Michael – I agree, but I think it’s even worse than that. It was a lie that it was a lie in the first place. Joe Wilson now admits in his book that Iraq did in fact inquire about uranium in Africa, or at least that’s what Wilson’s own source thought at the time. So all of the Wilson-inspired hoopla (or horse shinola) that it was all a lie was in fact not true. Bonus fun: The Iraqi agent who allegedly sought yellowcake was none other than Baghdad Bob himself. You can read all about this in the Washington Post.
None of this justifies deliberately outing Wilson’s wife — if that’s what happened — but if Wilson was as dishonest (or incompetent) as he now seems to have been when he was grandstanding on this specific allegation, it’s not surprising that folks at the White House hated his guts.