Poll Findings Come As White House Softens Denials: “Nearly seven in 10 Americans believe a special prosecutor should be named to investigate allegations that Bush administration officials illegally leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released yesterday.

The poll, taken after the Justice Department announced that it had opened a criminal probe into the matter, pointed to several troubling signs for the White House as Bush aides decide how to contain the damage. The survey found that 81 percent of Americans considered the matter serious, while 72 percent thought it likely that someone in the White House leaked the agent’s name.” —Washington Post As Lyn Millett suggested in comments below, there seems to be serious Pulitzer-stalking activity going on here at the Post. As she also suggested, perhaps I was underestimating the potential for a public outcry: “This is a very simple story for the general public, which consumes millions of Tom Clancy novels, to understand: White House outs spy, harms national security, for political reasons. ”