Not a Clandestine Officer

Here is the transcript of Wolf Blitzer's interview with Joe Wilson. Note especially the following exchange:

BLITZER: But the other argument that's been made against you is that you've sought to capitalize on this extravaganza, having that photo shoot with your wife, who was a clandestine officer of the CIA, and that you've tried to enrich yourself writing this book and all of that.

What do you make of those accusations, which are serious accusations, as you know, that have been leveled against you.

WILSON: My wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity.

This is typical Wilson: he wants to have it both ways. He advocates firing Rove for blowing the cover of a clandestine officer, but, then, when he might be criticized he admits she was not a clandestine officer at all. Joe Wilson has been exposed repeatedly as a liar, motivated solely by attacking Bush.

There is no scandal here. Even if Rove did name Plame, which by Cooper's account he didn't, he did nothing wrong. Plame was not a clandestine officer.

If there ever was a question about liberal bias in the media, this manufactured scandal settles it. NPR was feverish this morning in propagating this non-story.

Update from the Washington Post:

Sources who have reviewed some of the testimony before the grand jury say there is significant evidence that reporters were in some cases alerting officials about Plame's identity and relationship to Wilson -- not the other way around.