Say What?

William F. Buckley, one of the godfathers of the conservative intelligentsia, and former host of the great debate program (where have all the great debate programs gone?) 'Firing Line' makes the salient point that what the Bush Co. flunkies in the VP's office did to Valerie Plame was flat out wrong.

Money quote:

"The importance of the law against revealing the true professional identity of an agent is advertised by the draconian punishment, under the federal code, for violating it. In the swirl of the Libby affair, one loses sight of the real offense, and it becomes almost inapprehensible what it is that Cheney/Libby/Rove got themselves into. But the sacredness of the law against betraying a clandestine soldier of the republic cannot be slighted."

It's one thing for lefties to bleat about how serious it is to out an agent in time of war, it's quite another to hear it coming from someone genetically Republican.