The "Era of Personal Responsibility"
Our "Personal Responsibility" president has "chided" Don Rumsfeld on not giving those wimpy civies in the White House or at State a heads up that things were about to get a whole lot worse in Iraq and around the world.
Or maybe he did tell the Preznit. Once again, the White House isn't sure about its dates.
"Bush aides conceded that Rumsfeld had earlier given Bush a general sense of the investigation of Abu Ghraib during a meeting that included Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. But White House press secretary Scott McClellan said officials have not been able to pin down the exact date, except that it was after Jan. 16, when the Pentagon issued a release announcing the probe." So, it came up in January and the report has been completed for two months. But Bush never followed-up ("Hey, Rummeister, what ever happened with that prison abuse scandal? Karl says we better nip that in the bud before it blows up in our face.") And neither Bush nor Rumsfeld claim they've read the report. These guys show real leadership qualities.
[Update, 5:44 PM. Kevin Drum finds that things don't add up here.]
Richard Cohen asks, where will this new found accountability in the White House end?
And the Belle of the Ball "chides" Rummy and Wolfie for partying like it's 1999.
But all "chiding" aside, Bush won't let a little screw up like this upset his relationship with the Rum Ball.
"Despite the behind-the-scenes criticism of Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Bush insisted that the defense secretary still had his full support. 'Of course I've got confidence in the secretary of defense,' Mr. Bush said in an interview with Al Hurra, an Arab television network.
"Republicans noted a strong public relations aspect to the disclosures about the Oval Office scolding, which made Mr. Rumsfeld the scapegoat in the scandal.
"On Monday, Mr. Bush is scheduled to make a rare visit to the Pentagon, where he will meet with Mr. Rumsfeld on the defense secretary's turf, receive a briefing on Iraq and make a public statement.
"White House officials said that the visit had been planned before the abuse scandal erupted, but they acknowledged that its timing was opportune for Mr. Bush to make a public show of support for Mr. Rumsfeld after the messy events of Wednesday."
"Messy events." Note that Bush did not say he had "full" confidence in his Sect'y of Defense. Perhaps he no longer has "full" confidence because Rumsfeld has led us into the biggest foreign policy disaster since we declared victory in Vietnam. That's just a guess though.
Or maybe he did tell the Preznit. Once again, the White House isn't sure about its dates.
"Bush aides conceded that Rumsfeld had earlier given Bush a general sense of the investigation of Abu Ghraib during a meeting that included Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. But White House press secretary Scott McClellan said officials have not been able to pin down the exact date, except that it was after Jan. 16, when the Pentagon issued a release announcing the probe." So, it came up in January and the report has been completed for two months. But Bush never followed-up ("Hey, Rummeister, what ever happened with that prison abuse scandal? Karl says we better nip that in the bud before it blows up in our face.") And neither Bush nor Rumsfeld claim they've read the report. These guys show real leadership qualities.
[Update, 5:44 PM. Kevin Drum finds that things don't add up here.]
Richard Cohen asks, where will this new found accountability in the White House end?
And the Belle of the Ball "chides" Rummy and Wolfie for partying like it's 1999.
But all "chiding" aside, Bush won't let a little screw up like this upset his relationship with the Rum Ball.
"Despite the behind-the-scenes criticism of Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Bush insisted that the defense secretary still had his full support. 'Of course I've got confidence in the secretary of defense,' Mr. Bush said in an interview with Al Hurra, an Arab television network.
"Republicans noted a strong public relations aspect to the disclosures about the Oval Office scolding, which made Mr. Rumsfeld the scapegoat in the scandal.
"On Monday, Mr. Bush is scheduled to make a rare visit to the Pentagon, where he will meet with Mr. Rumsfeld on the defense secretary's turf, receive a briefing on Iraq and make a public statement.
"White House officials said that the visit had been planned before the abuse scandal erupted, but they acknowledged that its timing was opportune for Mr. Bush to make a public show of support for Mr. Rumsfeld after the messy events of Wednesday."
"Messy events." Note that Bush did not say he had "full" confidence in his Sect'y of Defense. Perhaps he no longer has "full" confidence because Rumsfeld has led us into the biggest foreign policy disaster since we declared victory in Vietnam. That's just a guess though.
posted by John at 10:12 AM
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