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03/22/2004 Archived Entry: "Clarke's book, the White House and John Kerry"
Clark's book, the White House and John Kerry
I haven't posted anything on Richard Clarke or the firestorm his book has ignited, partly because guys like Marshall and Atrios were all over it, partly because I was split between head-down work mode and watching a construction crew cut a 4-foot wide swath across my front yard (got hooked up to the city sewer today). But I noticed a few things along the way today, so I might as well talk about them now.
I cannot remember the last time I saw Bush's White House in scorched-earth mode like they were today - not even when Plame broke, not even when the NY Daily News ran the 'Bush Knew' headline. This was an entirely new level of slime, even for the dirty-tricks veterans squatting in Al Gore's house.
McClellan was mocking Clarke, Condi was on CNN extremely early, Dan Bartlett was on at least three cable news shows, Ken Adelman was sliming Clarke on Crossfire - and the icing on this toxic cake was Dick Freakin' Crash Cart Cheney on The Three Hour Hate with Hillbily Heroin Boy. No need to tell you what they said, because if you saw one you saw them all. they all said the same thing, over and over - Clarke was 'demoted,' he was 'disgruntled,' 'out of the loop,' 'lacking in character.'
In short, Clarke is scaring the living fuck out of the Thug Cabal.
One thing I found funny - Bartlett appeared on 'Inside Politics,' and he claimed that he had an email from Condi that would prove that Clarke was pissy because of his 'demotion' (see this post by Josh clarifying when he got his 'demotion'), but he only paraphrased it but didn't actually show it. He also claimed that Clarke's book came out now because he was being 'political.'
At the end of the afternoon news cycle, Clarke himself appeared on 'NewsHour,' and Margaret Warner asked him why the book came out now, and how the White House was claiming that the timing was politically motivated.
Clarke replied that the White House has had the book for three months, and clarke had been waiting for them to clear the content. Bartlett appeared just after Clarke, and the timing of the book was missing from his talking points.
Now about John Kerry...
Kerry, as you probably know, went on vacation last week. The White House was in the midst of their Big Happy War Anniversary, and ThugCo monopolized the airwaves. As a result, Kerry got knocked around pretty good, and I remember thinking that Kerry had made a mistake by leaving the arena at that time.
Flashing forward a week, I must say I was mistaken.
Consider how this week is shaping up - Clarke appears on 60 Minutes on Sunday and levels his charges. The White House goes into full-on smear mode all day today, while 9/11 Citizens Watch is holding a press conference to announce the questions they want the 9/11 Commission to ask the administration. Clarke holds his own on TV today, effectively picking off a few key White House smear points. Kerry announces that he's requested the chapters from Clarke's book dealing with the charges before he talks about them. The 9/11 Commission will hold two days of televised hearings starting tomorrow, with testimony from Clinton and Bush administration officials.
Kerry returns from vacation on Wednesday. By that time, the pot should be boiling nicely and Kerry will be read up and ready to confront Bush on Clarke's charges.
Bush had his moment in the sun last week - but I'm getting the feeling that this week, Kerry's gonna whip out a magnifying glass and singe him like a bug on the sidewalk.
Oh - and don't be too surprised if Clarke drops a piano on ThugCo at the Commission hearings. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he has documentation to back up everything he said on 60 Minutes.
Replies: 2 people speak up
Kerry would do well to sit back and let unfolding events speak for themselves while he defines himself - I thought whitehouse spokespeople looked a bit desperate today - the vice prez on Limburger's show? This guy accused Clinton of murder - feminists are feminazi's - is this what Cheney is for? Condi - god bless her little cold war heart and mind - was pissed and defensive - how come no one was cool and collected? Are we hitting close to home?
Posted by karl @ 03/22/2004 11:06 PM NY
I think you should read Clarke's interview on foxnews.com from 2002
He bashs Clinton and praised Bush
Posted by JohnRAM @ 03/24/2004 11:53 AM NY
