What Statements Have Been Made About the Whitewash Commission?

[NashVegas]

By our fearless candidates?

[sallyseven]

1. They just announced it.

What do you expect.
Some are good some are bad.

[NashVegas]

2. Here's One -

MADISON, WI--Governor Dean issued the following statement in response to President Bush's announcement of a White House commission on intelligence, including Iraq:

"The Bush Administration has lost all credibility on the issue of Iraq and intelligence. George Bush and Dick Cheney continue to cling to the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but too many others in the Administration now admit the evidence was not there.

"America would have been better served if Democrats in Washington had asked the hard questions before the war was launched. Instead of coming clean about misleading the American people on Iraq, the President has swept the problem under the political rug by appointing a bipartisan commission but delaying its report until after the 2004 election.

"We need a truly independent commission that will have access to all the information, act with dispatch, and report its findings before the election--so the American people can render their own verdict on the war and on whether the President told the truth."

Posted by Mathew Gross at 06:57 PM

It could be a little stronger ...

[Toucano]

3. From Clark

For Immediate Release
Date: February 6, 2004


Statement On The President's New Intelligence Commission
Clark says: President shouldn't blame CIA for failures: "They report; he decides"

Little Rock - General Wesley Clark issued the following statement on today's announcement by President Bush of his new commission to investigate intelligence failures on Iraqi weapons.

"President Bush's announcement today is a disappointment but not a surprise - George W. Bush's presidency has been a series of failures followed by buck-passing.

"The President of the United States must be responsible for the use of intelligence by his Administration. The President should not use a panel like the one announced today to lay blame on the intelligence community, whose job it is to provide information to policy makers. If there were failures, they were his - the buck should stop with him. As the President's favorite network would say, 'they report; he decides.'

"The President also should not be using a panel to sweep pressing issues under the rug. Waiting until 2005 for the commission's report simply is not acceptable - if there is a major threat posed by these weapons, we should have that information in 90 days, not a year from now.

"I also would like to know why the commission is being created now - it appears that the President delayed the creation of the commission and created a report date in a way that makes it difficult for citizens to know the degree of responsibility and accountability of this administration. This follows the 9/11 Commission - the Administration put up road blocks and delays so that Americans won't hear their report until after the election. George Bush's modus operandi is to keep the public in the dark. I believe that in a democracy the government belongs to the people and I'll be a president who believes in being accountable to the people, not hiding from the people."


Emphasis my own.