Not Reader Mail, but Representative Mail

As October approaches, we thought it fitting to do a "one year later" examination of the events leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in spring 2003. And what better lens through which to examine this than incriminating mail from elected representatives who signed off on the President's ability to pre-emptively go into the Middle East?

The following is an excerpt from a letter sent by the staff of Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) in response to her constituents in mid-October, 2002. Pay special attention to the lines in bold type.

"Dear ___:

There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein and his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons pose a real and persuasive threat to the safety and security of the United States, the Persian Gulf, and the Middle East. We must push for a resolution now or risk paying a high price later."

Strike no. 1: Senator Feinstein, alongside Senator John Kerry et al., voted for this resolution because they felt "reassured" by the "conveyance" of the prospect that President Bush and his staff would work with the U.N. in disarming Iraq. Sarcasm alert: To the best of our recollection, however, the U.S-led coalition which moved into Iraq in March 2003 seemed to be lacking these credibility-providing members of the U.N. Security Council.

Strike no. 2: The quote about an "arsenal of chemical and biological weapons" posing "a real and persuasive threat" and risking America's "paying a high price later" pretty much speaks for itself, at least for anyone who has paid attention to the news for the past few months, and who wasn't distracted by semantic disavowals of the significance of sixteen words, and rebuilding contracts, and Liberian uprising (speaking of the rebels, whatever happened to...?).

So, this brings up an interesting dilemma. For those Senators who voted for the resolution because they were so persuaded by intelligence that ultimately proved to be anything but, do they not feel lied to? And might this not explain the righteous anger that elected representatives such as Senator Ted Kennedy have wielded in the past few weeks? Perhaps a better question is, where are all the others who "doth not protest too much"?

Meanwhile, the former part-owner of the Texas Rangers seems to have pulled a baseball first: By encouraging the nation's representatives to support him as he purportedly took his case to the U.N., and, as part of that effort, relied on dubiously relevant information to make a case for war, President Bush has managed to swing once and get two strikes for the effort.

What happens on the next pitch?

Unintentionally hilarious photo of the moment, Vol. 2

Following up on the post immediately below, meet one Joe M. Allbaugh, the former Director of FEMA. A predictably awful suggested headline may have been, "FEMA DECLARES HAIRLINE A FEDERAL DISASTER AREA", but that would have been tasteless. So instead, we'll simply let the image speak for itself, and lest you think we're picking on this poor chap in an unwarranted manner, take note of the following info snipped from the FEMA site:

"Mr. Allbaugh served as the National Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney 2000 with responsibility and oversight for all activities related to the Bush election campaign. He had previously served as Campaign Manager for President Bush's first run for Texas governor."

See, the guy deserves it! Laugh away!

Overheard at a Bethesda Denny's

Joe M. Allbaugh: Damnit, man. Everyone and their mother is making money in Iraq and we're sitting here with our thumbs in our asses!
Edward M. Rogers, Jr.: You found those xeroxes? I was drunk.
Lanny Griffiths: Shut up, you idiot. Joe's right: we gotta monetize this Iraq thing now!
Joe M. Albaugh: I got an idea. We should start our own company to hook people up with George.
Edward M. Rogers, Jr.: Like a dating service?
Joe M. Albaugh: No, you idiot. A consulting firm.
Lanny Griffiths: That's a capital idea.
Joe M. Albaugh: Literally!
Rogers and Griffiths laugh
Edward M. Rogers, Jr.: I don't get it.

Washington Insiders' New Firm Consults on Contracts in Iraq

New Bridges Strategies.

Super-spectacular unintentionally hilarious photo of the moment, vol. 1

The politics of spite

Wow, these people are amazing. This is a real example of treason, and where's defender of freedom Ann Coulter when we need her? Probably picking out bits of vomit from under her French manicure.

