Let's take the leap here, and assume that this is accurate. Will it matter?
Will it matter to Bill Frist? Will it matter to Dick Lugar? Will it matter to Arlen Specter? Will it matter to John McCain? Will it matter to Denny Hastert? Will it matter to John Boehner? Will it matter to Peter King? Will it matter to the backbencher Republicans in Congress? Will it matter to the elected Republican leadership around the country?
Oh sure, maybe Chuck Hagel will say something. Newt Gingrich might throw a little spew around. But honestly, can Americans expect their elected Republican leadership to do anything other than try to sweep this under the rug with generalities and deceptions and the newest laboratory-developed phony controversy?
No.
And so... if this is true, ordinary Republicans are going to have a chance to rethink Bush and the national Republicans. We shouldn't blame them that Bush has abused their trust in him. We shouldn't blame them that they believed what the Republican press has told them.
But... there's going to be a load of crap coming from Republicans and their media outlets about this story in order to cover, vent, refocus, bury this story. Are these ordinary Republicans going to continue to trust Bush? Are they going to continue to trust the Congressional Republicans? Are they going to re-elect these people?
If so, they deserve blame. They owe America a greater level of responsibility than that.