The sexual assault on CBS' Lara Logan in Egypt did, indeed, shock the nation. That doesn't mean that the White House should make it a top agenda item.

Barack Obama personally called Logan yesterday to wish her well. That's nice. That's fine. That's all well and good. But now this is, apparently, becoming an international diplomatic incident. The White House press secretary's already called for the attackers to be "held accountable." And there's this:

And a State Department spokeswoman said the United States expects an "investigation and accountability for anyone involved in violence during the demonstrations."

"We've raised it publicly and privately," spokeswoman Leslie Phillips said.

Clearly, the Egyptian revolution itself is a major issue of importance to the United States. As is the Egyptian government's apparent orders for widespread attacks on journalists covering the revolution. But for the U.S. government to publicly bark about a specific case simply because of its high media profile is posturing, plain and simple. It was a crime, catching the perpetrators is a police matter, and if the U.S. wants to dedicate useful resources to that cause, those resources do not include press secretaries. The last time a U.S. president started feeling macho about avenging an international slight to a famous American, we ended up invading Iraq, to show Saddam he couldn't go around plotting to assassinate W's daddy.

It's perfectly possible to help Lara Logan without using her as a political tool, is all. In other Lara Logan-related news: the New York Post says that the AP was close to breaking the story, which is why CBS came out with it earlier this week. And Nir Rosen, who already lost one job for mocking Logan on Twitter, went on Anderson Cooper's show last night to apologize, again.

[Photo: Getty]