If you knew Susie, like Rove knows Susie...

I hate to link to this putz, but Novak breaks the news that Susan Ralston has asked for immunity before she testifies in front of Waxman's investigating committee. Ralston, as I'm sure you remember, is the key link between Abramoff and Rove.

Novak, in his inimitable haughtiness, suggests Ralston has got nothing to give up that will take down Rove, and implies that Waxman is merely engaged in a vendetta against him, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that. Novak is just phoning in the same tired GOP talking points about how this will be another "disappointment" for the Dems.

His [Waxman's] committee has aimed at the General Services Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, constraints on global-warming scientists, the misrepresentations of Cpl. Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan, private contractors in Iraq and the Plame leak, among other things.

Whether or not Ralston rolls on her old boss remains to be seen but Novak implies these investigations all fell short and if one measures it by frogwalking the criminals out of the White House, well yeah, he's right about that.

Nonetheless, they all have uncovered embarrassing and damaging secrets about the Bush administration and Novak glosses over the ongoing Justice scandal, barely mentioning the emails in passing. Already all these small lies and manipulations are amassing to reveal a very ugly picture of potentially indictable corruption and the Democrats have another 19 months to keep putting the pieces together. The White House response is confused because they have no contingency plan for operating under oversight. Just as with all their badly laid plots, they never thought they would need one.

Novak would like us to forget that Rove and the White House created their little den of iniquity under the cover of a compliant GOP Congress that no longer exists. I'm sure he wishes he could forget it himself.