MTP: MR.RUSSERT:And we're back. Did you vote for George Bush in 2000? MR. CLARKE: No, I did not.

msnbc.msn.com ^ | 03/28/04 | NBC News

[KQQL]

MR. RUSSERT: And we're back. Did you vote for George Bush in 2000?

MR. CLARKE: No, I did not.

MR. RUSSERT: You voted for Al Gore.

MR. CLARKE: Yes, I did.

MR. RUSSERT: In 2004 you'll vote for John Kerry?

MR. CLARKE: I'm not going to endorse John Kerry. That's what the White House wants me to do. And they want to say I'm part of the Kerry campaign. I've already pledged I'm not part of the Kerry campaign and I will not serve in the Kerry administration.

MR. RUSSERT: Will you vote for him?

MR. CLARKE: That's my business.

[Qwinn]

"He got a REPUBLICAN ballot in the PRIMARY, and voted for BUSH."

Actually, no, he voted for McCain.

What -can- actually be said is that in every single election, he voted for the most liberal candidate. Every time.

Qwinn

[Moonmad27]

Thanks for posting that joke (which is probably pretty darn close to truth, deep in their hard hearts)!

[gusopol3]

supposedly in the primary in '00

[meenie]

We've lost already if we need Clarke's vote to elect Bush. What difference does it make if he voted for McCain, Gore, Nader, Methuzzalah or Ceasear?

[Terry Mross]

He said himself that he "asked for a Republican ballot". So, I guess he lied to the Commission. Why would he ask for a Republican ballot if he voted for Gore?

But, I must say this guy is sounding more believable. If any of this is true, Bush is in trouble. It's obvious this guy is a democrat and it bothers me that he gives Clinton a pass. But the truth of the matter is Clinton's not running so it matters not whether he did anything or not. If the public believes this guy, Bush is in big trouble. Bush's problem is he can't release classified material that will show this guy to be a liar. I think the WH should have redacted about 3/4 of the book before they let it be printed.

[Torie]

The gravamen of Clarke's case, is not the Bush's policy of "go get em" was too slow in coming, and indeed, Clarke never really embraced a preemtive policy, but that team Bush was not as diligent at Sandy Berger (sp) in watching the day in, and day out, intelligence, and cross examining folks in daily meetings, as a high priority, and if that had happened, maybe the stuff the lower echelons of the FBI had on team Atta, folks attending flight schools without showing much interest in learning how to land, etc., MIGHT have percolated to the surface. Clarke would be more dangerous if he stuck to that point more clearly, rather than the scattershot approach, and blasted CLinton more about his lack of an agressive overall policy. If Clarke wanted to gut team Bush pre 9-11, he could have done a better job of it. JMO.

The best news, is folks don't watch Meet The Press who are not already hard core partisans, and usually political junkies or operatives. Who wants to get up early on a Sunday morning and do that, unless they have a serious avocation, or are in the "bidness?"

[DBrow]

btt

[Torie]

How can he say that Bubba was better than W and Reagan on Terrorism, now that's joke Torie

See, my post above. I call em as I see em. The gravamen of Clarke's j'accuse will no doubt be bounced in due course back and forth on the tennis court. Condi really needs to testify, and address the specific point. The overall suggestion is that Bubba was better is of course absurd. Bush is a cowboy, with a metaphorical gun in his holster (which beyond his publically enunicated religious convictions is why the hard core Left loathes him so), and Clinton is a go along, get along, good ole boy, which is not what we need when trying to accomplish nasty tasks.

[Torie]

The guy asked for a GOP ballot in the primary to vote for McCain. One does not "ask" for a partisan ballot in a general election.

[Dionysius]

Isn't it curious that all Democrats, with few exceptions, are despicable people? It wasn't that way thirty years ago. You could disagree without doubting their personal honesty or integrity. Not now. They have become as false and immoral as the issues they espouse.

