Time again for another compare and contrast exercise. The CIA fired Mary McCarthy on Friday and since then right-wing bloggers have been busily digging up and sharing many interesting bits of information about the leaker. See for example Flopping Aces.

Meanwhile from the mainstream media we hear only whitewash and crickets. Do these MSM guys work weekends, or are they just too pooped from reporting leaks all week? The “amateurs” are once again providing more thorough information and analysis while the “professionals” seem to be saving their energy for the next vice presidential hunting accident.

Covering his newspaper’s role in publishing McCarthy’s leaks Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. said:

…people who provide citizens the information they need to hold their government accountable should not “come to harm for that.”

“The reporting that Dana did was very important accountability reporting about how the CIA and the rest of the U.S. government have been conducting the war on terror,” Downie said. “Whether or not the actions of the CIA or other agencies have interfered with anyone’s civil liberties is important information for Americans to know and is an important part of our jobs.”

This of course makes perfect sense if you see yourself as a political activist rather than as an observer and journaler of events. Thanks for your honesty Leonard.

Leftist bloggers are still stewing on the proper spin for this story, but it will surely center on just how awful it is that the poor misunderstood patriots who are only blowing the whistle in an effort to protect the country they love so dearly are persecuted mercilessly while the Execrable Executive (AKA The World’s Biggest Terrorist) goes unpunished for outing Valerie Plame for purely selfish political reasons. In fact it’s already started:

I am struck by the irony that Mary McCarthy may have been fired for blowing the whistle and ensuring that the truth about an abuse was told to the American people. There is something potentially honorable in that action; particularly when you consider that George Bush authorized Scooter Libby to leak misleading information for the purpose of deceiving the American people about the grounds for going to war in Iraq.

That leftist fever swamp dead-enders get worked into a lather about the damage caused by the compromise of a single CIA desk jockey even while they yawn at the damage caused by the compromise of whole CIA projects reveals something of their political bias and intellectual dishonesty. Likewise the mainstream media.