Submitted by WhitesCreek on Fri, 2006/11/10 - 9:55am.
I was amused by the KNS headline saying Rummy was a victim of "Politics"...He was a victim of incompetence, arrogance, and failure...His own, to be exact.
Submitted by Factchecker on Fri, 2006/11/10 - 1:20pm.
Far be it for me to defend anyone in either Bush admin, and surely Gates should be scrutinized for the company he keeps, but I highly respect Fred Kaplan's views, which have been about as damning of W/Cheney/Rummy as Keith Olbermann's. Yet his take on Gates is pretty much the opposite.
Submitted by Socialist With ... on Fri, 2006/11/10 - 1:47pm.
Maybe Kaplan is pinning his optimism on this:
Second, Gates is a member of the Iraq Study Group chaired by James Baker (Bush's father's closest friend and adviser). Some who have testified before the group say that, judging from some of his remarks, Gates (like nearly everyone on the panel) is well-aware that the administration's policy in Iraq is a disaster. At his press conference this morning, President Bush said that he'll meet with Baker's group early next week. With a member of the panel in charge of the Pentagon, any changes Baker recommends now have a much better chance of being adopted.
People have a tendency to shift their worldviews once they get Cabinet appointments (think Colin Powell), so I'm not as convinced as Kaplan seems to be. But is it possible that Bush is making an implicit admission that Iraq has been a failure? It would be a first in his career, but Tuesday's earthquake may have caused a light bulb to flicker (however dimly and briefly) above his head.
--Socialist With A Gold Card
"I'm a socialist with a gold card. I firmly believe we need a revolution; I'm just concerned that I won't be able to get good moisturizer afterwards." --Brett Butler
I hear you, FC. I should've pointed to Kaplan's piece, as well as William Arkin's for the sake of argument (I have to say I lost a lot of respect for and confidence in both of these writers after their inexcusably idiotic and unconscionable treatment of the Lancet report).
Gates should be given a fair hearing. But that's precisely what the Bushies are trying to avoid. They've created an illusion of urgency because want him confirmed before the new Senate comes in.
As the Democracy Now report explains, this same stupid game was played out the last time Gates's nomination was approved, and both Dems and Reps came to regret it...big time.
I have no doubt that Gates could make a competent Defense Secretary under a competent administration. The problem is that he's a boggart, adapting perfectly to whatever environment he's in. He can be an angel, or the worst rat-fucker imaginable. That's why Cheney wants him.
Gates has the potential to be much, much worse than Rumsfeld, and we can't afford the risk at this juncture. Rumsfeld couldn't hide the fact that he has no conscience because he's a moron. Gates is a sociopath and a smooth operator.
Most amazing of all is the "newsy" hysteria being generated by the 24/7 broadcast media over the ISG/SECDEF business. In recent years it has become evident that the cable news outfits have become generators of mass hysteria. They bring in their tub thumping anchors, their "experts," their favorite print news people, their favorite congress people and among themselves conduct an orgy of mutual intellectual masturbation that starts with rumor and quickly becomes self sustaining.
The Baker/ISG thing is just the latest, and will not be the last example. The same press people were deeply complicit in building war hysteria before we entered Iraq. These are the same folks who now eagerly agree with each other that "no one" could have known.
I was amused by the KNS headline saying Rummy was a victim of "Politics"...He was a victim of incompetence, arrogance, and failure...His own, to be exact.
You think the KNS is bad, Check out the NYT.
Sweet Jeebus. I'd say Jim Rutenberg needs a helium enema to clear out the massive volume of smoke blown up his butt.
Far be it for me to defend anyone in either Bush admin, and surely Gates should be scrutinized for the company he keeps, but I highly respect Fred Kaplan's views, which have been about as damning of W/Cheney/Rummy as Keith Olbermann's. Yet his take on Gates is pretty much the opposite.
Maybe Kaplan is pinning his optimism on this:
People have a tendency to shift their worldviews once they get Cabinet appointments (think Colin Powell), so I'm not as convinced as Kaplan seems to be. But is it possible that Bush is making an implicit admission that Iraq has been a failure? It would be a first in his career, but Tuesday's earthquake may have caused a light bulb to flicker (however dimly and briefly) above his head.
--Socialist With A Gold Card
"I'm a socialist with a gold card. I firmly believe we need a revolution; I'm just concerned that I won't be able to get good moisturizer afterwards." --Brett Butler
I hear you, FC. I should've pointed to Kaplan's piece, as well as William Arkin's for the sake of argument (I have to say I lost a lot of respect for and confidence in both of these writers after their inexcusably idiotic and unconscionable treatment of the Lancet report).
Gates should be given a fair hearing. But that's precisely what the Bushies are trying to avoid. They've created an illusion of urgency because want him confirmed before the new Senate comes in.
As the Democracy Now report explains, this same stupid game was played out the last time Gates's nomination was approved, and both Dems and Reps came to regret it...big time.
I have no doubt that Gates could make a competent Defense Secretary under a competent administration. The problem is that he's a boggart, adapting perfectly to whatever environment he's in. He can be an angel, or the worst rat-fucker imaginable. That's why Cheney wants him.
Gates has the potential to be much, much worse than Rumsfeld, and we can't afford the risk at this juncture. Rumsfeld couldn't hide the fact that he has no conscience because he's a moron. Gates is a sociopath and a smooth operator.
Cheney is not screaming the White House down around Dubya's ears should be enough of a signal to give any sane person pause.
"You can't fix stupid..." Ron White
Ladies and Gentlemen, Col. Pat Lang:
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