Water in the Brain
April 7th, 2006Since the news yesterday that Bush authorized Libby to give classified information to reporters, Republicans have been defending the President on the grounds that “It depends upon what the meaning of ‘a leak’ is.” If by “a leak” we mean that water was coming in through the roof, Bush is free. If by leak we mean that he gave classified information to a reporter through a subordinate, it’s fine, says John Podhoretz and his friends, because Bush was “fighting back” against “a slander” (the charge that he lied us into war) and that, further, it wasn’t a leak of classified information at all.
Technically, the President can declassify something by revealing it, and that makes it unclassified. So Bush and Libby were well within their boundaries to give up classified information, because in giving it up they declassified it. I’ll bet the CIA is really happy about this, too. The Republicans are splitting hairs over the minor details of the classification process. Bush leaked documents through his Vice President’s best friend and hypocritically stated for ages that he hates leaks.
He circumvented the traditional declassifying process, too, by refusing to go through the process and unilaterally giving up information without anyone’s consent, despite any possible CIA objections, for the sake of politics. If Bush didn’t technically leak anyone, he showed himself to have water in the brain and politics in his heart rather than good government. At the least, he’s been shown enough times this year to be a shamelessly dishonest man, and the message that the Right is sending on this is wrong. “If the President leaks it, it’s no longer classified!” is such a shifty shady dodge to the question of whether or not the President should be playing politics like this.
How Corrupt is the UN? asks a commentary in Commentary and it’s a fair enough question. I do think that more transparency is needed at the UN, with more reform, but I don’t think this is evidence of inherent corruption or excessive corruption. No organization as large as the UN could ever be spotless, after all.
As everyone knows by now, I despise John McCain. Here, we have a list of his flaws and his errors, but we also have the promise that Mitt Romney will have a boost in the Presidential race from health care reform in his home state of Massachussetts. It’s excellent to see a Republican taking the initiative on health care, but it’s not likely to amount to a great deal. You see, it opens him up to shameless lies from the Right that he’s a Socialist during the primaries, for instance, and don’t think it’s beneath the Right. Just go to the year 2000 in South Carolina for that. I think all the stars are lined up against Romney, personally, and I think common sense is against McCain. Unless his old enemies have decided to fold and join him, which Jerry Falwell has.
Falwell sure is stupid. McCain says a few nice things to him and suddenly they’re friends? Falwell can go out and support him? If I were Jerry Falwell, and John McCain were courting me, I’d say, I say old bean! I must express astonishment at your claims! Are these facts, or a clever ruse? and John McCain would say, “Yeah really! I really want to be your friend. Get me elected.” And I’d say, “No.” But I suppose Jerry Falwell doesn’t stand by his dislike and distrust of McCain, like McCain no longer thinks him an “agent of intolerance.”
I don’t think I can look at Republicans with a straight face anymore. Not with the way they allow McCain to roll them over and pat their stomaches as if they were the dumbest dogs on the block. I’m looking at you, Falwell. (And I sent him an email letting him know.)