[gusopol3]

motivation on his part; dicrediting him in the eyes of the country on our part

[BigSkyFreeper]

He's a Clinton hold over. He gave the public perception that, yes, he was loyal to Bush, when in fact he wasn't. Wouldn't surprise me that this book and his testimony were only out there to help Clinton somehow achieve his legacy.

[GeorgiaYankee]

I've heard Clarke claim several times that all the meetings in the Clinton Admin in Dec 1999 stopped the Millenium Bomber. So that's what stops terrorism--MEETINGS!

I think he's referring to the AQ terrorist bringing explosives into the US from Canada.

I've seen several news stories about how he was caught. An alert border guard noticed that the guy was sweating like a pig (in December!) as she asked him the routine questions. A search of his car revealed explosives in the trunk.

Clinton has tried to take credit for this, too.

[driftless]

It sounds more and more like Clarke dearly wanted to get revenge on his new employers for ignoring or demoting him. If you were concerned about the security of your country, why would you vote for someone like Gore who didn't care about terrorism and only wanted to get elected prez?

Clearly whatever faults the Bush admin has on fighting terrorism, they would be much more preferable than the Dems who only care about appeasement and keeping their constituency supplied with tax money squeezed out of the American public. Whatever good Clarke did earlier in his career he has negated with this scurrilous attack on the Bush admin.

[GeorgiaYankee]

Update: articles on the December 1999 arrest of the Millenium bomber, Ahmed Ressam

http://www.cnn.com/1999/US/12/17/border.arrest.03/

Itinerary set off alert

Customs officials at the ferry crossing became suspicious when Ressam's itinerary showed he had come from Vancouver, British Columbia, and was heading to Seattle -- a 140-mile drive that does not require a trip to Vancouver Island, a ferry ride or a stop in Port Angeles, said FBI spokesman Pat Jones in Washington, D.C.

When the inspector asked about his roundabout route, Ressam became nervous, Jones said.

Ressam entered the United States on Tuesday around 6 p.m. PST (9 p.m. EST) in a rented Chrysler aboard a ferry from Victoria, British Columbia. His car was the last vehicle off the ferry, officials said.

According to the affidavit, he identified himself as Benni Antoine Noris, and when authorities asked him to get out of the vehicle "he was uncooperative."

Suspected bomb-making material

While conducting a search of the vehicle "inspectors lifted up a mat to inspect the spare tire well. The well did not have a spare tire," the affidavit says.

Instead, authorities say they found:

* Two 22-ounce jars, each three-quarters full with nitroglycerin
* 10 plastic bags containing 110 pounds of a white powder identified as urea, a legal substance used to make explosives and fertilizers
* Two plastic bags containing about 14 pounds of sulfate, used as a desiccant to absorb water
* Four small black boxes containing homemade timers -- a circuit board with a Casio watch and a 9-volt battery.

"Preliminary analysis disclosed that when these materials are combined with a detonator, it would produce a large explosive device," the affidavit says.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/trail/inside/cron.html

Dec. 14, 1999 + Ressam arrested near Seattle

Ressam says that on the morning of Dec. 14, he called Meskini and told him he would be in Seattle that evening. That afternoon, he took a ferry from Victoria, B.C., to Port Angeles, Wash., with more than 100 pounds of explosives stashed in the wheelbed of the trunk of his rental car. His accomplice, Dahoumane, did not travel with him.

At Victoria, U.S. immigration pre-clearance agents were mildly suspicious of Ressam. They made him open his trunk, but saw nothing. He presented his fake Canadian passport, and the computer check turned up no previous convictions or warrants in the name of Benni Noris. Ressam drove his rental car, with its concealed bomb, onto the ferry heading for Washington state.

Upon his arrival at Port Angeles, a U.S. customs agent became suspicious of his hesitant answers to her questions, and she asked for identification. Agents began searching the car. As they discovered the explosive materials -- which they at first took to be drugs -- in the trunk of the car, Ressam tried to run away. He was caught and arrested.

[bray]

Hey Dork Clark, don't spend all that blood money in one place!! What a dirtbag!

Pray for W and The Truth