believed that most Americans who aren't political junkies will neither pay attention to nor get upset about any political scandal that doesn't involve murder and/or sex. Think about it- if ask ten people to tell you exactly what Watergate was all about, and then ask ten to name all the details of the Gary Condit/Chandra Levy case, and I promise you more will know more about Chandra. That's why even if President Bush leaked the identity of Valerie Plame himself, it won't result in his impeachment.