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October 25, 2005
American Plumbers / Plugging the Leak
Based on ratings for the last few weeks, I seem to be the only one watching The West Wing. This is a shame really as it's still some of the best writing on television. Whole, well rounded characters and real conflict in every episode. It's also interesting to watch the process a person goes through as he runs for president. With every episode we see the evolution of a President as hopeful President-to-be Matt Santos runs for office. We also see what should happen when a person leaks sensitive information to the press.
In this week's episode on Sunday, White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler admits to leaking information about a secret Nasa shuttle. He was trying to save the lives of astronauts stuck on a space station. Still, he betrayed the trust of the President and the government and behaved unethically, and possibly illegally. He was immediately fired and then he will have to face the legal ramifacations of his actions. It's hard to see him go in the last scene. He served admirably for 6 or more years. I think perhaps he did the right thing. But so did President Bartlett. Besides that, the fire-breathing Republicans on the show demand justice. (Fire-breathing Republicans are like that right?)
Interestingly enough, there is a "reality-TV" version of a White House dealing with a leak in our very own real life White House. Evidence mounts that Cheney-aide "Scooter" Libby heard about Valerie Plame's identity from Cheney and not from reporters as he originally testified to the grand jury. (He is going to be in so much trouble with the Republicans; We all know what happens to people who lie to a grand jury!) Karl Rove, a longtime Bush confidant and White-House insider has also been caught in this political storm that not only ruined Valerie Plame's career as a CIA operative but also put her life in danger.
So we have one guy in fiction who leaks info to save some lives despite the political and legal repercussions and a few guys in real life who leak info as payback to another guy who didn't agree with them that put his wife's life in jeopardy. Fiction guy gets fired and evicted from the building. He can't even pick up his car keys in his office. Real life guys still have their jobs and so far real-life White House refuses to even acknowledge the issue.
I am left to wonder; where are the real life fire-breathing Republicans?. The information leaked deals with national security and the safety of the institutions of the CIA. (The institition is only as safe as it's credibility and its operatives.)Why isn't Ken Star banging on the doors of the White House with righteous indignation to defend the sanctity of the Executive Branch? Are blow jobs the only things Republicans care about?
Posted by mermu at October 25, 2005 03:04 PM
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