Why Lie If Declassified?

So our friends on the right seem to have settled in on the argument that, if the President authorized the info to be given to a reporter, then it is not illegal.

But I see a simple flaw in this. I ask this simple question, why lie and pretend that not only that there was a leak, but that you were going to find out who did it and discipline them? People have been fired, outed, sentenced to jail, lost credibility, and spent a lot of taxpayers $$$. So what does the President and this administration have to gain by this move?

If President Bush did sign off to authorize the "sharing" of info with a reporter or two, why not say I authorized this information to be shared from the get go? Now we get to the real problem here.

What would be the first question asked if they did say that? Why? Why did you "share" that info? What were you hoping to gain by "sharing" this info. When did it become declassified? Why declassify it now? It would seem to me that the only logical answer would be to scare Joe Wilson in an attempt to bully him into shutting up about Africa.

However, what is really sad is that, I don't have any doubt that the MSM would have buckled in 2003 and not aske the tough questions and they would have got passed this. So either way they lied, wasted our time, and our money. Thanks again for restoring dignity and moral values to the White House.