It's June 6, 2006 -- that's 06-06-06 to the end-timers among us -- and last week some online betting outfit offered us 10-to-1 odds that the world would come to an end today.
Maybe we should have taken the bet. We're not seeing signs of the impending darkness just yet, but there are some indications that the world is spinning off its axis.
The Wall Street Journal on Plamegate: Although Patrick Fitzgerald has said repeatedly now that the Scooter Libby prosecution is about lying and obstructing justice -- which is to say, not about outing Valerie Plame -- the Wall Street Journal works hard to miss the point today. "There is all the difference in the world between seeking to respond to the substance of Mr. Wilson's charges, as Mr. Libby did, and taking revenge on him by blowing his wife's cover, which was the motive originally hypothesized by Bush critics for the Plame exposure," the Journal's editors write. "The more of Mr. Fitzgerald's case that becomes public, the more it looks like he has made the terrible mistake for a prosecutor of taking Joe Wilson's side in what was essentially a political fight."
The Associated Press on Harry Reid: As Josh Marshall reports, the AP has just awarded a $500 prize to reporter John Solomon for his work on stories related to Harry Reid's acceptance of some free boxing tickets. The basis for the AP's award? Solomon's work was "the most talked-about, blogged-about political story of the week." What AP's award announcement didn't mention: The story was subject to so much talking and blogging because so many people were saying that Solomon and the AP got it wrong.
Tom DeLay and the French: As AP reporter Suzanne Gamboa reports, some of Tom DeLay's Texas friends are throwing a farewell party for him tonight at Washington's Le Paradou. Doesn't that sound a little ... French? True, DeLay smeared the French for the opposition to the Iraq war. And yes, DeLay put the words "bon jour" into John Kerry's mouth whenever he could. But there's nothing wrong about having a little soiree at a French restaurant, is there? Well, yes and no. A DeLay spokeswoman insists: "This is an American restaurant (last I checked the owner came here from France some 30 years ago) that serves French cuisine." And yes, the House dining room is still serving "Freedom Fries."
George W. Bush and the tinfoil hats: The president travels to New Mexico today to push immigration reform. The Houston Chronicle's Julie Mason, channeled to us via Dan Froomkin, reports that Air Force One will touch down in Roswell, N.M.
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