Smooth Operator
From WashPost's E. J. Dionne Jr.:
The double-standard could not be clearer. And I haven't read or heard too many Republicans who can explain why the Clinton Administration was worth so much investigation, so much oversight...and the Bush Administration should just be left alone.
The thing to remember is that this is cyclical. A Democratic Congress tries to assert their oversight powers, and Bush cites "petty politics" explaining that such tactic distract the nation during wartime. So then, when the Democrats make moves on the war, what does Bush do? He claims that the opposition is either cowardly ("cut and run," "retreat"), impatient ("give the surge time to work") or unqualified ("don't micromanage this war").
He's doing his best to try and dissuade Democrats from doing anything that goes against his policies, both foreign and domestic. A "Smooth Operator," indeed. However, the biggest flaw with Bush's tactics is that he has yet to yield the type of tangible results one needs to maintain credibility. In other words, "all heat and no light."
So many principles that Republicans held dear when they were trying to take Clinton down are no longer operative. This certainly applies to a 1998 column now whizzing around the Internet that ran under the headline "Executive Privilege Is a Dodge." It was written by Tony Snow, who is now President Bush's press secretary...
...Bush is nothing if not shrewd. By trying to recast the controversy as a partisan catfight, the president has temporarily diverted attention from the central issues in this inquiry: whether any of the eight fired U.S. attorneys were asked to step down for political reasons; whether political aides in the White House played an important role in the firings; and whether replacing independent-minded prosecutors was a way of influencing ongoing or future investigations.
The double-standard could not be clearer. And I haven't read or heard too many Republicans who can explain why the Clinton Administration was worth so much investigation, so much oversight...and the Bush Administration should just be left alone.
The thing to remember is that this is cyclical. A Democratic Congress tries to assert their oversight powers, and Bush cites "petty politics" explaining that such tactic distract the nation during wartime. So then, when the Democrats make moves on the war, what does Bush do? He claims that the opposition is either cowardly ("cut and run," "retreat"), impatient ("give the surge time to work") or unqualified ("don't micromanage this war").
He's doing his best to try and dissuade Democrats from doing anything that goes against his policies, both foreign and domestic. A "Smooth Operator," indeed. However, the biggest flaw with Bush's tactics is that he has yet to yield the type of tangible results one needs to maintain credibility. In other words, "all heat and no light."
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