Not Yet – Moon of Alabama

July 11, 2005

Not Yet

Today the press broke with the Cheney administration. This after having swallowed tons of shit from Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan over the last years and spewing it out over their readers.

Did they take some introspection after the Gannon purge and found something rotten within themselves? I doubt it.

McClellan’s stupid blocking of any question regarding Rove and Plame today was the last drop in the bucket for them to turn away from the daily comedy show they staged together with him.

The CBS/Associated Press lead is:

For two years, the White House has insisted that presidential adviser Karl Rove had nothing to do with the leak of a CIA officer’s identity. And President Bush said the leaker would be fired.

Can any mainstream lead be more hostile to the White House?

The point here are not Rove’s lies or the associated stories. The point is, that the fourth estate today turned away from this administration.

Watching the video of today’s press briefing these folks seem angry, really really angry. They have been lied to. That’s normal and they are used to it. But now they have been lied to so openly, that it is impossible for them to hide it from their readers and viewers. They will really have to work now. Now that is outrageous.

McClellan today tried several times to sell favors to some correspondents with the code phrase "(name), we know each other very well, …" (Do you remember that exclusive I gave you on those WMDs? Want another one?). But nobody would take that bait anymore. The front row of whiteheads from AP, CBS and ABC were disgusted. David Gregory of NBC News expressed the general atmosphere: "This is ridiculous!".

Cheney’s administration will defend Rove further, but it is a loose-it-all position. The wind suddenly blows from ahead and it is getting stronger.

So how will the captain keep the passengers distracted from this upcoming rough voyage?

Thanks to ACLU’s FOI request, further Abu Ghraib pictures and videos will be published during the next ten days. Combine that with the Rove story, Supreme court candidate fights and the mess in Iraq – something else HAS to come up now.

London didn´t do it. A new Anthrax scare? Iran? Syria? Something must make other headlines now. And that aren´t Cheney’s handcuffs yet. Not yet.

Posted by b on July 11, 2005 at 23:04 UTC | Permalink

Comments

The whole house of cards is falling. But as posted by slothrop at the other post, these guys are smart and I’m sure alterior claims and lies have been thought through to cover roves bald headed ass.
b, I have to say they can only lie to people and even the press so much and it catches up. Beam me up scotty is in a tough spot as it says at Raw Story. His credibility is shot and he knows it. Now he’ll really earn his money.
I sure they’re saying, we now need a quick “hey, look over there!”
Limblowhard was on today with the talking points blabing about liberals and how liberals are losing every issue blah, blah, blah. He had some quote from the WP about how liberal interest groups have lost power, blah, blah, blah.
I would like to remind him about the filibuster win, at least for now, the SS win and the Bolton win. And how about the outright corruption from Delay, Royal Duke Cunningham and the rest of the GOP cronies. But don’t let up people. We have to do as Rove would like to with the democrats, drive them (rethugs) completely out of power and into oblivion.
Back to topic, David Gregory was great today and he’s been sharper as of late. The editors and bosses might finally be turning the dogs loose. Its already been shown Bushie is a lame duck, what do they have to lose.

Posted by: jdp | Jul 11 2005 23:46 utc | 1

Lose

Posted by: biklett | Jul 11 2005 23:46 utc | 2

The Bush crime family will not go down easily. Wonder when James Baker will make an appearance?

Posted by: susan | Jul 11 2005 23:57 utc | 3

Yeah, blackmail and threats go a long awy, as we have seen.

Posted by: rapt | Jul 12 2005 0:03 utc | 4

Threats have little effect against a tidal wave. If the press unleashes after all this constriction, it will be powerful.

Posted by: jm | Jul 12 2005 0:13 utc | 5

Action talks, bullshit walks.
I’ll start to believe there’s some hope when I see multiple enditements and rats jumping ship squelling publicly to save thier hides.

Posted by: Outraged | Jul 12 2005 0:15 utc | 6

@Outraged:
Money talks and bullshit marks time too.
And I’ll believe it after some of the things you said happen.

Posted by: FlashHarry | Jul 12 2005 0:32 utc | 7

as little bobby dylan sd, “money doesn’t talk, it swears”

