Category: Politics, Policy & Culture

Well, Goodbye, Henry

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Henry Kissinger has resigned from the commission that will investigate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In his letter, Kissinger said he was prepared to submit all relevant financial information to the White House and an independent review, as well as to other members of the joint commission.
“It has become clear, however, that although specific potential conflicts can be resolved in this manner, the controversy would quickly move to the consulting firm I have built and own,” Kissinger’s letter said.

This sounds like Kissinger finally realized the extent to which his global influence peddling business would be subject to scrutiny. And, if there’s one thing Kissinger won’t stand for, it’s full disclosure (which is why it was such a joke that he was named to lead the commission).
The only drawback here is that it leaves an opening for President Bush to make a smarter appointment the second time around. He can now choose a more subtle candidate to whitewash the investigation’s findings.

Martin Pointdexter: J’accuse

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gore.jpg
Trent Lott’s recent comments aren’t really that shocking, are they? It’s not as if anyone needed further proof that the senator from Mississippi is a reactionary toad.

“I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either.”

Nothing new there.
The real news here comes from Al Gore’s reaction, which is just the latest embarrassment from the desperately over-eager former Vice-President.

“To say that the problems that we have in America today, some of them, stem from not electing a segregationist candidate for president … is fundamentally racist,” Gore said.
Asked if he believes Lott is a racist, Gore said, “Trent Lott made a statement that I think is a racist statement, yes. That’s why I think he should withdraw those comments or I think the United States Senate should undertake a censure of those comments.

Racist? Censure? Come on. Lott is an idiot. And his politics are despicable and destructive. But is it really so bad that he says what he feels? Isn’t this the way we find out who a person really is? His words speak for themselves, and are rightfully being publicized and derided. Do we really need Gore rushing to be the first to scream “racist” at the top of his lungs? Talk about zealous overkill.
It’s way past time to put Gore out to pasture. He means well, but he’s not leadership material. And he’s never going to be President.

Don’t Vote

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Ah, those silly, democracy-loving Republicans. Always ready to take the high-road in politics, aren’t they?

In Louisiana, a Democrat Wins a Tough Senate Race
With a last-minute outcropping of anti-Landrieu signs, the Republicans did their best to suppress the black vote so crucial to Ms. Landrieu’s fortunes.
The new signs, paid for by the Louisiana Republican Party, said: “Mary: If you don’t respect us, don’t expect us.”The quotation was from a popular black official, State Senator Cleo Fields, who had initially been cool to Ms. Landrieu’s candidacy because she had not supported his bid for governor and because he believed that she was taking the black vote for granted. Mr. Fields later endorsed Ms. Landrieu.
The Republicans paid black youths $75 today to hold the signs aloft on street corners in black neighborhoods.

How is the opposition party going to match this? Perhaps by hiring Christians to wear t-shirts to church with this message: Armageddon scheduled for Election Day&#8212God says “Stay home!&#8221

Putting On The Pounds

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Did I really just hear this right? Whitney Houston told Diane Sawyer that she became so thin that she had to be digitally altered to add weight after an appearance at a Michael Jackson concert? (Send those digital technicians to save Courtney Cox, STAT!)
I heard this mentioned on All Things Considered, where host Jacki Lyden took a little dig at Ms. Sawyer by setting up the bit with something along the lines of: “Last night Diane Sawyer put her journalistic chops to the test and interviewed Whitney Houston.” This just after Lyden’s colleague, Lynn Neary, played video games on air.
Digitally Altered (NPR RealAudio Stream)

Fun With Henry

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William Safire thinks Chief Investigator Henry Kissinger will be just swell, thank you. In a column that bears many a sign of dementia, Safire promises us the man has changed. Really. He’s a kitten.
For another take on Kissinger’s appointement to chair the investigation into pre-9/11 intelligence failures, take a speculative ride with Slate’s Chatterbox, who asks: “Will Kissinger Screw Rumsfeld?”.
Anyone think Bush will rue the day he listened to his handlers on this one? We can only hope.

Thanks For The Warning, Cokie!

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On today’s Morning Edition, NPR called Cokie Roberts to get her take on John Kerry’s announcement that he is, um, like, really, really serious about running for President (“Hello, anyone listening?”). Her take?

“The last liberal Democrat from Massachusetts who ran for President was Michael Dukakis, and we know what happened to him.”

She also dredged up a comparison from even further back in the political past:

“The last Democrat who did that was George McGovern.”

Wow. Scary stuff. Thanks for the tips, Cokie!
(Not that Kerry has any chance whatsoever of being elected President.)

The Fox Is Back In The Henhouse

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Bush has appointed Henry Kissenger to investigate alleged U.S. intelligence failures leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks. Appointing Kissenger to uncover “the facts” is a cruel, sick joke. The only facts Kissenger has respect for are the ones he manufactures or manipulates.
The Latest Kissinger Outrage
Kissinger’s Back
The Case Against Henry Kissinger
Such a clumsy, transparent attempt to rig the outcome of this investigation is a sign that the Bush administration is confident enough in its powers to disregard the need for subtlety. Notice, also, the timing of the appointment—the day before Thanksgiving, when interest in news is at a low point.
If the Democratic Party doesn’t forcefully challenge this, they aren’t merely asleep at the wheel, they’re dead.

Cokie Contemptus

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I can’t stand Cokie Roberts. For me, she personifies the world of snobby, know-it-all Washington punditry. Raised a D.C. political brat, she is now a pampered Washington insider who can’t see issues except through myopic Beltway lenses.
The tone of her commentaries oozes with contempt for her audience as she regurgitates the conventional thinking of Washington’s elites. She offers nothing new, only a bored, haughty recitation of the court whisper.
A low point in journalism—and the period when I became somewhat embarrassed to tell people I’d studied the craft in college&#8212came back when ABC News paired Roberts with Sam Donaldson for its Sunday morning show, This Week.
For an example of Roberts’ thinking, read this column, written with her husband back in 1997, wherein they argue that the internet could become a threat to representative democracy—by giving more power to the people. Horrors!

“If you’re on-line, you’re inside the Beltway,” in the opinion of Graeme Browning, author of the book Electronic Democracy, which argues that the Internet is making individuals more politically powerful. Sounds good, but is it?

Cokie doesn’t want to hear from you. She just wants to keep pontificating from her comfortable perch. Someone get her off of NPR.