The pushback begins

What was an open and shut case of Mary McCarthy, who was fired for leaking classified information to the press, now has become a pushback from the media to shield themselves from the embarrassment of receiving classified information and publicizing it.

The first paragraph sets the tone:

The rare firing last week of a CIA officer accused of leaking information to the news media stems both from the sensitivity of the subjects she allegedly discussed and the Bush administration's forceful efforts to block national security disclosures that have proved embarrassing or caused operational problems, according to current and former intelligence officials.

Emphasis mine. "Operational problems"? That's putting it mildly. Classified information isn't classified because it's a minor inconvenience if revealed. This is information that could involve national security. It is not for individual CIA employees to decide for themselves what is OK to reveal or not. If that were true, there would be no point to the CIA at all.

Of course, WaPo unsurprisingly brings in Scooter Libby, again trying to conflate the two unrelated issues into one. Let's be clear: Scooter Libby let the media know of information unclassified by the President. Mary McCarthy leaked classified information to the media. Generally speaking, 'classified' and 'unclassified' can be considered antonyms.