My theory on Rove not being in Fitzgerald’s crosshairs

Ultimately, yes, there may be some sort of cooperation deal we don’t know about.

But, there are other possibilities.

One is that Rove is simply that good, to even beat Fitz. Not likely, as bulldoggish as Fitz is, but don’t totally discount it, either. Possibility No. 2 is one of cost-effectiveness. The degree of wrongdoing of what Fitz believed Rove had done may not have been enough to justify additional man-hour expenditures.

But, my theory is, Rove was actually doing, to some degree, what Bush has him for — playing presidential politics.

We know that much of the specific pseudo-evidence for the invasion of Iraq was ginned up in Cheney’s office. My guess is that the Plame outing may have already gone enough down the road before Rove got wind of it that he had a tough choice.

Ride the whirlwind while trying to tame it, and risk getting his fingers legally burned in the process, or stand by and risk the whole thing blowing up in Bush’s face due to Cheney’s heavyhandedness.

Rove took Option A.

Now, this is not to excuse anything illegal he may have done. But, it is to illustrate just how much Cheney has been the engine on Iraq, operating behind Bush’s back.