It will come as no surprise to you that despite yesterday's news concerning indictments inside the White House, I remain optimistic about the conservative cause. The conservative and related Republican cause is finally not about personalities but about principles, ideas and worldviews that are right for America and right for the world, Sometimes the "earthen vessels" that carry these principles fall down, crack up, disappoint or do the wrong thing. But the principles endure. They cannot and will not be proved wrong.

 What was revealed yesterday in the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby was that the investigation would move forward. Nothing more. If the charges are true, Libby should suffer the consequences. He has already lost his job over it. But let's not lose our heads here. And lets take just a little break from the endless media reporting of what they wish were true, instead of the actual facts. When you look at the facts, you will see that the American left has failed once again to circumvent the ballot box and win by other means. Not that I expect them to change tactics any time soon. After all, this is all they have. Here are the facts as we know them.

 Fact#1. The original charge that people inside the White House "outed" Valerie Plame was not substantiated. Patrick Fitzgerald was left with after the fact events, but the original accusation was not proved.

 Fact #2. This is not about the Iraq War. Fitzgerald said exactly that. This investigation has nothing to do with WMD or with either side's contentions about the war. It will give no fuel to any fire. It remains a narrowly focused investigation on the specific charges. So when you hear Democrats, as you will, raising the war issue, remember that they are out in left field. From there, they have not learned to "play the carom" and throw anyone out.

 Fatc#3. Joe Wilson is still a bald-faced liar. Stephen Hayes, writing for the Weekly Standard has documented Wilson's lies.

 1. Wilson said he saw documents about Niger's yellowcake program in June 2002. In fact, these documents did not exist until October 2002.

 2.Wilson said he was sent to Niger by Vice-President Cheney. He was not. Wilson was recommended by his wife, who sat on the CIA's WMD desk. Even though the Senate Intelligence Committee said Valerie Plame recommended him, Wilson denied it.

 3. Wilson claimed he saw forged US documents which he never did.

 4.Wilson claimed his report was circulated to senior Bush administration officials. It never was.

 5.Wilson claimed that Bush's statement in the State of the Union Address was a lie. In fact, Bush was correct. Iraq had sent envoys to several Africa countries looking for yellowcake uranium dating back before 1999.

 In all of these lies, Walter Pincus of the Washington Post was complicit in writing as though Wilson's statements were all true, without bothering to check out the facts. By the way NBC Nightly News Friday ran a photograph of Karl Rove with the statement "Under Investigation" under it, despite Patrick Fitzgerald's refusal to indicate who may or may not be still liable to indictment.

 Fact#4 Indictment is not proof. In fact, many believe these charges will be difficult to prove. The real distortion in all of this is the way-out belief that Valerie Plame was some kind of valuable, undercover agent who was a key operative, instead of a desk-job bureaucrat who hadn't been undercover for years and used Joe Wilson's position to feed anti-war fervor. The truth is that lots of people knew that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA. She was well-known at think-tank events and social appearances as well. Having one's picture on the front of Vanity Fair is not the picture of being "under cover."

 Fact#5 It is time to get back to the agenda. It is time to have a fight about what really matters. When do conservatives lose? They lose when they stop fighting about vital issues. They lose when they stop fighting on principles. Bush 41 lost on David Souter and raising taxes. Bush 43 has lost on Harriet Miers, spending and immigration. No Republican president is going to win by avoiding fights, compromising, and beating Democrats at their own game. This is a council of despair and defeat. Conservatives win when we energize the base, stop wringing our hands and lead the country. It's time to get back to basic conservative beliefs.

 The truth is, including Harriet Miers withdrawal, the results of this week are much better than we could have hoped for at the beginning. Now it is time to get to work. The President's nomination of a solid conservative to the court next week would be a good start.

  John Pendleton