Sounds obvious, doesn't it? And yet, somehow, a certain well-known public figure was able to publish in a nationally-syndicated column the name of a CIA covert operative . . . and escape punishment.
Okay, sure, she wasn't working undercover at the time. And, okay, sure, the free press is a grand thing. But come on. Judith Miller is in jail; Time sold out on journalistic ethics -- but Bob Novak is a free man.
The people who didn't publish the story are paying the penalty. The people who didn't serve as Karl Rove's bagman are paying the penalty. The people who didn't endanger the lives of Judith Plame and anybody who ever worked with her are paying the penaly.
The people who didn't betray their country are all in trouble. But Novak is a free man.
Oh, well. Here's the silver lining: We get to hear Jon Stewart call Novak a douche-bag on TV. Over and over again. And I, for one, don't get tired of it. Public ridicule isn't quite as good as jail time, but it does have its charms. Just ask our crazy Puritan forebears.
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