All the President’s Men.

Washington Post editor Bob Woodward testifies to the Fitzgerald grand jury about a third senior White House official involved in disclosing the identity of Valerie Plame, besides Libby and Rove. (Woodward’s statement.) This means Libby likely wasn’t the first to leak Plame’s identity, but the new info has no bearing on his perjury or obstruction of justice indictments.

For Woodward’s part, his statement and public comments about the case alternate between high dudgeon (“It was the first time in 35 years as a reporter that I have been asked to provide information to a grand jury”) and open ridicule (“When I think all of the facts come out in this case, it’s going to be laughable because the consequences are not that great.“) Mostly, he just seems cranky that he — award-winning journalist Bob Woodward! — was forced to take time away from another puff piece book on Dubya to testify about a felony in the White House. But this isn’t news. Frankly, Woodward has been embarrassing his legacy for years…almost any of his talking-head stints on Larry King illustrate that. Since at least the early Clinton years, he’s been more desirous of maintaining his high profile and insider status than in promoting good journalism or good government. (And in that, he’s reflected the trajectory of many in the newsmedia.) Update: The Post is somewhat irked.

A Turning Point in the Senate?

Wary of increasing public opposition to the Iraq war and spurred to action by a Democratic amendment advocating a specific timetable for withdrawal, Senate Republicans craft legislation calling for an Iraq exit strategy. “On the Iraq resolutions, the Democratic and Republican proposals say that ‘2006 should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq’…The White House is also directed ‘to explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq.'” Unfortunately, with the exception of quarterly reports to Congress on the war effort, the language of the proposal is not binding. Update: It passes, 98-0 (Lamar Alexander and Governor Corzine didn’t vote.)

Read ’em and weep.

“I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued…that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.” An unearthed 1985 job application by Sam Alito is chock-full of scary quotes by the Justice-nominee. “In the document, Alito said he drew inspiration from the ‘writings of William F. Buckley, Jr., The National Review and Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign.‘ ‘In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause and reapportionment,’ he said.”

“Big Time” Obfuscation.

“Why would an experienced lawyer and government official such as Libby leave himself so exposed to prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald?…To critics, the timing suggests an attempt to obscure Cheney’s role, and possibly his legal culpability.” The Post suggests anew that, in the investigation into the Valerie Plame leak, Scooter Libby fell on his sword for Cheney. Meanwhile, National Journal‘s Murray Waas reports that Karl Rove’s fate rests on Libby’s testimony, meaning it may be some time before “Bush’s Brain” is indicted, or in the clear.

Out of sight, out of mind.

“Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he is more concerned about the leak of information regarding secret CIA detention centers than activity in the prisons themselves…’I am not concerned about what goes on [in the prisons] and I’m not going to comment about the nature of that,’ Frist replied.” Unbelievable. The same guy who blew a gasket over a closed-door Senate session last week couldn’t care less what goes on behind closed doors in secret, illegal CIA gulags. (I guess he figures it couldn’t be much worse than your average day at the Frist family animal shelter.)

Adding Insult to Intelligence Failures.

As McCain calls for changes in Dubya’s Iraq strategy, White House National Security advisor Stephen Hadley inaugurates Dubya’s comeback plan, which will get more run in a presidential speech today. Step One: Call the Dems out on their pro-war votes. “‘Some of the critics today,’ Hadley added, ‘believed themselves in 2002 that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, they stated that belief, and they voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq because they believed Saddam Hussein posed a dangerous threat to the American people.‘” Well, yes, but if Dems were relying on faulty and doctored intelligence to come to that supposition in 2002, that only brings us back to the $64,000 question: What exactly happened to our prewar intelligence once it reached the White House?

A self-inflicted Hammer wound.

Well, so much for the Blame the Dems defense. As it turns out, Boss DeLay not only considered a misdemeanor plea deal to evade his money laundering indictment, he also seems to have incriminated himself. “DeLay acknowledged that in 2002 he was informed about and expressed his support for transfers of $190,000 in mostly corporate funds from his Texas political action committee to an arm of the Republican National Committee in Washington and then back to Texas.” Whoops.

Arctic Dreams.

Just as it seemed the Senate had decided its fate, ANWR gets a reprieve, thanks to House GOP moderates forcing the removal of arctic drilling from the budget bill. And it gets worse for the rabid right-wing: Not only are the same GOP moderates balking at some of the draconian cuts in this budget, but key Senators are now turning against extending Dubya’s millionaire tax breaks. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has already registered her disapproval, and George Voinovich (R-OH) says: “I do not know how anyone can say with a straight face that when we voted to cut spending last week to help achieve deficit reductions we can now then turn around two weeks later to provide tax cuts that exceed the reduction in spending…That is beyond me, and I am sure the American people.” Update: The House GOP are forced to punt ’til next week, as they try to gather the requisite votes.

To Whom It May Concern…

“It must be on the basis by which I travel anywhere, being in a private aircraft, which bears a substantial cost unfortunately…I am confident that we will have a long, productive and warm relationship, but good relationships are built on firm understandings at the outset.” Among his many other shady dealings, it seems “Casino Jack” Abramoff tried to bilk the President of Gabon for $9 million, in order to set up a meeting with Dubya. Apparently, Gabon didn’t take up his offer…I wonder if they considered it spam.

Exxtreme Unction.

In the political theater department, Congress invites the heads of five major oil companies to testify — not under oath — about their recent upsurge in profits and concerns about price gouging. (No questions, of course, about the huge subsidies and tax breaks the GOP have granted them of late.) “The hearing opened with Republicans refusing a request by Democrats that the five executives take an oath before testifying. That avoided an embarrassing photo akin to when tobacco executives raised their right hands at a 1994 congressional hearing and swore cigarettes were not addictive.”