I hope this passage reflects over-optimism:
Republican officials said they were confident that the firestorm would blow over relatively quickly.
“The general view inside the White House among senior staff is that this is going to create a few rocky political days, that it’s mainly the Democrats pushing it and that if all the Republicans stay on board, the story goes away,” a Republican worker with close ties to the White House said.
That’s a big “if.” Keeping all the Republicans on board may not be so easy. But that depends on public reaction.
The big advantage for Bush is that the inexcusable media silence during the long cover-up period means that most voters are hearing about the story first in terms of Bush’s co-operation. And of course any explanation about how long the stone wall had stayed in place would make the reporters look bad, as well as the White House. In reputational terms, they’re all in this together.
Time for letters to your Senators.
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