High level pissing match

This was the week that Richard A. Clarke, the President's former anti-terrorism advisor (more specifically, the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism under both Clinton and Bush), came out with a new tell-all book entitled "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror". The main premise (paraphrasing others because I have not read it) is that President Bush and his staff were overly focused on Iraq from the time they took office, way before 9/11. He claims that his warnings (and those of many others) about the dangers of Al Qaeda were routinely downplayed because of the preoccupation with Iraq. He wasn't sure that the National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, even knew who/what Al Qaeda was after taking office with the President. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, he was essentially ordered to find the link between Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and Al Qaeda. Not finding one, he was told to look harder. It seems clear from the accounts of Clarke and of former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that President Bush was focused on taking out Saddam even before taking office.

Not surprisingly, the personal attacks on Clarke from the administration and other Republican luminaries has been fast and furious. Clarke has definitely struck a nerve with this book. Whatever and whomever you believe, it does make for good entertainment.

Now the campaign begins...

John Kerry all but wrapped up the Democratic nomination by almost sweeping Super Tuesday's primaries last Tuesday. It's been expected for several weeks now, but even before the end of Tuesday, Republican attack ads started. Not that Democrats haven't been doing the same thing (but they're just right).

Pres. Bush and his Dept. of Labor are planning to reclassify mostly minimum wage fast food jobs as manufacturing jobs. that would show a nice bump in the stats for jobs in the manufacturing sector. I know that fast food sometimes tastes like it's made out of wood, but this might be going a little far.

I saw one of the new Bush commercials tonight. The one that uses the images of 9/11. Even before seeing it and only hearing it on the radio, I thought this was disgusting. Tonight I saw it...if I had had a loved family member or a friend lost in that attack, I would be disgusted over the blatant usage of this tragedy for political gain. As it is, while I'm not surprised that the RNC would sink to such a level, I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Watch out for the stampede of attack ads.