Bush Backs More Time for 9/11 Panel Report (AP dupe of Reuters)

[papau]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20040204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_9_11_commission

Bush Backs More Time for 9/11 Panel Report
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) reversed himself Wednesday and said he now supports giving a commission investigating the 9/11 attacks more time to produce a final report.

The commission is scheduled to finish its work on May 27. But panel members last month asked Congress for a two-month extension, citing a need for full analysis of reams of documents about the disaster.

Bush had resisted that request for months, saying through his spokesmen that the administration wanted the panel to complete its work as soon as possible. Privately, White House aides feared that delaying the commission's final report would result in a potentially damaging assessment of the administration's handling of pre-attack intelligence in the heat of a presidential campaign.

On Wednesday, the White House relented, saying it backed moving the deadline to July 26. But White House spokesman Scott McClellan also urged the commission to wrap up its work 30 days after that. If Congress accepts Bush's recommendation, the report would arrive at the end of August, just as the presidential campaign is entering the post-Labor Day final stretch.
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[ramapo]

1. Trying to paint himself as reasonable

This, long with the agreement to appoint a commission to review the WMD intelligence fiasco, is basically so he can claim to be in favor of transparency.

[einniv]

2. Hmm. Can we now guess when Osama will be dragged out of

whatever hole they have him in? I would say 2 weeks to a month before the report comes out. Doing it in October would be too obvious anyway. Drag Osama out and then when the commission shows how bad their performance was it really won't matter anymore.

[Hornito]

3. The report I read....

said McCain and Lieberman were sponsoring legislation to extend the panel's deadline to Jan. of 2005. Now why would Lieberman do that, and give Bush a chance to put this off until AFTER the elections? I swear, I don't trust Lieberman any farther than I could throw him. I think he knows some of what's going on here, and is working in concert with those who are going to try and "pull a Hutton" on the 9/11 report.

Joe smells, and so does McCain.

On edit: Anyone think Bush may have agreed to this becuase he's got Osama on ice, and will perhaps time his "capture" the same day the report is released?