Strong Evidence That Rove Will Be Vindicated: Frank Rich Says He Will Resign

I am of the opinion, now more than ever, that Karl Rove will skate out of this in great shape. Besides the increasingly obvious fact that Rove's story is holding up as more and more evidence is leaked (Tom Maguire calls it the incredible shrinking scandal), there are the incessant SCREAMING HEADLINES!!! at the Huffington Post that are really, when you read the stories, far more favorable to Rove than Arianna would ever let on, an obvious sign of desperation.

The most conclusive evidence, however, that Rove will come out smelling like a rose is the fact that Frank Rich says his resignation is inevitable. The notorious NY Times hack has this to say:

Seasoned audiences of presidential scandal know that there's only one certainty ahead: the timing of a Karl Rove resignation. As always in this genre, the knight takes the fall at exactly that moment when it's essential to protect the king.

This couldn't come at a more laughable time, as the truth is that the scandal is already losing steam, a fact obvious to all but Rich and the Kossacks (and thus, nearly certain).

Rich also shows his vast, vast knowledge of the scandal by telling us:

• it's not about Rove;
• it's not about Wilson;
• it's not about Plame;
• it's not about Niger;
• it's not about Adlai Stevenson (just seeing if you're paying attention); and
• it's not about Barney.

Instead, like all Frank Rich columns, it's about Rich's dislike of President Bush:

The real culprit - the big enchilada, to borrow a 1973 John Ehrlichman phrase from the Nixon tapes - is not Mr. Rove but the gang that sent American sons and daughters to war on trumped-up grounds and in so doing diverted finite resources, human and otherwise, from fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

Look for future Rich columns on the following:

• vegetables I don't like, and their connection to the Iraq quagmire;
• this really bad haircut I got once, and why it proves the neocons are in control;
• the real culprit behind Watergate - President Bush; and
• global warming, Kyoto, and the diversion of resources, human and otherwise, from fighting terrorism.
  

Enjoy your Saturday night!...

UPDATE 07/17/05 10:07 a.m.: Many thanks to Dean Esmay, who celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday, for the link...happy belated birthday!...