Republican Idiots in Action...

Want to know why the approval ratings of President Bush, and the Republicans in Congress, is so low? Perhaps because they don't know the first thing about running a political office, as politicians. In calling for an investigation into the leak of possible secret European terrorist detention centers, which would turn the leakfest of the Valerie Plame matter back on those hostile to the President's foreign policy, Senate Majority Bill Frist screwed up big time:

A leak suspected to have come from the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) complicated, confused and nearly derailed a joint effort by Senate and House Republican leaders to seek an investigation of the unauthorized release of classified information.

Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) both eventually signed a letter Tuesday calling for the Senate and House intelligence committees to conduct a joint investigation of how The Washington Post discovered of the existence of CIA-run detention and interrogation facilities in eight foreign countries....

The leak appeared to pressure Hastert to sign the letter before he or Frist intended to. But then something happened that lawmakers and political observers surmised made Frist hesitant to sign it.

CNN reported earlier in the day that Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) had said a Republican senator may have leaked information about the so-called black sites to the Post. Lott told reporters yesterday that he had been talking about another Post article. He said he was not talking about the article about the detention and interrogation facilities....

The lack of confirmation about Frist’s support raised the specter that Hastert would be left alone in calling for the investigation. That would have likely been a source of major irritation for House Republicans since the idea for the investigation originated with Frist office, said a senior Senate GOP aide....

Another complication created by the snafu is that it forced lawmakers to answer questions about a letter they were not sure Frist had endorsed.

Read the rest of the article just to see how complicated, confused, and derailed these politicians are. Honestly, it's like watching slapstick, as things get worse and worse.

Frist is an idiot, and he employs idiots. The delayed timing of the release meant the news trickled out, instead of providing a bombshell announcement with clear House-Senate Republican support. The Republicans looked feckless. I remember seeing Drudge's teaser and wondering when the heck the "official" announcement would come. I remember wondering what the heck was taking so long. Now it's clear. Frist bungled the politics of it. Friggin' idiot. I just can't believe how stupid this is.