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.