Credibility Watch; Or, The Little Shrub That Cried Wolf

This lead paragraph from a story in this morning's WashPost pretty much sums up my incredulity from yesterday (see the previous post):

"The White House's failure to make it clear that the dramatic terrorism alert Sunday was based largely on information that predated the Sept. 11 attacks is a case study in the difficulty of managing such warnings for an administration whose credibility is a central issue in a difficult presidential campaign."

Bottomline: who believes these guys, particularly with this track-record on WMDs, Niger yellowcake, and the cost of the drug prescription benefit added to Medicare? Everybody I know whose opinion I trust say Karl Rove would do ANYTHING to win this election for El Presidente. ANYTHING.

Only Howard Dean had the cojones on Sunday to call this latest ramping up of the terrorist threat what it transparently is: "...former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean strongly suggest[ed] political motives behind the announcement. 'I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism,' Dean said Sunday."

Howard Dean and Jon Stewart ... virtually the only guys we know who'll give it to us straight.