The Plame Game.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Politics: The White House has been forced to open a criminal case that may be impossible to close. That suits the opposition's goals, if not the public interest.

After watching politicians for a while, you can tell the difference between two types of outrage. One is real anger. The other, directed at real or perceived wrongdoing by one's political foes, is just thinly veiled joy. The Democrats' current fury over charges that the White House illegally leaked the identity of a CIA employee is definitely Type 2.

And no wonder. They can see that they have President Bush in a bit of a bind.

Bush has to be aggressive in going after the leak. Otherwise, he'll be accused of a cover-up. But since leaks are given to journalists who won't name sources, even a full-scale FBI probe could come up empty. Then Bush will be under pressure to appoint a special prosecutor who can spend more taxpayer money to reach the same result. The imbroglio might drag on well into the election year.

In any case, the charges look fuzzy if one sticks with just the known facts.

The fuss was set off by a July 14 piece from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who was looking for a reason why the CIA had assigned a known critic of the Bush administration, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, to find out if Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Niger for use in building nuclear weapons.

Novak said he learned from two administration sources that Wilson was sent at the suggestion of his wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA employee. Novak mentioned her by name.