I think Clarke is going to Napalm the Repukes very soon...

[trumad]

This guy is way to smart for guys like Frist and Hastert and I think he's got a big Ace up his sleeve. All I hear about this guy is how he survived for 30 years in the Gov cause he knows how to walk quietly but carry a big stick.

I think he'll make a statement very soon with the first hint of his counter-attack... Once he does it the repukes will scurry back into their rat holes...

Just watch!

[CatWoman]

1. all the more reason to catch him on MTP this Sunday

:hi:

[wicket]

15. He's going to be on Meet the Press??!!!

YAHOO!!!! That's awesome!!!! :) I bet more people watch him than watched when Chimpy was on :)

[Penndems]

41. And on "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer " CNN Sunday

which, I believe, comes on after MTP.

[nostamj]

55. Late Edition is 12-2 EST

MTP is 10:30-11:30AM EST (NYC market anyway)

[VolcanoJen]

50. Hurray!!!! Thanks for sharing the great news, CatWoman!!

Can't wait to see him on Russert!!

[Coventina]

2. I love the smell of Napalm on the Repukes....

It smells like victory!
:evilgrin:

[BOSSHOG]

3. Totally agree TRUMAD

The dumbass frist is poking the hornets nest. Current republicans are the greatest allys democrats have. Note to neocons, fuck with a man of integrity and you will come out looking like yourself. And you think you look good.

[Mel]

4. Come on trumad!

what do you think that Ace up his sleeve is? I know it would only be a guessing game but I sure would be interested in hearing what your hunches are.

[Fridays Child]

34. Evidently, he knows something about what the energy industry...

...was up to in the early part of the Bush administration. Here's a Clarke quote from an Insight Magazine article, written in June of 2001:

"For the first time in our history, the armed forces cannot defend us from the foreign threat. They cannot surround the power grid. Therefore, we are asking the private sector to defend not only itself, but the country as well."

For more on the article which includes that quote, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1297327&mesg_id=1297327

[Trajan]

53. One avenue of discussion ??? ..

Did YOU know that Richard Clarke was 'good friends' with John ONeill ???? ....

Neither did I ...

From Asia Times: ... http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FC27Aa01.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1298680

[Fridays Child]

57. The relationship is also discussed in the documentary, "The Man Who Knew."

The PBS/Frontline presentation is a must-see for anyone interested in the truth, and it can be viewed in nine easily downloaded segments at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/view/.

I believe it was Clarke who helped John O'Neill get the security chief position at the World Trade Center. O'Neill's death on September 11th is, without a doubt, one of the most tragic ironies in history.

[Athame]

59. I thought it was Jerome Hauer who helped O'Neil land the WTC job

Which is a whole other story. Where is ole Jerry Hauer these days, anyway? He has the stinkiest connections to 9-11 AND anthrax.

But Richard Clarke did dedicate his book to John O'Neil and also mentioned that there were good friends of his who died in the towers on 9-11. That they were his first thoughts as he was in the situation room. That was the 60 Minutes interview.

[Fridays Child]

60. I stand corrected. The only name mentioned re: the WTC job...

...is James Kallstrom. As far as I recall, Jerome Hauer's name didn't come up in the documentary, but virtually all Internet sources agree that it was Hauer who arranged the job for O'Neill.

[BabsSong]

5. Program note: Clarke will be on Hardball Monday and Tweety

promises to find out if he's telling the truth. Tweety, Clarke is smart, fast and hard as nails. He'll have Matthews in knots. But I'm sure the good little whore will try is best, Georgie...just put on tight jeans and parade around in front of him for awhile to get him all excited!

[stopbush]

10. That means he'll try to shout down Clarke, not allow him time to

answer, and then accuse him of refusing to answer the question.

But it won't work. Tweety taking on Clarke is like your local thespian trying to out act Robert DeNiro. Clarke will let him rant and then zing a sparsely worded rejoinder at him that will stop him dead in his tracks.

By the end of the interview, Tweety will be drooling, "powerful stuff...I LOVE this guy!"

