I almost feel bad for Dana Perino

After spending years pretending that it couldn’t comment on the Plame affair because criminal proceedings against Libby were ongoing, the White House is now pretending it can’t comment because the Wilsons’ civil suit is still under appeal. As usual, excuses are the only part of governance in which Bushies are OK with transparency.

The appeals process could, and probably will, take years, by which time Bush will be safely out of office and public interest will have faded, lessening demand for criminal charges against Rove, Cheney, et al. I’m really hoping the Wilsons will offer to withdraw the suit in exchange for the administration’s finally answering some questions and making relevant documents public. That kind of stunt would get a lot of coverage, and although we know that Bush doesn’t give a tinker’s damn what the governed think and can’t be pressured into doing the right thing, it would point up the ridiculousness of the excuse and bring the case back into the public eye. People should be reminded just how unapologetically corrupt this administration has been before elections roll around.