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jul 12 2005 0:47 utc | 8

It’s too late. Final straw was Gelb’s return from Iraq. His report to CFR on the situation led to union of CFR & Wall Street. Soros has masterfully outflanked Bu$hCo, helped considerably by his funding of bloggers & environmental stuff. He’s united elites around his 3 key concerns: 1) Open illegal invasion of Iraq would unite world against xUS. Recent announcement of China Russia alliance has thrown things into overdrive. 2) the Economcy & world financial picture for the dollar 3) Environment. Elites now ready to switch paradigm from disastrous “War on Terra”, to Peak Oil. Court resignations – possibly 3 – helping kick things along, as putting torturers & Theo nuts on the Court confirms the world’s conviction that they must united against xAm & wakes up the masses, which is the last thing the financial elites want.
Unlike in Nixon’s time, when it was merely necessary to get rid of Spiro first, this time they need to get rid of Rove first. Of course, it’s possible that after that they’ll get one of their own in there pulling the strings & Bu$hCo will merely change course. But note the timing of things to come. More AbuG pictures to be released July 22 & Press Conference @ Natl Press Club w/coalition including 911 Debunkers – Morgan Reynolds et al – is July 24. So, summer just starting to get hot.
(It’s unfortunate that Oliver Stone is making flick relating to 911 – that always sends people running for cover for some reason.)
To see how much on the defensive the whole cabal is, we need only look at how last week’s London Bombing accomplished nothing. From our viewpoint it accomplished a lot. It merely reinforced calls for Brits. to get the hell out of Iraq, so strongly, that they had to leak another paper claiming they were considering it. That really protects us & our Constitution should they decide to pull another caper here. Recall the previous line was that all they had to do was uncork one more bomb & the Constitution would be a dead letter. Now the line is – Hell, the Brits & other Europeans have been living w/bombs for decades, what’s wrong w/you? Are Americans Cowards?? That’s our real protection against this administration’s nefarious potential.
But anyway the elite has had enough of this. It’s only the “war on terra” that kept the bastards in power, so even being allowed to question it at the Nat’l Press Club tells us the Elites are now ready to start tugging at the Administration’s linch pin…
Now, we’ll just have to wait & see how Daddy advises him to change course & if that works. The world situation is now so Seriously Dire in every conceivably way, that I wouldn’t bet a dime that the elites will tolerate an infantile illiterate at the helm any longer.
Aren’t people around here too bright to be repeating this “teflon” meme? You’re either doing the bidding of the elites and therefor protected by them; or you aren’t & you’re history.
No point in moving on Rove before the election ‘cuz that’s a much easier mechanism for tossing overboard those who’re no longer useful. But, alas, Repugs have commandeered that mechanism for regime change, so time to move on to Plan B.
If you think I’m blowing smoke about Elite Paradigm switch, check out this article in Friday’s Financial Times. In fact, could Bernhard, Jerome, or anyone possibly do a write-up on this article for non-subscribers around here. It challenges the “war on terra” horseshit. Bush has to review strategy, say US experts
A constant theme of the Bush administration is that America and the world are safer because of the US invasion of Iraq and its anti-terror strategy.
That argument prevailed during the US presidential election campaign last year, despite even official US evidence to the contrary, but may have been finally buried by Thursday’s bombings in London.
Rest for subscribers only.

Posted by: jj | Jul 12 2005 1:02 utc | 9

jj, you likely hit the nail. In the 1970s they brought along Jimmy Carter to fill the void. Gelb has been skeptical all along and he has been around for a long time. He was on tv today, the media will start giving the center/left view more time as the war on terra is outted for the planning failure it was in the first place.
The China thing is really starting to bother elites, they are losing control because the foriegn policy elite are not engaged because of Iraq and terra. Financial interest are much more important and elites don’t see any gain out of Iraq for a while, ie, oil and looting whatever else, so now move on to make money elsewhere and try and calm fears about inequity in the markets and the falling middle class. Elites fear class backlash as the pendulum has swung to far.
When the CFR and Trilats speak, everyone listens, and that isn’t any conspiracy, that is fact.

Posted by: jdp | Jul 12 2005 1:47 utc | 10

The point is that the fourth estate today turned away from this administration.
I hope you’re right, but I think it’s way too early for that conclusion. The White House press corps has known for five years now that they were being lied to, but they still needed that access and those glamorous jobs. So they carried the administration’s water anyway.
We’ve got a long way to go before this administration crashes and burns.

Posted by: Phil from New York | Jul 12 2005 2:34 utc | 11

this little tidbit might lift everyone’s spirits,
from July 11 of Empire Notes

The developments of the last three years have seen a catastrophic decline in U.S. global hegemony. Bad enough that it has to sit by quietly while revolutions go on in Venezuela and Bolivia and Argentina defies international finance capital. Bad enough that it can no longer defend extortionate debt repayment requirements on destitute nations, a policy that required no defense ten years ago.
Worse, it has invaded Iraq and cost itself blood, treasure, and legitimacy only to find that its political weakness has forced it into allowing elections and the advent of a government that may well instead increase the power of Iran. This eventuality, anathema to the American imperium, is a very clear sign of its weakness in what we have been told is to be a new American century.

Posted by: andrew in caledon | Jul 12 2005 4:07 utc | 12

This 50, sorry, 51-year-old is mad as hell (again).
McNamara and Kissinger, and by extension Johnson and Nixon, lied to the American public about Viet Nam and millions died. (I don’t consider American lives more valuable than Viet Namese ones.)
(And let’s not even address Chile.)
Does the public care enough to ask for proper and justified punishment? No.
It’s minor real estate bribery, a dirty trick burglary and assorted lies, none of which matter a rat’s ass compared the the monstrous crimes of Viet Nam, that eventually cause the evildoers’ downfall.
The American public, bovine in its intelligence, goes on to let itself be bamboozled again in commiting crimes against humanity, and history appears to repeat itself again: lies and dirty tricks backfiring may succeed where hands awash with blood elicit no outrage.
It is despicable, utterly despicable.