[KharmaTrain]

29. I Think Tweety Is A Clarke Fan

If anything I expect him to get a heroes treatment by Tweety...who loves good political dirt. Remember, a tight election is exactly what MSGOP desperately wants...to stay relevent.

Also, it looks like Tweety is worn on the RoveCo. smarm machine he's been sucking up to in recent years. He bashed the crap out of Terry Holt the other night (with Ron Reagan, Jr.!!) and looked like he was really enjoying it.

Tonight, you could see that visit to Walter Reed really got his attention, and this is a very, very good thing. He started leaving the reservation on the WMD lies and now appears to be seeing the Iraq invasion as another Vietnam...or so was the parallels he kept making tonight. When he does this, Chimpster takes another hit.

Sure, Tweety will still hack away at any Clinton or Gore bit he can...but now he's gonna start teeing off on bunnypants as well, and some of that is better than none.

Matthews looks like he's having a lot of uneasy feelings about the Bushbots...but will he really develop the cajones to become a critic? Not that we need him, but it'll be interesting to see which way he twists in the wind.

[Kool Kitty]

32. Yeah, I thought Chris' treatment of Holt was great.

he did put the slapdown on him.

[Jane Austin]

14. Clarke on Jon Stewart, too

On Monday. Or so Stewart said last night.

[wicket]

16. I think I'm going to hyper-ventilate

Clarke is going to be on the Daily Show, that's awesome!!! :)

[Ilsa]

6. I'm emailing your opinion about this out there....

You're making damned good sense. He has to have extra ammo (and a good flak jacket) that Frist is unaware of.

BTW, I saw a snip of Powell from The Newshour with Lehrer tonight, and he said he dissuaded others from attacking Iraq right after 9-11. I remember from seeing Frontline's The War Behind Closed Doors that he had asked Shelton to help him reign in the neocons the saturday (at Camp David) after 9-11 who wanted to go invade Iraq right away. Rumsfeld abstained from the vote to go to Afghanistan first.

[kaitykaity]

7. I think Clarke is a smart man who knows how to survive

I think Clarke is a smart man who knows how to survive in the cutthroat world of Washington politics, so I agree with you. And I love the imagery.

Bring. It. On.

:evilgrin:

[Beetwasher]

8. His Ace is If They Charge Him W/ Perjury

If they do that, then LOT'S of shit is going to have to be classified...They're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[calimary]

35. It means lots of shit, and shit-slingers, will have to be subpoenaed.

I don't think the White House or the Fristies REALLY want that, or REALLY realize what they're doing here. Talk about poking the hornet's nest? Well, do we not have a pattern of doing just that, and getting the not-surprising results of making a bad situation exponentially worse? They did it in Iraq. They did it with Afghanistan and our being perhaps on the verge of finding Osama when all the people and gadgetry were diverted to Iraq. They've done it with their lovely tax cuts that made the budget go to hell. Looks like they'll be batting 1,000.

Bring 'em on.

I also think they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they go for the perjury stuff, there will be a court fight. Lots of people and papers will be subpoenaed. Rice better resign herself to this. She'll be one of the first. The presidential briefing papers will probably get subpoenaed, too. You know, the ones that Jamie Gorelick said would "set your hair on fire"? And maybe bush himself would be subpoenaed, to have to refute the several eyewitnesses to that meeting bush says never happened, including that Cressey fellow who says he was there and heard it go down just as Clarke described.

Then, of course, you could expect the White House to stonewall and throw up red herring after red herring. Which leaves them further screwed, actually. Because the more they fight, and the more they try to hide, the worse they're gonna look. And many in the public will not like that. Nixon didn't get away with it, either. And in the beginning, he, too, had many friends and character-assassins and dirty-tricksters firmly on his side, too. We may see Watergate Redux here. INTERESTING TIMES.

[MI Cherie]

38. Wasn't it ...

... the COVER-UP that made things worse? Déjà vu

Bring 'em on!

:nopity:

[PA Democrat]

9. Agree, and the more they try to smear him

the more direct and blunt Clarke's criticism becomes. I would say he is about to remove the gloves.

[trumad]

12. I think he's got plenty of cases in his file of perjury by a whole bunch

of Bushies... Think about it... If being political in these meeting means that you're a perjurer, then they're all gone....

