Partisan Fishing Trips
The NY Times today features a nicely staged photo-op of our president standing at a podium in the oval office. I note that the camera angle rises from the floor as if the whole world looks up to the man. Beneath, the caption reads:
“We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants,” President Bush said in a news conference.
Interesting phrase; carefully crafted. My first reaction, though, was "Wait. What ‘honerable public servants’?" If the people feeling pressure from the senates investigation regarding the firings of US Attorneys were indeed honorable, then why would they feel pressured. And why would the president feel the need to pre-empt regularly scheduled TV programming to say this to the people. I mean, besides the fact that he likes to pre-empt things.
He then offered a ridiculous concession to congressional Democrats: You can interview Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, but not under oath and if you do you cannot later subpoena them. The Democrats refused. Now the Republicans can spear them with the "partisan fishing expedition" line, because - on the surface - the White House made a reasonable offer. That’s what they are thinking, anyway. I question how reasonable it is to cripple a congressional investigation by demanding special dispensation for "honorable public servants." How honorable are they that they have to hide behind bogus provisions?
(That reminds me of a short conversation I had yesterday with a friend from Canada about how the Internet is creating a transparent society: My comment was "If you have done nothing wrong, why worry about privacy?" She didn’t agree, though.)
Also in the Times is an Op-ed piece by ousted US Attorney David C. Iglesias entitled "Why I Was Fired." A must-read.
Meanwhile, Tom Delay (remember him?) - another paradigm of honor - has this to say regarding last weekend’s anti-war protesting, as reported by Impeachbush.org:
Disgraced Tom Delay went on television Sunday morning and complained on Meet the Press that "we shouldn’t have had what we had yesterday…in Washington, D.C." with people calling for "impeaching the commander in chief."
But, Tom… That’s not what you said during the Clinton Impeachment hearings. Talk about a partisan fishing trip! Mr. Delay’s message these days is to do as I say, not as I do. Hmm, my Dad tried that. I didn’t work for him either.
So: we have "honorable public servants" crouching behind special conditions, presidential posturing - again - and a disgraced former congressional leader reprimanding the public for exercising free speech. As my Canadian friend noticed; American Politics are Never Boring.
So true.