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Pundit Pap for July 6, 2003
Making Cheney the Fall Guy?
By the Pundit Pap Team
Morrie Friendly • Jane Grice

July 6, 2003 -- WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (apj.us) -- Usually, the weekends before and after the Fourth of July accompany slower-than-normal political news cycles, and this one would normally have been no exception were it not for crises in Iraq and West Africa (specifically, Liberia) .

There was a little talk on all the major Sunday shows about Punk Prince Regent George's forthcoming trip to Africa and the suspiciously sudden "crisis" in Liberia. Notably, Junior has called for Liberian "elected" strongmen Charles Taylor to step down. Taylor said he would once peacekeepers were in place (yeah, right).

And the situation in Iraq, sadly, gets worse with each passing day. Iraqis are more and more frustrated and furious over the US military's failure to restore essential utilities in major cities. Our soldiers are the target of what has the appearance of orchestrated small-scale attacks. Saddam appears to still be alive. Critics of the Warlust Administration are calling for an international presence in the "liberated" nation. And, worst of all for George the Lesser, more and more Americans feel they were lied to not only about the not-so-clear-and-present danger Saddam's WMDs posed to Americans but about important details used to argue the point to the American people and the UN that turned out to be completely false.

This morning, the New York Times ran a stunning, blistering article by Joseph C. Wilson IV, who served as US ambassador to Gabon from 1992 to 1995. Wilson provides a few new details concerning a fraudulent "memo" that supposedly tied Saddam's regime to an attempt to get uranium yellowcake from a source in Niger -- and points the finger at Dick Cheney as a driving force behind flogging phonied-up evidence concerning Saddam's WMDs.

Now, far be it from our writers and editors to suggest that there's something going on here, but is Cheney being set up to be a fall guy in the growing WMD scandal along with -- or maybe without -- CIA boss George Tenet?

So much for a "slow" holiday weekend of dull pap! Here are this Sunday's highlights:

Meet the First Lady
Cheney becomes radioactive
Players: President Alan Greenspan's wife Andrea Mitchell; former ambassador Joseph Wilson IV; Sen. John Warner (R-VA) Senate Armed Services Committee chairman;Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), SASC ranking Democrat; and a panel of conservative codgers (Bob Novak, David Broder, Bill Safire)

Whoa!

We got up early for Meet the Press this morning -- it was broadcast at the inhumanly early hour of 8AM as a consequence of NBC's obligation to broadcast a tennis match (yawn).

To our utter joy, Tim Russert was on vacation, and "First Lady" Andrea Mitchell was running the show. Yes, she may have a conflict of interest in that her husband is Alan Greenspan, our President -- okay, make that Federal Reserve Chairman (he's more of a prez than a certain squatting frat boy will ever be) -- but she proved a little more fair than the porcine Mr. Russert, whose penchant for asking questions provided by the RNC and Rove White House is now a well-known fact among media junkies.

And Mitchell made our morning with an unscheduled surprise first guest: the above-mentioned Joseph Wilson, whose scathing exposé in today's New York Times stops just short of calling former Halliburton boss Dick Cheney a liar on the matter of the Saddam Hussein regime's "nucular threat." Wilson effectively and succinctly spelled out the facts and specifics that support his troubling assertion. Andrea's attempts to "support" the Misadministration with the requisite "they were misled" spin were half-hearted; her "devil's advocate" comebacks hinted that she either doesn't buy Cheney's and others' story or just plain has it in for Big Time Dick. And her points were deftly dashed by Wilson, who explained that Cheney's office knew what the hell was going on with the fraudulent "smoking gun" documents that proved to be as phony as the Texas Dauphin's "compassionate conservatism."

This was a pretty significant moment -- Cheney, one of Smirk's brains, has now been exposed as having a major role in a lie about Saddam's WMDs being pushed upon the world -- and Andrea Mitchell pretty well let Wilson state the facts.

Is Dicky Ticker being set up as the fall guy?

Wilson did give Chimpy and his trainers an "out", saying that the Misadministration either has data they did not share with the public -- or they did not tell the truth. And, as his editorial clearly stated, he said he believes the Misadministration was not being honest.

Andrea even played footage of Condi Rice making excuses about the data being passed on to Cheney to Tim Russert some weeks back -- and Wilson said, "If you are senior enough to ask the question, you will get a specific response." (Translation: Cheney knew it was a lie, and so did Condi "Doctor Dilettante" Rice.) Wilson reiterated that certain documents lacked authentic signatures and made it clear that the biggest security threat to the nation is WMDs in the hand of criminal elements.

Andrea noted that Wilson was the last diplomat to leave Baghdad before we broke off relations, and asked him to elaborate on Saddam's WMD programs. Wilson said he had had those programs years ago, but using the UN and our own pressure, the programs were "disrupted."

Look for this crushing critique to make the headlines -- and for the Karl Rove Wurlitzer to be at full volume trying to either undermine Wilson or play some other distracting tune.