[NNN0LHI]

11. If its not him it will be someone else. This story is far from over n/t

[seemslikeadream]

23. Peter Slevin Washington Post - others will speak to journalists

Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 25, 2004; 12:00 PM

Washington Post foreign policy reporter Peter Slevin comes to the Web to discuss the latest developments in U.S. foreign policy

Detroit, Mich.: Do you expect anyone else who served in the Bush administration aside from Clarke and O'Neil to come forward and assert or imply that the administration was looking for an excuse to invade Iraq? One thing that I have not read about but I have thought about is that the ferocious attacks that the administration is now directing at Clarke is not just to discredit him, but that it is also to serve as a warning to other administration figures of what will happen to them if they make similar accusations.

Peter Slevin: I expect we'll hear from more members of the administration as they depart this year or later; and from some still inside the government who have been speaking to journalists and authors who are putting together books on the subject, including the Post's Bob Woodward.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5828-2004Mar18.html

[BabsSong]

24. Seemslike---do you trust Woodward?? I'm wondering if that

book will be a Bush love fest. Every time I've seen this ass I'm amazed that he ever exposed Nixon. I don't expect squat from him.

[seemslikeadream]

27. I'm not sure but I like this part

Peter Slevin: I expect we'll hear from more members of the administration as they depart this year or later; and from some still inside the government who have been speaking to journalists and authors who are putting together books on the subject

[Media_Lies_Daily]

45. Woodward is solidly connected to the intelligence community...

...given his background and connections, I personally suspect that he's been employed by the CIA for quite some time.

Bob Woodward
<http://www.webcom.com/ctka/pr196-woodward.html>

Operation Mockingbird
<http://www.prisonplanet.com/analysis_louise_01_03_03_mockingbird.html>

Please keep in mind that there is a war going on behind the scenes between those intelligence assets that suppport Tenet and the CIA, and other assets like the OSP that support the NeoCons. The main point of contention is the fact that the NeoCons have not been able to get the CIA to do their bidding, and used other means to fabricate the rationale for going to war in Iraq, and may have also fabricated who was responsible for the attacks on 911.

The breaking point for the CIA was the exposure of Valerie Plame and her entire global network by the NeoCons. Her network had been tracking material used in the making of WMDs, supposedly one of the highest priorities of the NeoCon dictatorship. An earlier red flag for the CIA was when Rumsfeld asked that the CIA become part of the DoD's organizational structure with Tenet reporting directly to Rumsfeld.

Since Plame's exposure there has been a steady stream of leaks exposing Junior's organization for what it really is. Clarke is part of that effort, and I also believe that Woodward is another part that has been set in motion to destroy the NeoCons.

IMHO, I believe that the CIA played some role in the assassination of JFK, was largely responsible for the downfall of Nixon, and has now set their sights on Junior. The CIA can also be considered an extension of Corporate America...and if they're not happy, Junnior is in big trouble.

[Junkdrawer]

13. I'm 99.9999% certain MANY in govt would love to talk, but national...

secrecy laws prevent them. However, if the Repugs, start declassifying to smear Clarke....

[Wapsie B]

39. That's a point the repugs

need to take in consideration during this smear campaign. Is that Pandora's Box opening?

[BabsSong]

17. CBS News was hard on Bush tonight

They would start a story sounding like they were going to do the "defend Bush" thing and then quickly shoot the bastard down. They had a diagram of the White House and the room Clarke said he was pushed into by Bush. They told of WH denials and then the backing of that other guy (forgot name) an assistant who was dragged in with him and verifys the meeting. Said WH then dropped the denials (and we are talking about who lying??). There was so much. Then after that story they did the WMD joke thing and had a mother on who lost her son over there - ended by showing some fat right wing radio talk show host (not Rush) trying to blow it off, etc. It was all damage for Bush. Even the clips of the ecnomy speeches were great. Good clips of Kerry and clips of Bush looking like an idiot who couldn't even read his cards. This thing is growing. Actually, if these asses keep pushing it, it just stays in the news.......so, come on Bush, keep pushing it.

