Spin

Judas is the quintessential bad guy. Always has been. Geez, betraying someone to their death is bad enough. But betraying the son of God? Nobody plays worse, except maybe Hitler. But now we've got a new Gospel that plays it a bit differently.

A new Gnostic Gospel, the Gospel of Judas, has been translated. And it claims that Judas was Jesus' best bud. Judas apparently did what Jesus and God wanted him to do, relieve him of his earthly baggage--his body--so he could become a God.

It's all about spin, isn't it? It's all about who tells the story, who controls who tells the story, and which story we all want to believe.

Who is George Bush today? Is he the Leaker in Chief? Is he the stand up Boss who was using information to manipulate the press? Is he the All knowledgeable President who knows what should, and shouldn't, be classified? There's so much spinning going on, it's making me dizzy. Looks like a bunch of plates being spun on sticks, with the spinner running hither and yon, trying desperately to keep the plates spinning in air.

Here's Scott McClellan spin, "(T)here's a distinction between declassifying information that is in the public interest and the unauthorized disclosure of classified information that could compromise our nation's security." And those of us who question why Bush would make that distinction, who would question whether this declassification was done for political reasons or because it was a secure release of information, are engaging in "crass politics".

So, it's ok to leak information if Bush says it's ok to leak information. Then it's not a leak, it's in the public interest to distribute information. We must, yet again, rely on Dubya's judgment of when leaking is good for us and when it is it.

For instance, Dubya thinks it's a good thing to leak information to the press when fighting off allegations he doesn't care for, like those of Joseph Wilson's (Valerie Plame's husband). Salon.com spells it out:

"(T)he document indicates that the White House viewed Wilson's claims as very damaging to public support for the war, and that the steps it took to fight back were extraordinary. Libby testified that "this July 8th meeting was the only time he recalled in his government experience when he disclosed a document to a reporter that was effectively declassified by virtue of the President's authorization that it be disclosed."

Or, even more bluntly from Rep Maurice Hinchley (and note that we already know that what Scooter said was true, according to the White House):

"If what Scooter Libby said to the Grand Jury was true, then this latest development clearly reveals yet again that the CIA leak case goes much deeper than the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity to the press. The heart and motive of this case is about the deliberate attempts at the highest levels of this administration to discredit those who were publicly revealing that the White House lied about its uranium claims leading up to the war. The Bush administration knew that Iraq had not sought uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapon, yet they went around telling Congress, the country, and the world just the opposite. When Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame's husband, publicly spoke out with proof that the administration was not telling the truth on uranium, the administration engaged in an orchestrated plot, which now reportedly includes President Bush, to discredit Ambassador Wilson and dismiss any notion that they had lied about pre-war intelligence. "

Spin that one, Scott. And will we be stupid enough to believe the spin?

Liz