Next up were Levin and Warner. Levin maintained the "intelligence was exaggerated" line (can't these guys tear off the pink tutus? how hard is it to say "Bush lied and our kids died"?), but was emphatic that now there is a "personal" witness, adding that Wilson had spoken with the Senate Intelligence Committee and that the situation is being "carefully" reviewed. Levin also expressed doubts about the campaign Smirk will start this week to claim that WMD "evidence" has turned up in Iraq. (Translation: it was not enough to justify war -- where are the "100 to 500 tons" of the stuff the Administration claimed was there?)

Warner tried to downplay the gravity of the investigation, claiming that there was "cooperation" on the part of CIA chief George Tenet, and making it clear that the SASC has to make a determination of the next steps (translation: GOPers will scramble to make Tenet take the blame and sweep the mess under the rug).

Andrea quoted an article in the New Republic(an) claiming that Cheney tried to put pressure on members of the SASC not to investigate -- and Warner misleadingly said that there was never pressure not to investigate Iraq matters.

It was at this point that Levin pulled out the heavy guns. He said that it was his right to direct his staff to investigate, and he will continue to keep Warner informed.

Then he said this: "I can't just rely on the CIA any more" to cough up the information he needs. Levin said this impacts on the Defense Department -- that the DOD said in December of 2002 that there were allegedly shipments of uranium from Africa to Saddam, and that was used to predicate a war. Do you expect White House cooperation? Levin said he expected CIA, DOD and DIA cooperation. If these matters were exaggerated, it endangers the nation's security.

Now, if we lived in a country with a reliable and unbiased press, that statement about the CIA -- along with Wilson's whistle-blowing -- would be the top headline on tomorrow's morning papers and the lead story on tonight's newscasts: "Key Senate Democrat Places Vote of No Confidence in CIA."

Naturally, we're not holding our breath.

As if that weren't enough, Levin said something else that seemed to catch Andrea and Warner by surprise: he asked if there is an exaggeration of the Al Qaeda-Tehran connection.

Warner looked very uncomfortable for a moment, then, putting on his best faux gravitas demeanor, said, "Let's not jump to any conclusions." Continuing in grand "Senator Claghorn" fashion, Warner insisted that he believes WMDs will be found in Iraq, and we should move on to other matters. (Translation: "Quick., Andrea, change the subject before Levin inflicts more damage!").

The debate over whether or not we are still at war which followed -- including Warner's rant about the need to actually establish order in Iraq and Levin's comment on the Time cover story, "Peace Is Hell" -- was pretty dull compared to what had preceded it. Wilson and Levin had pretty effectively nailed Cheney's hide to the wall of the Office of the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

We laughed out loud as Warner defended Little Georgie Warboy's stupid, ill-considered taunt "Bring 'em on" as really meaning that our forces are fully prepared to defeat Iraqi resistance.

Bushit, John -- how do you think the average Arab -- not to mention state-run press organs in the region, or anti-American, Saddam-loving proto-Fedayeen -- interpret such a stupid, stupid statement? Doesn't anyone in the Rove clique think these things out?

Warner, to our delight, cautioned Smirk that there must be a Congressional vote if the US is to commit even 150 troops to Liberia -- and Levin said he is concerned about the risk, but if it is a UN mission we should consider it, with Congressional approval. And Levin took a minute to smack Smirk's cheap-shot "Bring 'em on" rhetoric -- along with the equally stupid dissing of NATO and other international organizations.

FAUX News Sunday
The Ailes Doctrine -- fakin' balance... er, "fair and balanced" pap for everybody!
Players: Tony Snow, Gen. Richard Myers, disgraced ex-speaker of the House Newt "Monica" Gingrich

What a joke! After plugging Smirk's upcoming trip to Africa, Tony Snow played the now- notorious clip of the Inciter-in-Chief saying "Bring 'em on" -- and Tony acted as if it were a good thing! Tony also pushed the latest Rove slogan: "The Bush doctrine -- democracy for everyone!"

The first guest was Gen. Richard Myers. Are Americans in Liberia in danger? Myers cited ten who work in the US Embassy -- but he said he does not see them as being in danger. Naturally, Myers played up the "Charles Taylor is BAD" spin coming from the Rove White House (a rare occasion where Rove and Shrubbie are correct), but added it is too early to tell if unilateral or multilateral efforts are required. Once Taylor leaves, said Myers, there must be a political process (which only served to remind us of the brilliant success the Shrubsters have had in establishing a stable political situation in Iraq and Afghanistan -- not).

Tony whined about a "rising chorus... second-guessing" the idiots who blew the peace in Iraq. (We've heard this before from Tony -- it's a favorite way for FAUX News to imply that the First Monkey must be right, and how dare those nasty liberals for second-guessing Dear Leader?) Myers tried to put lipstick on that pig, saying many areas are under control, and the resistance is coming from a few Ba'athist strongholds. The Ba'athists, he said, are never coming back. (Tell that to the average Iraqi, who remembers how "committed" the US was a decade ago and fears the return of Saddam, Myers.) Tony put the blame for all the attacks on Ba'athists (as if proto-Islamists might not be involved) as he asked if they are getting organized; Myers conceded that that is pretty much true.