[Oilwellian]

20. You left out one other thing...

they also reported the Condi story that hit the airwaves today about her wanting to meet privately with the Commission again to change what she said about not knowing the planes would be used as missiles. In other words, they did know.

[Catfight]

63. I wish Clarke would say, "Bring it ON!"

just so I could smirk. But he's too honorable to use such a plebeian phrase.

[earthside]

18. It's the Personal Destruction

At this point, all Clarke has to do is retain his composure, his air of dignity, his integrity.

The unredeemable damage that the radical Republicans are doing to themselves ... is the use of the "politics of personal destruction". Everyday that Bush and Cheney and Condi and the rest of the GOP extremists smear Clarke, the more they look mean and bitter and scared. That's why Kerry must keep talking about a positive course for America.

This election is starting to lean Kerry's way ...

By the way, I think Chris Matthews is coming across as very pro-Kerry. If Clarke is on his show next week, I suspect that he will get a good hearing. I don't think the radical Republicans comprehend how much damage Rice's not appearing publicly before the 9/11 commission is doing to Bush.

[AlCzervik]

22. Clarke stay above the fray

I totally agree with you, Clarke is very cool and collected, he held up so well the the Faux news attack squad tried screw up that testimony. I think he will keep it together because he has the truth on his side.

[troublemaker]

19. The Punch-Line

I doubt Frist is in any position to make a criminal referral to Justice for contempt of Congress or perjury for testimony before the 9/11 commission without the commission requesting the action.

When Frist talks perjury he's talking about nailing Clarke for saying good things about Bush during Congress' own 9/11 investigation in 2002!

Go for it, Bill!

[scottxyz]

31. Republicans are damned if Clarke did, damned if Clarke didn't

As troublemaker points out, they're trying to get Clarke on perjury for saying good things about Bush during Congress' own 9/11 investigation in 2002!

[Oilwellian]

21. I couldn't agree more

Clarke has had months to prepare for this moment. Being in the intelligence business, you can be sure he considered all scenarios and is prepared with responses. :D

[HydroAddict]

25. Can anyone say "TAPES"?

What ever happened with that Tenet testimony?

[number6]

26. repukes will scurry back into their rat holes

thats were they belong, with rat monkey ...

[grasswire]

28. didn't he say something...

.....about having body armor?

[neverforget]

30. The chickens are coming home to roost!

[calimary]

33. Well, they're certainly trying to napalm him. Might as well return the

favor. It's the only response they understand.

I REALLY appreciate his conduct so far. HIS is the steady leadership we've seen on public display, NOT the fairy tales spewed by the bushies. HIS is the noble, integrity-filled apology and the facing of the music. Theirs is a venomous blast-n-blame game. He shoots straight, they hit and run. What I like are his controlled, clear-eyed, direct responses to all the questions coming at him, and each question designed to trip him up only gives him another opportunity to add to and further strengthen his story. Each of his defensive responses constitutes a whole new offensive. With each hit at him, he hits back - even harder.

I thought at one point, the White House would finally get this and realize that every time they throw something at him, he not only hits it back but slam-dunks it. Every one of his responses churns up more doo-doo for them to step into and sink further down. I can't wait to hear what he says to Tim Russert on Sunday, after all this perjury crap has been cranked up against him now. You'd think SOMEBODY would advise the White House to try and shut up and hope this dies down. But when they insist on continuing to attack him, they just ratchet it up because he has an answer for it. Usually a lulu of an answer that creates another problem for them. So okay, then. But it's not in their nature. All they know is attack-dog tactics and character assassination. All they know is how to hurt people. Or TRY to hurt people. Optimistic my ASS. All they know is negativity. Let them feed him like this. It just keeps biting them.

Bring it on!

[LunaC]

36. Clarke is a political chess player

He wouldn't have started all this if he couldn't call "Checkmate" in the end. BushCo will end up having their asses handed to them and they're walking right into the trap.....

Bring it on!

[Cat Atomic]

37. You think so? I'm a notoriously bad judge of character, but

I don't read him that way at all. He seems like a very straightforward and direct sort of man to me... not the sort that excels at political maneuvering.

