[Polls]

Yes, Dave, They Have Heard of Karl

I've managed to stay away from the polls for a few days, but this is irresistable. First, a bit of context. In reaction to the political firestorm that is the Patrick Fitzgerald investigation, conservatives have floated a number of red herrings. They've played the game of legalese (depends on what the meaning of "undercover" is), they've minimized (come on, perjury--that's not much of a crime), they've blamed (it's the criminalization of politics!). On Sunday, David Brooks floated a new one:

You know, I think this is actually a story that is not a politically important story. You know, when I've talked to a lot of House members this week about what people are asking about, it's never this. The amount of American people who have heard about Karl Rove is small, let alone Scooter Libby

You got that? Sort of the old "if Karl Rove commits a crime in the White House, but no one knows who he is, was a crime committed" defense. Ah, but right on cue, we have this deadly piece of news for Dave: 88% of those polled believed the White House acted either illegally or unethically by leaking Valerie Plame's name. I'd say that's a pretty politically important number. Next excuse?