Karl Rove has a nickname, Bush's Brain. There's a book out by that name as well as a documentary film (based on the book, I believe.) Some recent reports say that he may be indicted for leaking the fact that Valerie Plame was an undercover CIA agent. People claim that he is a brilliant political tactician but he may have made a mistake here.

James Moore writes that, while Rove may be up for indictment on perjury, this is certainly less than a possible charge of treason.

"Of course, I talked to the reporters," the reasoning goes, "I've got the same First Amendment rights in the White House as every other citizen."

Positioning is Rove's favorite political sport and that's the purpose of this admission. It's a metaphorical "so what" shrug of the shoulders. But the sub text of Rove's words shows another strategy. The presidential advisor undoubtedly knows he is guilty of a federal crime but, for obvious political reasons, he needs it to be something less than treason. Perjury will be his default position. The political harm to be done to his president and his party for a conviction of treason is incalculable.

This seems a favorite tactic and is often used by Republicans and the Bush Administration for introducing legislation and nominees. First, put forward a very extreme proposal or person. Then you seem reasonable during negotiations when you drop back to a position which is moderate only when compared to the original proposal but still closer to the extreme than the middle. Rove has honed this to an art.

Like Tom DeLay, Rove may be finding the limits of consistently treading the distaff side of the law. Skillful manipulation of the press isn't enough to save him. I hope.

This is PBU28, a conglomerate of loosely coordinated blog posts instigated by the Progressive Blogger Union. If you would like to see other blog posts on the subject of the smart but evil National Security sieve known as Karl "Red Rover" Rove, check the replies under the subject header "PBU28" at the PBU group at Flickr.