Tony and Myers addressed the issue of Syria's porous borders through which foreign fighters have entered the country (translation: bomb Syria, dammit).

Do we have enough troops in Iraq to go after the groups opposing the US presence? Myers said yes.

(Huh? It's become painfully clear that the US doesn't have enough troops to restore power, water, infrastructure and order. Why? Because Smirky had to go the feud with Saddam nearly on his own, with a smattering of help from his poodle Tony Blair and countries such as Poland who freely admit they're in this "police action" for the money.)

Tony tried to get Myers to say that they have "a bead" on Saddam Hussein; Myers said they have to use the info they have. Tony played up "evidence" that would "vindicate" Smirky's justification for war. Myers was mum. Would this mission be easier with a larger military? Myers said we have a large military. (A lot of good it seems to be doing.)

When Newt Gingrich showed up to push the latest American Enterprise Institute nonsense designed to undermine the State Department, we changed the channel.

-- Morrie Friendly

Face the Nation
Rev. Al Sharpton -- Great Scott! He sounds sane!
Players: Bob Schieffer, Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton, Washington Post journalist Dan Balz

It seems natural that Face the Nation would choose to interview Rev. Al Sharpton on the slowest pundit Sunday of the summer. He's the longest of the long shots -- and the powers-that-be know he can dish it out as well as he takes it when it comes to political interviews. So it's obvious that they slotted Sharpton for a "slow" weekend so a minimum of people would see what a progressive Democrat with an actual spine looks and sounds like.

Question one: what would President Sharpton do about the Iraq situation? Sharpton said he would go to our allies and partners to establish an international plan to rebuild the nation -- and he would not "sound like a gang leader in LA". Schieffer implied that Sharpton thought it was bad that Saddam was ousted. Sharpton jumped all over Schieffer's misinterpretation, saying he was referring to W. Warbaby's "Bring 'em on" rhetoric -- and the problem mushrooms in that it appears that our policy must be to depose other despots to be "morally consistent" -- a scathing swipe at Smirk's foreign and military policy. And again, Sharpton said that a multinational solution is essential, rather than unilaterally throwing more troops in harm's way -- and yes, Arab nations should be part of the equation.

Don Balz asked Sharpton about his position on Liberia. Sharpton wants to see Taylor out, but is against unilateral action -- this situation calls for dealing with Kofi Annan and the UN to stabilize Liberia and the region. Moreover, said Sharpton, debt and farm aid are big issues for Africa and US-Africa relations.

And then Sharpton took a huge swipe at Frat Boy George, saying that African leaders should ask him why he refuses to meet with African-American leaders!

Schieffer then took Sharpton to task for the supposed "praise" he heaps on Castro in his new book, saying that Sharpton gives him the most "praise".

Sharpton politely corrected Schieffer, making it clear that he was discussing leadership attributes (as opposed to "qualities") and pointing out that he also praised two other men he strongly disagreed with: Churchill and Reagan. Where he refers to qualities of their personalities, he said, he does not endorse their policies -- and that also goes for Castro. Schieffer "pre-chided" Sharpton for allegedly comparing Smirk to Castro -- but Sharpton had been citing the Vieques arrests.

Balz then tried to turn Sharpton into a Clinton-basher -- but Rev. Al would not play, saying he disagreed with Clinton on welfare reform and the omnibus crime bill -- yet he respected the man and supported many of his policies. Sharpton also defused Balz's claim that Sharpton was trying to undermine Clinton's ties to the black community, recounting how he had joked with Clinton that he's not the first "black President" but the first "beige President" (and therefore a President for ALL races) -- and smiled as he said that Clinton's response was a high-five. Sharpton said he was also critical of Clinton's stand on NAFTA-GATT.

Schieffer was a bit less tough on Sharpton when talk turned to strategies to defeat Bush -- and it gave Sharpton a chance to argue that he is the best man to motivate and energize voters.

Balz decided in his last question to try to embarrass Sharpton over the Tawana Brawley flap. Sharpton said that he'd learned to stick to his guns on the issues even if he has been misinformed about details by one person.

Now, we don't expect Sharpton to have much success in the early caucuses or primaries -- but every Democrat should watch Sharpton take on the Washington press piranhas and take notes. Sharpton has had to deal with almost unrelentingly negative press for nearly two decades -- and these days he not only comes 200% prepared for battle but ready to fight fire with high-caiber facts and rhetorical firepower. And Sharpton also knows how to entertain -- yes, at times it can undercut the very issues which he so ardently advocates, but when he addresses press bias directly or otherwise, he is sardonic, merciless, and thought-provoking.

-- Jane Grice

Morrie Friendly gave up a career as a political consultant to become a management consultant and pseudonymous travel guide author. He retains close ties to top players in both the Democratic and Republican parties and lives with his dog in Georgetown.