Incoming fire might be the feeling the administration has as finally some of its outrages are discussed in public.
The guilty verdict on Scooter Libby in four of five counts is probably the easiest issue. It will be appealed and whatever the outcome, at the end of the Bush presidency Scooter will get a pardon. The public effect was and is to demonstrate the administration’s lies and its coziness with the mainstream media.
More serious is the scandal just bubbling up over U.S. Attorneys being fired for doing their job. The hearing today at the Judiciary Committee was quite devastating. (TPM Muckraker did some live blogging.) Of course the president can fire these attorneys who serve at his pleasure, but there were false statements about the reasons to do so. There were also illegal influence calls by Republican lawmakers plus intimidation and possible obstruction of justice by the Justice Department chief of staff. The story certainly has legs and as it is essentially non-partisan, the spin-masters will have problems to turn it around and to blame Democrats.
Another pending issue is the care for wounded GIs and veterans. The Walter Reed hospital story is only a start. A lot of local journalists all over the states will start to look into this and find some unsatisfied veterans who want to vent. Hiding the wounded in bureaucratic limbo will no longer be effective. Like the other issues above it is something that hurts the Republicans in their central constituency and it is an issue they cannot blame on anybody else.
The looming economic recession will add to the salvo.
All this may restrict the administration’s ability to commit more outrages. But the rising smoke from these impacts may also be used as diversion and enable the cabal to further its goals elsewhere while everyone looks at the headlines of the day instead of those of tomorrow.