[dbt]

40. Bad judge here, too, Cat Atomic,

But Clarke seems the sort who will not say anything unless he can back it up. He seems to have that calm air of one who knows he's telling the truth and who has decided that whatever happens as a result will just have to be OK.

Compare his demeanor and body language with, say, Condo Lizard Reisssssss. Who is more comfortable with what he/she is saying? Which one has nothing to hide?

:evilgrin:
dbt

bu$h, meet the toaster...

[indie_voter]

43. I think this describes Paul O'Neill better

Which is why he seemed so stunned by the WH attack dogs.

Clarke seems like a dangerous man to cross.

[9215]

44. Interesting......I've been thinking about that

Remember how Clarke answered Ill. Governor Thompson's question about the "conflict" between things Clarke said in public at different times and Clarke shut him up with one word: "politics".

Clarke is very savvy to how politics works, but does not rely on it for making his own case. He just lays the facts out.

He is one ass kicking dude.

[Kurt Remarque]

46. i agree. clarke is smart, has facts on his side...

and has something missing from the bush administration hedge pigs - he actually cares about honest government and shares blame. his dignity and intelligence make these repug ad hominem attacks juvenile and desperate

[sampsonblk]

42. This is Pathetic... WE are Pathetic

Where are the leaders of our Party?? Its ridiculous that we have to HOPE that some former GOP-appointed staffer has the guts to stand up to Shrub. This is a dangersous leap of faith, and I frankly have none.

Richard Clarke is being slimed at least as bad as McCain in South Carolina. I haven't heard one Dem leader come to his defense. I haven't heard one Dem leader at least challenge the Bush crooks on the issue of the attacks against Clarke.

What are the Dem leaders going to do? Sit on the sidelines and let Clarke fight the battles THEY should have fought for the past several years? Wait until he is finally crushed, as he certainly will be, and then move on to the subject of medicare and jobs?

This is pathetic.

[The Night Owl]

47. How cynical

Clarke's message is powerful because he is a nonpartisan voice. Would Clarke get as much press if he were a Democrat blasting Bush? Of course not.

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

48. Agree

[Media_Lies_Daily]

49. Bingo. The Democratic leadership is absolutely correct in letting...

...this run on its own merits.

[sampsonblk]

54. All true, BUT...

where were the Dem "leaders" before the war started? Where were the Dem leaders during the Freedom Fries campaign against the French? Where were the Dem leaders when Bush was saying the UN is becoming irrelevant?

The only reason the Bush admin is being questioned on any of these issues is because of Clarke and Dean (to an extent). The top Dems are scared! They rolled over and let Bush have a free hand for the past three years. Clarke is dm near all we have, and he ain't even one of us. That's why so many people were for Dean.

[FredScuttle]

56. ahem...

have to give credit where it's due...Daschle hammered the Bushco attack on Clarke:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=444256

[sampsonblk]

61. Good!

We need more of that.

[Bread and Circus]

51. This Clarke motherfucker is a total badass.

That's all I have to say.

[Bread and Circus]

52. Oh wait...no, one more thing -> Clark=David -- Bushco. = Goliath

[PCIntern]

58. This guy Clarke is a pro

and you can just bet your behind that he has himself covered and that if anything were to happen to him then the whole Pandora's Box would open wide. In Watergate, there was just enough leaked to get Nixon out, and not one drop more. Very little came to light in the mainstream press following his resignation, even the deal with Ford was minimized, so that Ford could win the election. It didn't quite work but it was only a 4 year delay until they could get Reagan in and really start the Crusade.

He will drip drip drip until the mission is accomplished and then that will be it. I believe that this is the punishment for the abuse of the intelligence community. You just don't do that to these guys and Clarke is the vehicle for 'change'. The Dems are absolutely right not to weigh in on this at this point because you let someone else shoot themselves in the foot - they require no assistance. In the waning hours of Watergate, the stars were Goldwater, Hugh Scott of PA, and I believe Dirksen, who visited Dick and told him to pack his bags. What an afternoon that was!

[terisel]

62. Didn't Bush Sr also tell Nixon when it was time to go?

The Bush family was very involved in the Nixon administration. They know exactly what is happening here.