I don't want to know anything more than what the five-word headlines tell me about my White House's CIA leaks

What with the mini-hullabaloo about what may or may not be Karl Rove's pseudo-anonymous leak to Robert Novak in July about the positive identification of a CIA official (thereby violating federal law), the press is yet again in a flurry! A tizzy! Law-breaking administration officials -- scandal!

Well, rest assured this scandal will go the way of missing WMD's and budget deficits and under-funded education legislation. The President's press secretary, Scott McClellan, stated today that an investigation will ensue if the administration happens to come across any more information regarding the leaks. This information, of course, won't come from up on high, as this excerpted info indicates:

"Q (The President) does not know whether or not the classified information was divulged here, and he's only getting his information from the media?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, we don't know -- we don't have any information that's been brought to our attention beyond what we've seen in the media reports."

Well, if what Bush knows is confined to what appears in media coverage, it might help to take the President's news-gathering habits into account, as per last week's interview with Brit Hume from Fox News:

"HUME: How do you get your news?

BUSH: I get briefed by Andy Card and Condi in the morning. They come in and tell me...I glance at the headlines just to kind of a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."

How do you like those odds of there being an independent counsel to investigate this matter?

Building a Better Mousetrap

In this post-Inside.com world of media criticism, scoops are few and far between. Unless you're Slate's ineffably muckraking media crit Jack Shafer!

Shafer, who lost the magazine's editorial stewardship to Jacob Weisberg when Michael Kinsley stepped down last year, has now posted two uber-niche media navelgazing pieces in consecutive weeks...starting with last week's ill-conceived, contrarian-for-contrarian's sake dismissal of "public" or "civil journalism" (which in and of itself isn't the obscenely I.F. Stone-centric idea that Shafer makes it out to be) and culminating with today's front-page featured article, The Rat of Baghdad - Who tattled on New York Times reporter John F. Burns to the Iraqi ministry of information?

Within, we get a sanctimonious dissection of one anonymous reporter's "outing" of the Times' John Burns and his criticism of Saddam Hussein to the tyrant himself. The issue? "(B)y performing his comparative literature review with the Iraqi ministry using Burns' copy, did the unnamed American correspondent end up taunting the ministry for allowing Burns to write so damagingly? Did the unnamed American correspondent's comparison draw an extra set of crosshairs on Burns' forehead and put him in even greater peril? Did the unnamed correspondent encourage the Iraqis to further play one foreign correspondent off the other?"

Wow, first Daniel Pearl, and then Jayson Blair, and then...Burnsgate! Let's hear it for (over-)reactionary New York-based self-absorption! Scoop on, Shafer!

We eagerly await the onslaught of frontpage media-crit controversies on the U.S. coalition's shooting death of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana or the Army's cannon-fodder treatment of journalists in Baghdad's Palestine hotel or the American-led interim Iraqi government's banning of Arabic satellite television networks such as Al-Jazeera.

Wait. Maybe those stories already got their token half-day of coverage?

It's Dr. Dean

He didn't pay good money for a medical degree for some TV critic to keep calling him "Mr."

George W. Bush's Awesome Mix tape

Better late than never, here are some highlights from President Bush's chat with Brit Hume on FOX Monday night with suggested songs for a roadtrip mix!

“I pray in bed, I pray in the Oval Office. I pray a lot. And just different—as the spirit moves me. And faith is an integral part of my life.' (Cue: Hammer, "Pray.")
“I recognize that in the eyes of an almighty, I am a lowly sinner." (Cue: "Amazing Grace.")
"I ask for strength and wisdom and I pray for calmness when the seas are storming.' (Cue: Creed, "Arms Wide Open."
“I set big objectives.' (Cue: Dr. Octagon, "I'm Destructive.")
“I'm a man of peace.' (Cue: John Lennon, "Imagine.")
"I equate freedom and peace." (Cue: Paul McCartney "Freedom.")

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Coming soon to your mailbox: Personally signed "I'm sorry for lying about the Iraq-9/11 connection" greeting cards from one very apologetic Texan.