A Waste of Time
Consider the two following news items.
President George W. Bush invited Democrats to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the standoff over Iraq war funding, but he made clear he wouldn't negotiate any schedule for pulling U.S. troops out of the country.
After receiving what he deemed an insufficient response from the State Department, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) is reiterating his request for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to appear before the panel on April 18 to answer questions about administration claims that Iraq tried to buy enriched uranium from Niger.
What do they both have in common? The answer: They are both exercises in futility and an utter waste of time. Bush won't negotiate-- try to find common ground with his political foes. The Democratic leaders have no interest in having Bush lecture them as if they were third graders. Nothing can be gained from such a meeting. And nor can anything be gained by requiring that Dr. Rice appear before Waxman's inquisition. The Libby trial established the facts and the most significant fact is that the administration ginned the selling of the Iraq war with a tapestry of lies. Wacman's panel has no other purpose than to further embarass the administration.
I just wish both sides of the aisle would address the serious and difficult issues with flexibility, common sense, and a sense of urgency. Given the political charged climate in which we now live, I doubt that this will be possible.
President George W. Bush invited Democrats to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the standoff over Iraq war funding, but he made clear he wouldn't negotiate any schedule for pulling U.S. troops out of the country.
After receiving what he deemed an insufficient response from the State Department, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) is reiterating his request for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to appear before the panel on April 18 to answer questions about administration claims that Iraq tried to buy enriched uranium from Niger.
What do they both have in common? The answer: They are both exercises in futility and an utter waste of time. Bush won't negotiate-- try to find common ground with his political foes. The Democratic leaders have no interest in having Bush lecture them as if they were third graders. Nothing can be gained from such a meeting. And nor can anything be gained by requiring that Dr. Rice appear before Waxman's inquisition. The Libby trial established the facts and the most significant fact is that the administration ginned the selling of the Iraq war with a tapestry of lies. Wacman's panel has no other purpose than to further embarass the administration.
I just wish both sides of the aisle would address the serious and difficult issues with flexibility, common sense, and a sense of urgency. Given the political charged climate in which we now live, I doubt that this will be possible.
posted by My Mall and News at
6:42 PM
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