doodledee

Over the last couple of days I've listened to most of the 9/11 hearings on NPR. I think that's technically considered Adult Contempo, though it might be Easy Listening. Either way, there's been plenty of good stuff. Government in the open makes for much better drama than closed door meetings that The People never get to hear about. Funny how that works.

While I'd like to leave the 'real analysis' to the pundits who 'really know how to analyze' these types of things, there were a couple of things that I noticed that I just can't resist pointing out. Self-control was never one of my strong points.

First is how active the crowd at the hearing is. There's like clapping and stuff. What's that about? I thought the only time government clapped was at the State of the Union and/or when some lobbyist calls to invite it to the Palms for 5 martinis and a steak. Guess not. These hearings are packed with applause. Especially after somebody delivers a good zinger. I swear I heard someone yell "da-aaammm!" when Clarke shot back with his [now famous] "it's not a question of morality" comment. Burn!

The second is the whole Condoleezza Rice deal. The panelists are always begging to get to talk with her. They beg other people who are testifying to go ask her to testify. It's pathetic. She has agreed to testify, but not in public. They say say it has to be in public. She says no. They say please. Uhh, still no. Rinse. Repeat. Ralph.

I'm disappointed that she's not testifying, but I have to admit that all that "separation of powers" nonsense does seem at least a little bit reasonable. So here's what I say: if you don't agree to testify in public, you don't get to hide behind a podium and rebut the public testimony of some other dude. It's just not fair. Clarke got grilled for hours by a sometimes hostile group of questioners. Condi got softballs from Katie Couric. Lame lame lame.

Note that when I am president all these rules will not apply.

Executive Privilege [cspan]
White House Wages A War on Clarke [wpo]
Clarke testifying [y! img]