Barf Alert: Ken Melhman on Hardball (RE Plame)

[Cush]

[Goldmund]

1. Doing the "Cheney didn't send him" line

[Jack Rabbit]

4. No, Cheney requested somebody look into the matter

Wilson never said Cheney sent him.

They've made this up.

[Goldmund]

8. I know

Besides, the whole matter is FUCKING IRRELEVANT. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ROVE OUTING A CIA ASSETT? Couldn't Rove have "warned Cooper against publishing a false story" WITHOUT OUTING PLAME????

I'm not yelling at you, btw. :)

[Jack Rabbit]

29. The talking point they're trying to advance is that the Wilsons plotted

The Wilsons gave money to Gore's campaign, ergo they just hate Bush and just wanted to embarrass Bush; Valerie was a renegade on a mission who arranged the whole thing on her own; Wilson found something else in Niger than what he said in The New York Times and at the same time he deliberately overlooked real evidence that Saddam was trying to buy yellowcake.

It is complete crap. It's the worst kind of conspiracy theory.

Wilson reported to the US ambassador to Niger and her staff orally before leaving the country. He never actually saw a written report, but it is doubtful that the Ambassador misrepresented what he said since, according to Wilson, his finding of nothing to the story was consistent with hers. Nevertheless, somewhere between early March 2002 and January 2003, the sixteen words were put in the State of the Union message. Only after Wilson's article appeared in The Times did DCI Tenet admit those words should not have been there.

It's stretching it beyond reason to suppose that two people could set up an elaborate plot to embarrass Bush over a speech that would not be delivered for ten months; and, on top of that, this theory does not explain why if this is the case Wilson did not just jump all over Bush the day after the SOTU but waited another six months.

A better theory (and you know what I think of conspiracy theories, but this one is supported by solid evidence) is that the neocons decided to go to war and then started looking for reasons to justify it; not having any good ones (the case was thin), they fabricated facts and dissembled intelligence ( the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy). Wilson told the world how this was done in the case in which he was involved.

If Iraq had been found to be swimming in weapons grade biochemical toxins, weapons grade nuclear materials and documentation showing that Saddam provided Osama with cash and training, then we might assume that the mishandling of Wilson's report and the inclusion of a sentence in the SOTU contradicting his findings was due to human error. So what if Wilson found nothing, because there was nothing to find, but those sixteen words still found their way into Mr. Bush's 2003 SOTU? Hey, this kind of thing happens. If everything else panned out, Wilson probably wouldn't have even bothered to write his article for The New York Times, or, if he had, it would have caused barely a ripple.

The problem is that the Bushies got nothing right. If they were really looking for facts, one might expect a few errors; but to score a perfect zero about Saddam's weapons, nuclear program and ties to Islamist terror organizations suggests they we're looking for facts at all, but for talking points unrelated to the facts. Wilson certainly couldn't have been responsible for all the facts they got wrong. They'd better look in the mirror to find the culprit.

So when Wilson said to the world that the Bushies said that he said something he didn't say, they had to discredit him. And they are still trying to discredit him.

[Goldmund]

31. That's a great analysis

But it seems to me that they're fighting a different battle from the one being fought against them. Because even if all this were true -- and I agree with your "better theory" -- it still does not fundamentally answer the question of why Rove outed Plame. Even if she did intentionally embarass Bush -- we have a legal system, and more than that, the CIA has rules of engagement. You don't legally punish a CIA assett by effectively outing her whole network.

Of course, understand that I'm only going to these lengths (assuming that Plame and Wilson were anti-Bush co-conspirators) to try to assess the value of the propaganda they're pushing. And I'm basically coming to the conclusion that there isn't -- no matter what, there just fucking isn't -- a critical mass of people dumb enough to buy this shit. Yeah, the subset of NASCAR dads that shave the car number of their favorite driver on their backs will buy it... But I can't see this as an ultimately succesful prevention of a huge political hit.

[NightOwwl]

2. Oh...he looks scared.

Poor baby. :nopity:

[politicaholic]

3. Is that it? Any quotes, perhaps an opinion? n/t

[Neecy]

14. here's a quick summation....

Mehlman: Smear, politics, left-wing Democrats, MoveOn.org, Rove is a good man, blah blah blah, lie lie lie.

Tweety: "Fair enough". (yes, this is a direct quote)

A complete whitewash. And he dares to advertise his program as some kind of hard-hitting journalism.

And no, he didn't have an opposing viewpoint on.

[RobertSeattle]

5. Let's hope Tweety has his facts ready tonight (unlike last night)

[dogday]

Ok Chris surprise us and tell the Freaking truth

call these people when they lie you dope....

[Goldmund]

6. Tweety running wih Kenny... Talking about Wilson

[dogday]

7. Mehlman sucks

[Bleacher Creature]

9. Before you waste too much time on Mehlman, please read this:

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/07/ken-who.html

and this

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2005/07/see_the_forest_1.htm

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

10. Had to turn him off, and it's true I want to

:puke:

[KaryninMiami]

11. There goes another MoveOn.org slur... Barf Alert is right

Hope there's a guest with another view to this story tonight. Interesting that he's right on cue with the GOP talking points. What a surprise.

[mduffy31]

12. Mehlman..

Karl Rove has the Highest Ethical standards. Such as sliming John McCain, John Kerry etc...

:puke:

[Scout1071]

13. Nice under eye bags and dark circles Ken.

Get used to seeing those. What a schmuck.

[Cush]

15. of course, no one to counter

[RadiDem]

16. Tweety whoring it up - didn't really challenge Mehlman at all

[KaryninMiami]

17. "President has the highest ethical standards?" Which president? Ours?

Geezzzzzz. Wonder if Delay is up there as well. I just hope the truth comes out and comes out soon and Joe Wilson needs to be out there speaking it as often as he can (with documented proof so there is no question of his authenticity). Barf. At least Melhman is over now. Barf again.

[Alizaryn]

18. I can't even watch Matthews anymore,

he gives me a stomach ache. He seriously would fit in better on Fox.

[wookie294]

19. Hardball has the worst theme song I've ever heard

It's so dorky. LOL.

[JimmyJazz]

20. That was really tough to stomach. The "highest ethical standards"

OMG - I can't imagine the bar being any LOWER!

[eleny]

21. Sam Seder just called him "a coat hanger"

Because he hangs out in the closet.

[RadiDem]

22. Mehlman talked about Rovenebeg's 'high ethical standards'

And there's case after case of documented dirty tricks by that scumbag, including the disgusting sabotage of McCain.

Tweety didn't say beep.

[Connie_Corleone]

23. Tweety was playing Softball tonight. Geez!!

No tough questions at all.

[blueblitzkrieg]

24. Are Democrats even allowed on Hardball anymore?

First Mehlman spewing his propaganda unchallenged...now Republican Mike DeWine saying what a great guy Rove is and how Roe V. Wade is wrong. This show sucks.

[kayleybeth]

25. No Democratic rebuttal

And Tweety didn't do his job. He basically just let Ken spew the same old lies and talking points without challenge.
:puke:

[dzika]

26. Was Mehlman being interviewed from the men's room?

It kind of looks like it.

[writes2000]

27. Yes!!! Bush's "Honest & Trustworthy" numbers are DOWN!

The MSNBC/WSJ's poll shows that Bush's numbers when it comes to honesty and trustworthy-ness are the lowest ever!

[Neecy]

28. yep

Down to 41% (and I'm shocked they're still that high).

People are finally starting to wake up ----

[mwb970]

30. Like the others, he is a foolish little man.

It showed during his interview.