Is Howard Dean insane?

Quote:

If Karl Rove had been indicted it would have been for perjury. That does not excuse his real sin which is leaking the name of an intelligence operative during the time of war. He doesn't belong in the White House. If the President valued America more than he valued his connection to Karl Rove, then Karl Rove would have been fired a long time ago. So I think this is probably good news for the White House, but its not very good news for America....

DNC Chair Howard Dean on NBC's 'TODAY', 13 June 2006.

It is instructive to note:

1) The bit about being indicted for perjury comes from an unsupported story that TruthOut published a month ago. Their “report” was that the special prosecutor was about to indict Rove for perjury and lying to investigators (essentially the same charges already filed against Scooter Libby). This bit, “[i]f Karl Rove had been indicted” is beyond sheer speculation and is utterly meaningless. Rove wasn't indicted so speculating about what a non-existent indictment might have contained is inane. Dean might as easily have said, “If Rove had been indicted it would have been for bitch slapping me in public, though I did deserve it.” There was not, is not, and probably will never be an indictment against Rove for anything regarding Valerie Plame.

2) No one has been accused of “leaking the name of an intelligence operative”. No one. The possibility of such a leak, in violation of Federal law, was the reason for the entire investigation. Years into this mess, no one has been accused because in all likelihood the “crime” never occurred. A criminal law defines the elements needed to violate that law. The elements of the offense don’t exist here, so no violation of the relevant statute(s) occurred, so this “sin” is a figment of Dean’s fevered mind. This inconvenient truth (!) is constantly ignored by Joe “I Squandered My 'Credibility' for Kerry” Wilson, [No]TruthOut, [We Can't] MoveOn, and et al of the fever swamp left. It is also clearly ignored by Dr. Dean.

3) The phrase “during the time of war.” Wow, that is an amazing admission. We now have Howard Dean on record as recognizing that the United States is engaged in a war, and that this state of war existed before we invaded Iraq. A real live war. Dr. Dean should be prepared for all the consequences that flow from that state of affairs, because if you actually read the US Constitution you see that, yes, when it comes to waging war the President is allowed all sorts of latitude that he isn’t otherwise allowed. Thanks for the admission, Howard, I didn't think you comprehended reality so well!