White House: No Link Between Libby And Other Problems

President Bush's critics are unfairly using the Libby verdict "as a great big wheelbarrow in which to dump a whole series of unrelated issues"--with the goal of embarrassing the president, says White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

At his daily briefing yesterday, reporters peppered Snow with questions suggesting that the conviction of former vice presidential Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby has broader implications that illustrate the flaws in Bush's Iraq policy. Snow denied it.

In an interview with U.S. News, he went a few steps further. For example, he criticized pundits and administration critics who are trying to link the Libby conviction to revelations about shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the ongoing violence in Iraq, to show that the president's management of the war and its consequences has been slipshod.
"There are no dots to connect," the press secretary said, adding that each situation should be analyzed on its own terms and not placed in "the same basket." He argued that while the Libby case may be stirring intense interest "in Washington and New York ... there's's not great interest around the country."

And Snow said the administration's response to problems at Walter Reed is a positive story for Bush because the president acted decisively and quickly.

By Kenneth T. Walsh