Saturday, April 10, 2004
The Desperate, Final Strategy
There was one consensus at this morning's 201k editorial board meeting: given the determination of the 9/11 commission to reveal the truth, there can be only one remaining strategy for those Republicans and Bush administration hacks who desperately do not want the truth to come out: attack the credibility of the commission itself.
The tried and true Bush methodology of character assassination is what they used on Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neill, Joseph Wilson, and others. But now Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Kay Bailey Hutchinson are charged with a much more daunting task: attempt to destroy the credibility of an entire bipartisan commission before the public hears what the commission has to say.
That may be a difficult task, given today's headlines, all a variation on "Bush Was Warned of Impending Attacks Using Airplanes", which directly contradicts previous Administration claims and casts a rather unflattering light on the administration's attempts to scuttle and stonewall the commission.
How many Republican attack dogs will hang in on this one, given that at least some members of the commission seem determined to tell the public the truth? Fox News can only spin it so much. Surely some will see the writing on the wall and bail.
The tried and true Bush methodology of character assassination is what they used on Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neill, Joseph Wilson, and others. But now Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Kay Bailey Hutchinson are charged with a much more daunting task: attempt to destroy the credibility of an entire bipartisan commission before the public hears what the commission has to say.
That may be a difficult task, given today's headlines, all a variation on "Bush Was Warned of Impending Attacks Using Airplanes", which directly contradicts previous Administration claims and casts a rather unflattering light on the administration's attempts to scuttle and stonewall the commission.
How many Republican attack dogs will hang in on this one, given that at least some members of the commission seem determined to tell the public the truth? Fox News can only spin it so much. Surely some will see the writing on the wall and bail.
