Card says Bush wants answers on CIA probe
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A Justice Department investigation into the leaking of a CIA's agent's name will not distract the White House from doing its business, nor should it provide a temptation for Democrats hoping to brand the Bush administration unpatriotic, Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff, said yesterday in an interview.
"I think that would be an irresponsible label. The president does not like the leaking of classified information and he's made that clear," Card said as he accompanied President Bush to New Hampshire. "The president has been the most adamant about getting to the bottom of this, and he told everybody at the White House and the executive branch to cooperate, and to my knowledge, everybody is cooperating."
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced last week that his department was investigating the circumstances surrounding a July newspaper column in which Robert D. Novak cited "two senior administration officials" as telling him the wife of former US ambassador Joseph C. Wilson was a CIA agent. A week earlier, Wilson had accused the administration of exaggerating the case for war against Iraq. The Washington Post subsequently reported the White House had leaked the information to Novak in an effort to punish Wilson and undermine the credibility of his wife, Valerie Plame.
Standing in the back of the Center of New Hampshire as Bush spoke to an audience estimated at 600, Card confessed to having stayed up until near-midnight the previous evening watching his hometown Red Sox beat the New York Yankees in the first game of the American League Championship Series. The former state representative from Holbrook, Mass., also said he returns to Massachusetts every six weeks and pays close attention to state politics.
He praised Governor Mitt Romney, saying, "I think he's providing statesmanlike leadership." Card, known for his reserve, also offered an unprompted and unusually emotional endorsement of former governor Paul Cellucci, now US ambassador to Canada. "Paul Cellucci is my best friend in the world," Card said, reminiscing about their long friendship and recalling how Cellucci did not hesitate in serving as chairman of Card's unsuccessful 1982 campaign for governor.Card said the public should not expect Bush to engage the Democratic Party until after it selects a presidential nominee."He's not going to get distracted by what's happening on the other side," Card said of Bush. "He knows he will have an opponent, but we don't know who it will be."Card also offered a deadpan assessment of Senator John F. Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat seeking to unseat his boss. "He's an adequate United States senator," he said, pausing for effect before breaking into laughter.
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com. 