Posted by: Lupin | Jul 12 2005 5:44 utc | 13

About the elites… I don’t know if you are aware of this but Zbibniew Brzezinski of the Trilateral Commission publically stated on CBS recently that the war in Iraq is becoming a quagmire.
I do believe a shifting of control is forthcoming. I would imagine removing Rove is the first step.

Posted by: jm | Jul 12 2005 6:12 utc | 14

At the risk of seeming to be obsessive on the Bout-Chichakli links, a brief quote from
http://www.chichakli.com

The US Treasury … decided that any business Sergey Bout engages [in] will be to the benefit of Victor Bout. How about applying that to the Bin Laden family where some prominent US Government names are running and managing such business. I never heard anyone saying that any business held by any Bin Laden, is collectively to the benefit of the accused 9/11 mastermind.

The analogy is striking, to say the least.

My interest for this site is the hope that Chichakli’s sense of
being wronged will lead him to tell us more about who has been
trafficking in arms (and drugs?). He already is mentioning some (safe?) names (Ronald De Smet and Deidre Ward). One wonders
if these are “cut-outs” for others, or at least had the blessings of those who watch over the fates of arms merchants.

Posted by: Hannah K. O’Luthon | Jul 12 2005 9:56 utc | 15

jdp, I don’t think we will hear more center/left criticism of the war from our corporate media, just another conservative POV that has been in the minority until now. Remember that The American Conservative (where Buchanon, Raimondo and others write), The Cato Institute and many other conservatives (RC Parry, Charlie Reese, Ron Paul, William Lind, etc) as well as military leaders have opposed the Iraq War since the beginning. They are the ones we’ll be hearing. The only thing liberals will get is the blame.

Posted by: lonesomeG | Jul 12 2005 15:38 utc | 16

here’s another link to jj’s FI article
Classified studies by the CIA and State Department leaked to the media last month concluded that Iraq had replaced Afghanistan as the prime training ground for foreign terrorists who could travel across the world spreading destruction. The Bush administration has struggled even to work out whether the world is a safer place or not.
A year ago, the State Department had to withdraw a report by the Terrorist Threat Integration Centre that claimed terror attacks in 2003 had declined sharply. The revised report more than doubled the numbers of attacks and deaths.

Posted by: annie | Jul 12 2005 16:58 utc | 17

You have focussed on one of the essential points. We are hearing over and over again how Bush, McClellan and Rove are now feeling the press’ heat because the press doesn’t like being lied to. But that begs the question since the press has been lied to constantly, about WMD’s, about al Qaeda-Hussein connectionss, about Bush’s national guard service, about compassionate conservatism, about har evidence of biological weapons, about medicare costs, about environmental impact and global warning, about Gannon/Guckert,… I actually am not sure why the press is now aroused. I do not expect it to last. The press/Bush honeymoon will be with us for a long while I am afraid, and those who care will use the foreign press and the internet for accurate coverage.

Posted by: della Rovere | Jul 12 2005 18:16 utc | 18

The press was under orders until now.
The very nature of the press is bloodthirsty. Being lied to is not the issue. They expect that. Exposing the lies is what they love. They thoroughly enjoy seeing high and mighty assholes with their pants down. They will leap at the chance.

Posted by: jm | Jul 12 2005 21:59 utc | 19

So I wonder what all this stuff will mean for the allegedly imminent attack on Iran? BushCo is probably thinking that if they invade Iran and can reinstate the draft, we’ll have the “boots on the ground” we’ll need to secure the oil. (I would tend to think not, however, as conscript troops who have no sense of truly defending their country from attack are about the the worst sort of troops you can get.)
If the elites are about to toss BushCo over the side, it could be because they’ve come to the realization thanks to the Iraqi insurgency that the PNAC strategy isn’t going to get us the oil. A country rife with internal violent strife (such as resisting an imperial occupation) cannot provide the peaceful environment an oil-extraction infrastructure requires to function.

Posted by: Loveandlight | Jul 13 2005 17:53 utc | 20

I think the PNAC intended experiment was to level Iraq and rebuild in an untaxed, unregulated corporate free for all. It appears that this has completely fallen short of the dream, however, as there is total chaos in Iraq and money is disappearing with astounding speed. The rebuilding is stalled and the future doesn’t look good. Maybe the elites want an end to this sinkhole.

Posted by: jm | Jul 13 2005 22:51 utc | 21

that experiment of creating a showcase of democracy & economic liberalism was already tried in grenada after the ’83 invasion & it failed miserably. if they couldn’t pull it off in a tiny little caribbean island paradise, what would make them think that they could impose any such model in the middle of a region the likes of the middle east? rather, i think that in the same way that urgent fury was a low-risk demonstration of the reagan doctrine, iraq showed off the dubya doctrine. unfortunately, the ceo’s in command can’t see past the next quarterly profit statement.

Posted by: b real | Jul 14 2005 3:04 utc | 22

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