Thoughts.

Thoughts, assuming the leaks are true:

1) Yes, I'd rather have Rove than Libby, and Cheney most of all. But That said, Libby is joined at the hip to Cheney. Any indictment of him focuses suspicion and attention on the Vice-President's office, which has fought to operate entirely in secret since day one. The focus of the media spotlight on Cheney's office is devoutly to be wished, because there is a ton of muck that needs to be raked out of that place.

2) Although most people haven't heard of Libby now, they will, and they won't like what they see. And he's an important part of the Bush Cabal. Libby's trial will focus attention on the stench.

2) Rove is still under investigation; Fitzgerald will likely extend the investigation. This means the slow drip-drip-drip of leaks and unpleasantness oozing out from the pores of this administration will not stop. And it means Bush will have to continue to operate with his brain tied behind his back. And we've seen what that does: It forces him to display his boneheadedness to the world.

3) As this saga continues, more people will flip; therefore, Rove will flop.

4) 2006 begins a major election year. Having these investigations and, probably, trials, in the news for an election year is good, good, good. The investigations, at this point, go well beyond an official accusation of perjury. They not only include the utterly slimy act of exposing an undercover agent during wartime for the sake of political payback; they include the lies and coverups that started this foul and filthy war. The Iraqi War is now VERY unpopular. It will get MORE unpopular. And you know what the leading news story of 2006 will be? "We are in Iraq because of a tissue of bullshit."

"Bush lied, and they died" is no longer just a slogan - it's an ongoing criminal investigation.