President Bush faces a Showdown at Credibility Gulch

Dick Meyer, CBSNews -- The summer heat is on. Congress is preparing to investigate and sizzling, high-drama hearings are a distinct possibility. The Inquisition hit an important mark of scandal-worthiness -- the Newsweekly Trifecta; Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report all ran detailed features examining the charges of a cover-up in the covert world.

Labor’s Prime Minster Blair has it worse. For starters, has opponents are gutsier. Ian Duncan Smith, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, bluntly said, “The truth is that nobody believes a word now that the prime minister is saying.” That’s a Tory talking about a Laborite who went to war! Two prominent members of Blair’s own cabinet who quit over the war have also accused the government of misleading the country about the justifications for war.

To be clear: there is absolutely no question that an Inquisition in Washington is vitally needed.

But, there’s a perfectly good chance it will never happen, that the next big story will eclipse and erase today’s furor to find out.

Remember, “connect the dots?” That was 9/11 Washington-speak for all the questions about why the FBI and CIA didn’t “connect the dots” of pre-9/11 evidence that pointed to a potential major domestic attack. In the summer of 2002, it looked like there would be Iran-Contra-like “connect the dots” hearings. It fizzled, shunted aside by the build-up to war with Iraq – and 2002 elections, of course.

So a Rove strategy would be to delay until elections or a war? Hmmm, I can see him rubbing his hands together now.