BUSH CIRCLES THE WAGONS AND SPENDS ALL HIS TIME TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO'S RUNNING THEIR MOUTH ABOUT HOW DEPRESSED THE WHITE HOUSE IS

If Bush was serious about finding actual leakers, he might start with the cabal inside the White House and led by his own vice president which broke the law by leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent as revenge against her husband disagreeing with Regime propaganda. But Bush, who I've always been pretty sure was in on that one (or at least the cover-up that followed it), has no interest in the Valerie Plame case, other than to minimize the political damage to his regime. The leaks that have been driving him to distraction are leaks inside the White House about how depressed everyone is there. Now that he wants to get to the bottom of and find the traitor (not the traitors to our nation and our security but the traitor/yenta to his faltering regime!

I've come a long way since the first time I mentioned NY DAILY NEWS Bureau Chief Thomas DeFrank on this blog. The guy knows his stuff and has incredible inside-the-heart-of-the-beast connections. Today's column "All disquiet on West Wing front", pictures an embattled White House with no credibility, no leadership whatsoever, an evaporating agenda and lots and lots of paranoia.

"Two sources," according to DeFrank, "said Bush has not only lost some confidence in his top aides, as the Daily News has previously reported, but is furious with a stream of leaks about the mood within the West Wing. 'He's asking [friends] for opinions on who he can trust and who he can't,' one knowledgeable source said... The problem for Bush, advisers admit, is that the ongoing leak probe reinforces allegations that the White House allegedly hyped prewar intelligence to justify a war most Americans no longer support."

The White House is rudderless, with Bush-- at best-- moping (some say hitting the bottle) and lashing out and screaming at people. They've circled the wagons and no longer reach out to anyone outside a very inner circle. "A card-carrying member of the Washington GOP establishment with close ties to the White House recently encountered several senior presidential aides at a dinner and came away shaking his head at their 'no problems here' mentality. 'There is just no introspection there at all,' he said in exasperation. 'It is everybody else's fault-- the press, gutless Republicans on the Hill. They're still in denial.' Not ready to throw in the towel and declare the boss a lame duck, the Bushies are hoping two issues can help firm up their base and perhaps make inroads with centrists who voted for Bush: the anticipated confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, and a plan to reinforce the border with Mexico to help stop illegal immigration. This week Bush will begin to press the border security issue, while Alito's Senate confirmation hearings start early next year. Aides hope those issues will draw attention away from the war and leak probe."

Yes, I'm sure they do. But they've made their bed (of nails); let's hope they don't drag all the rest of us through it for 3 more excruciating years.