My understanding is that many leftists view Plamegate as a "bad management" issue rather than a more systematic problem. In a similar way, Clinton demonstrated a "failure of leadership" when he cheated on his wife with an intern; just like McDonald's managers are strictly cautioned from having personal relationships with employees. It's that banal.
But maybe it's a good hook with which to introduce ideas from figures like Ray McGovern, who describes his job at the CIA. (Heck, maybe leftists need a kind of decentralized CIA, by which I mean a functioning press which has a little more integrity than a Comedy Central "fake news show".)
Tayssir