Trained Monkeys

Throughout the day on a 24 hour news channel:

Bob Franken: The other thing, however is that it serves the purpose, and it's probably going to be the big story of the day, of taking some of the spotlight away on the hubbub over the CIA leak, Karl Rove and all that type of thing.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, there's word the president could announce his Supreme Court nominee as early as today. Could that take some of the media heat off of the president's top adviser Karl Rove?

Kagan: Well, the announcement of a Supreme Court nominee would certainly shift the spotlight away from Karl Rove and the CIA leak investigation. Rove's reported leak of an operative's identity to a journalist has been a distraction for the Bush administration in recent days.

Franken: Speaking of the Karl Rove matter, of course, that is news that is considered at the moment so yesterday. We've moved on. And of course, they're going to have big news tonight.

Malveaux: So, it's quite expedited, the whole process and then, also, of course, they are not unhappy in any sense of the word that the Rove or CIA leak investigation is going to be knocked off the front pages.

Malveaux: you know, of course, Wolf, there was the controversy over knocking the Rove CIA leak controversy off the front pages. The White House insisting that they are going by the calendar, the Senate calendar, not by this controversy.

Ed Henry: This obviously gives Rove, who's been in a little hot water over the leak case, a chance to talk about something else.

Malveaux: Well, what the Democrats are suggesting is that perhaps this information is coming out to take Rove and the CIA leak investigation off the front pages of the newspapers.

Franken: The other theory is that the Karl Rove matter was getting to be quite a nuisance. And what better way to take the emphasis off of Karl Rove, since we in the media can only over-cover one story at a time, and switch that -- I wish that was my line.

King: KING: Well, White House officials say it's ridiculous to think the president would rush a decision to do that, because however the Karl Rove case turns out, whether it damages the president long term or not, this is something that will be very influential in this president's short-term political standing over the next few months, and then his political legacy over the next quarter century or more.

So they say they would never rush a decision, rush out and find somebody, and rush a decision. But of course, once the president was comfortable in his choice -- if he's ready to go, and he believes it is advantageous to him politically to go -- whether it is to get Judge Roberts out there, and maybe at the same time, bump Karl Rove back to Page 2 or 3, sure.

But the idea that they said, Oh my God, we're in trouble because of Karl Rover; we need to rush this -- I think that's a bit of a stretch.