Confidence Man
The one interesting tidbit that came my way by way of an unnamed senior American journalist is this:
My sense is that the Rove team is feeling more confident today, the Libby team despondent
I would just remind everyone that Rove has a faith based belief in the psych-out. He believes that if you can influence events by acting as if you have knowledge they do not have. (See: bandwagon effect, election 2000, final swing through California.)
If he’s still negotiating with Fitzgerald, he could easily have issued an edict to his people (or even lied to them) to give a certain impression of confidence to the press. That’s the kind of thing he does.
The thing is, the bandwagon effect is bullshit and cost him 2000. If it hadn’t been for good company men on the Supreme Court, instead of having the reputation as the most brilliant political strategist the world has ever known, he would have been remembered as the man who blew the most expensive presidential race in history because of his arrogant belief that he could shape events just by acting like he knew things that nobody else knew.
Like everyone else I’m ODing on speculation, and he may very well have gotten some good news. But let’s just say that when I hear that Karl Rove is acting like a winner before the score is posted, I’m skeptical.
.