- Netroots power
- Why anyone with a brain stem won’t trust Bush when he talks about Texas-style bipartisanship
- Some interesting biographical information on SecDef nominee Robert Gates:
Independent Counsel found insufficient evidence to warrant charging Robert Gates with a crime for his role in the Iran/contra affair. Like those of many other Iran/contra figures, the statements of Gates often seemed scripted and less than candid. Nevertheless, given the complex nature of the activities and Gates’s apparent lack of direct participation, a jury could find the evidence left a reasonable doubt that Gates either obstructed official inquiries or that his two demonstrably incorrect statements were deliberate lies.
Presumably the confirmation hearing will be rushed to have it happen in the lame-duck Senate, not one with a Democratic Armed Services Committee chair. If you want even more about Gates, have a look at the Senate debate on Gates’s previous appointment in 1991.
- Video: Bush Admits He Lied About Rumsfeld For Political Purposes. [UPDATE: This, it turns out, hews to a familiar pattern.]
