The Place of Dead Roads

From Bloomberg News, Supreme Court Pick Shifts Attention From Rove, Agent Disclosure:

President George W. Bush's nomination of a new Supreme Court justice may give White House adviser Karl Rove a temporary reprieve from public scrutiny of his role in the disclosure of an intelligence operative's identity.

Bush accelerated his search for a Supreme Court nominee in part because of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's name, according to Republicans familiar with administration strategy.

Bush originally had planned to announce a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on July 26 or 27, just before his planned July 28 departure for a month-long vacation at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, said two administration officials, who spoke on the condition they not be named.

The officials said those plans changed because Rove has become a focus of Fitzgerald's interest and of news accounts about the matter.

Let me see if I understand: For political gain, Bush et. al. outs a NOC agent. They find themselves facing all sorts of trouble and unwanted attention. What do they do? They rush the selection of their choice for the Supreme Court, a lifetime appointment. Can these people ever think beyond their immediate political needs?