Meanwhile, Back on the Hill

Leahy gets persnickety with Specter's claim that the WH has given them "something" by offering the off-the-record, unsworn, pre-scripted testimony of Rove and Meirs:

No, no, what we're told we can get is nothing, nothing, nothing. We're told we can have a closed door meeting, with no transcript, not under oath, limited number of people and the White House would determine what the agenda is. That to me is nothing.

The SJC has voted to approve subpoenas for the two aides.

We're getting close to "draw!" in the Constitutional Showdown, and everyone is wondering who will shoot first or retreat. One colleague of the Swampizens suspects that the WH knows it has a weaker hand, and that's why they've made all that noise about keeping Gonzales on board -- they're setting up his ouster as a major sacrifice that they'll trade for the Congress agreeing to not issue subpoenas for Rove and Miers. The logic of that scheme depends on the Ds believing that the WH intends to keep Gonzales, which is about the same as saying Ds need to believe that the WH is merely incompetent, not outright malicious. Tough call.