Clarke: Bring It On
By Karl-Thomas Musselman
The Republicans fear Clarke's testimony. So of course the best solution is to assisinate his character and claim that he lied, even if you don't have proof. Of course, Bust is used to lying without proof, but that is beside the point.
So Republicans wanted to push to declassify some of Clarke's past testimony in hopes that he lied. But Clarke isn't backing down as being reported...
Richard Clarke, the former chief counterterrorism adviser at the White House, who has criticized the Bush administration’s preparedness for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that he “would welcome” the attempt by leading Republicans to declassify his two-year-old testimony before Congress.
Clarke also said Rice’s private testimony before the commission should be declassified, as well as e-mails, memos and all other correspondence between Rice and Clarke.
“Let’s declassify everything,” Clarke said to NBC's Tim Russert, moderator of the program.
He also accused the administration of waging a “campaign to destroy me professionally and personally,” and called on the White House to “raise the level of discourse.”
Clarke also fired back at the administration by reading Bush’s response to his resignation letter.
Noting it was in the president’s handwriting, Clarke said the letter read that he would “be missed. You served our nation with distinction and honor,” and had “left a positive mark on our government.”
“He thinks I served with distinction and honor,” Clarke said, while “the rest of his staff is out there to destroy me.”
Bring. It. On.
Posted by Karl-Thomas Musselman at March 28, 2004 01:26 PM
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Since the Clarke revelations began on 60 Minutes last Sunday, the White House has not said much about John Kerry's record on national security. I was under the impression that the Bush-Cheney-Rove crowd were about to launch a 90 day propaganda campaign designed to make Kerry look weak on defense. I don't live in a battleground state, so it is possible that I'm just not seeing ads directed to my neighbors in Wisconsin or Missouri. The White House has tried to make Kerry's Senate votes, often on minor procedural matters, a major campaign issue on national security. This now seems ludicrous compared with administration negligence on al-Qaeda and mendacity on Iraq.
Clarke has undercut the Bushies on the one issue where they thought they had a big advantage. So expect every attempt by Bush-Cheney-Rove to discredit Clarke and assassinate his character.
Fortunately, Clarke is a tough and skilled infighter whose executive branch experience spans four administrations. He will not shut up or go away anytime soon.
It's no longer a question of whether Clarke will hurt Bush, but rather how much he will tarnish the GOP ticket.
