As suggested in the lead editorial of the Washington Times this morning, President Bush should lead with his strength by personally and immediately getting to the bottom of the matter. He should not wait for a Justice Department investigation. Such investigations almost invariably last at least 6-10 months before they reach a conclusion and make public announcements. That brings the public release of the bad news (whatever it turns out to be) in the middle of the presidential election season. The first rule of scandal management is to find out the bad news and get it out as far from an election as possible. According to my calendar, that would be now.
The second rule is to not underestimate how heinous the media and the public will come to see small, seemingly insignificant, perfectly justifiable facts. Trivial actions or non-actions by good and decent friends and co-workers will take on the proportions of mortal sins. It will seem ludicrously disproportionate to the conduct in question. But it will happen that way. It always does. Read the memoirs. Talk to the old hands.
The search dogs will find not only the fox for which they are hunting, but also other assorted game, which will be publicly presented before the dogs have gone to kennel for the night. The investigative process will stumble on other embarrassing facts and leak it to the press. Count on it.
Political opponents will play jujitsu with policy issues. In the instant case of the (presumably) leaked CIA agent's identity, the Democrats will keep up a constant, hypocritical, but effective, defense of national security against a White House that (they will loudly assert) has jeopardized our security by revealing the secret agent lady. The same Democrats who have spent careers underfunding intelligence and our military will pose as their champions. It will be stomach turning to watch it.
The fundamental lesson from past scandals is: Don't manage it; end it. Don't passively wait for wrongdoing to be found out. Find the malefactors, and publicly kick their posteriors out of the compound. It can only get worse, not better.
Tony Blankley
Tony Blankley, a conservative author and commentator who served as press secretary to Newt Gingrich during the 1990s, when Republicans took control of Congress, died Sunday January 8, 2012. He was 63.
Blankley, who had been suffering from stomach cancer, died Saturday night at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, his wife, Lynda Davis, said Sunday.
In his long career as a political operative and pundit, his most visible role was as a spokesman for and adviser to Gingrich from 1990 to 1997. Gingrich became House Speaker when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives following the 1994 midterm elections.
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