Posted on 05/01/2004 8:23:17 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and one-time Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton have destroyed what little credibility the 9/11 commission had left.
Thanks to their premature departure from Thursday's White House evidentiary hearing with President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which the commission whined for months was absolutely vital to its work, Americans learned beyond any doubt that this investigation is merely bureaucratic wheel-spinning and political grandstanding.
In the middle of receiving the testimony, Mr. Kerrey took a powder because he was due at Capitol Hill to twist arms for more dough for his New School University in Manhattan. Mr. Hamilton dashed off to mug for the cameras with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at a ceremony at a liberal think-tank where he works as its director.
Compare those inconsequential matters with the gravity of the "bipartisan" commission's charge: to "get to the bottom" of the 9/11 attacks on New York City and Washington in which 3,000 innocents perished. Grave accusations have been made about the Bush administration and the nation's intelligence-gathering community before 9/11. The resulting war against Islamic terrorism has claimed the lives of hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women and likely will go on for years. The future of national and international security could be decided by what commissioners find and recommend, though it is increasingly obvious this exercise is just politicians trying to appear to be "doing something" in an election year.
The president and vice president deserved a fair hearing. Their offices commanded much more respect than Messrs. Kerrey and Hamilton gave them. Commissioners had an obligation to clear their calendars and listen to what was said. If commissioners wanted to challenge what they heard, this was their opportunity to do so. If this was a serious inquiry, Messrs. Kerrey and Hamilton would have stayed to the end and Chairman Thomas Kean would never have permitted them to go.
If Messrs. Kerrey and Hamilton are unwilling to take their duties seriously, they should make way for others who will. But if this is the best effort that commissioners can muster, then they give Americans no cause to take the results of their "impartial" inquiry seriously.
However, leaving the meeting in order to lobby Pete Domenici, a Republican who would have understood rescheduling, conveys an attitude that the time with the President was not that important, despite what the Commission said.
And holding the Congressional Medal of Honor does not make one intelligent, nor does it mean that one should never be criticized for any action.
A CHM awardee is not necessarily excepted from good manners, but then again maybe they are?
...and he said, ""The President (about Bubba Klintoon) is an incredibly good Liar", too."...even a 24-hour clock is correct, once a day.
So what?
He is a disrespectful, adolescent gasbag.
He was rude & disrespectful to Condi Rice & others as well as the President.
He ought to be ashamed of himself.
Who cares what medals he holds. It doesn't give him an excuse to up and walk off a job he willingly accepted to do. I could give a rat's ass about the disrespect. That's part and parcel of the Dems anyway, especially in light of the way they've treated Ashcroft, Rice, etc. during their testimony.
What pisses me off is that Kerrey, Hamilton, and the rest of them were hand-picked to conduct this inquiry. That in itself should be considered an honor and a privilege; not an opportunity to screw the taxpayer who is paying for all of this. I'm assuming these commissioners aren't doing all of this out of the goodness of their hearts, and are receiving some sort of financial remuneration for their time, whether it be lodging, food, travel expenses, etc.
They are supposed to be conducting this job in our stead, because poor, lowly peons like us can't think for ourselves and wouldn't be able to conduct an honest, down-to-earth, non-partisan hearing on our owns. So, politicians, lawyers, scumbags, whatever were chosen to do it in our place.
Looking at it in those terms, I expect the same standard of behavior from them as I would from myself or anyone else sitting on this commission. If you have scheduled a hearing to ask questions and take testimony, then it is your responsibility to be there for the full length of that hearing. Your personal life is your personal life, whether it be Kerrey's school fundraiser, or Hamilton's committee. Those are extracurricular activities in my eyes and should be dealt with when the commission's work is over for the day. Their first responsibility is to the people of the United States. If they can't accept that responsibility and make it foremost in how they conduct themselves, then they should resign from the commission and let someone else who would take the position more seriously, get on with the business of the American people.
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