“We have a serious ongoing investigation here. (Laughter.) And it’s being played out in the press. And I think it’s best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. And I will do so, as well. I don’t know all the facts. I want to know all the facts. The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who’s spending time investigating it. I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts, and if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.”

— President Bush, speaking at the White House, July 18, 2005

President Bush says he doesn’t know all the facts. Well, this begs a question: Why the hell not? It’s been two years. Why hasn’t he gotten to the bottom of it by now?

He’s been busy, I’ll grant that. But really how long could it take for him to round up his senior staff and get a confession? An afternoon – tops.

The President could have saved himself from the criticism and the scandal that’s coming by ordering the guilty parties to fall on their swords early on. He richly deserves any blowback his own inaction may cause.

Consider for a moment that President Bush is being honest, and he really doesn’t know which of his flying monkeys ratted out Mrs. Joe Wilson. In that case, his senior staff is seriously out of control – and George Bush is even more out of touch with deeds done in his name than Ronald Reagan (said he) was during Iran-Contra.

But that’s ridiculous. Even George Bush isn’t that out of touch. He knows exactly who said what to whom, and for what reason, about the Wilsons in July 2003.

He’s lying, and it was caught on tape at the news conference today.