Fitzmas Update 4/10/06

David Sanger and David Johnston, in the NY Times, have written a description of George Bush's opening serve in the Plame Blame Tourney, against his able competition in the match, the rifle-armed second seed Dick Cheney. Bush's service showed considerable topspin, but it was a weak cross court lob. The ball is now in Cheney's court. "A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration had exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein." … "Moreover, the disclosure seemed intended to suggest that Mr. Bush might have played only a peripheral role in the release of the classified material and was uninformed about the specifics — like the effort to dispatch Mr. Libby to discuss the estimate with reporters. The explanation offered Sunday left open several questions, including when Mr. Bush acted and whether he did so on the advice or at the request of Mr. Cheney. Still unclear is the nature of the communication between Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. Also unknown is whether Mr. Bush fully realized what information Mr. Cheney planned to disclose through Mr. Libby or was aware of the precise use that Mr. Cheney intended to make of the material." --- shorter Bush: "Don't blame me, the buck stops at Cheney."