Game On

The House approved the Rove and Miers subpoenas. Sorry, Mr. President, new sheriff in town. The "freedom to lie" sessions aren't going to cut it anymore. Incidentally, that "compromise" was exactly the same groundrules that covered every other Congressional investigation (9-11 Commission, wiretapping, etc.), so it wasn't too novel.

It should be interesting to see how this played out. This is the firewall showdown; if the White House loses on it, they'll lose on every other subpoena, every other investigation, and you'll probably see mass resignations as people would rather run to a desert island than be hauled before Congress.

And doesn't it seem like the Democrats have learned negotiating skills from this President?

The committee rejected Bush's offer a day earlier to have his aides talk privately to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but not under oath and not on the record.

Authorizing the subopenas "does provide this body the leverage needed to negotiate from a position of strenghth," said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass.

Two can play hardball. Not sure that it's a good thing, but when you deal with a bully, you have to be just as strong.

UPDATE: I don't know if I mentioned this before, but it looks like the Justice Department did the firing first and tried to come up with the reasons later. This is precisely why Rove and Miers need to be put under oath. TPM Muckraker has more.