Secret weapon

I think it's time that we in the Liberal blogosphere begin to applaud the selfless bravery and strategic brilliance of White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who was at it again yesterday with his insistence that Saddam "had a relationship" with al Qaeda operative Abu Musab al Zarqawi - the Senate Intelligence Committee's findings notwithstanding.

Because surely, a person who so consistently and openly reveals the insidious, incompetent, deceitful soul of the Bush Administration, must be a Liberal operative in disguise. A progressive "mole." A patriot who's penetrated deep inside the Rovian cartel, and lays it all on the line every time he manifests the head-in-the-sand insanity of America's ruling party.

Snow is a gift to Blue America that just keeps on giving, delivering tired talking points and spinning obvious lies in the face of widely acknowledged facts - to the point that even Conservatives are beginning to mumble, "Huh?" every time he opens his mouth. And by doing so, he's causing far more obvious damage to the "credibility" of this Administration each day than we on the Left have been able to generate in years of erudite critiques and essays.

I thought at first that Snow's inadvertent candor was simply a byproduct of being the new kid in town. Soon enough, I trusted, he'd revert to the tight-lipped manners of his predecessor, the oh-so cherubic and perspirationally-challenged Scott McClellan. Sure, Scotty was frustrating, and we knew most of the time he was lying by omission, but somehow he was always careful to hide the malfeasance of his bosses behind official sounding language and "plausible deniability."

I mean, would McClellan ever have used the phrase "tar baby" in one of his gaggles?

But Snow has continued, unabashed and unbridled, with example after glorious example of the Bush White House's dishonesty, delusion, arrogance, and ineptness. And it should by now be apparent to all of us that his repeated and reliable exposure of the rot at the heart of this Administration and Congress can only be attributed to Snow's hidden identity as a Democratic double-agent.

How else to explain his public adamance that,

"There was no direct operational relationship, but there was a relationship. They were in the country. And I think you understand that the Iraqis knew they were there. That's the relationship."

This is the reasoning of a village idiot - especially coming on the heels of an official report stating exactly the opposite. And to do so as White House Press Secretary is an incredibly bold, telling, and subversive act of stupidity that helps confirm our criticisms of the GOP better than we could have done ourselves.

Even in Topeka.

So let's hear it for Tony Snow, whose magnificent daily performances make it abundantly clear to political skeptics and fence-sitters alike just how reprehensible the Bush Administration really is. I was concerned that our collective praise for Tony's masterful secret-agent role might risk blowing his cover. But then I remembered that we're dealing with the same bunch that must have thought Stephen Colbert was a true Conservative supporter when they invited him to the Correspondent's Dinner.

Uh, morons, your bus is leaving...

Three cheers, Tony! You're a better secret weapon than we ever could have hoped for - and your stealth and courage are sure to be rewarded this November.