Gonzo Oversight
You can’t make this stuff up. But that doesn’t mean these fools tools guys aren’t making it up as they go along. If it wasn’t so sad, you could call this The Slapstick Presidency. It’s easy to see why the Bush Administration trusts no one on the outside. They trust no one. Not even themselves. Alberto Gonzales says about the NSA
“It’s a very important program to the United States, and so certain decisions are made in terms of . . . how much information should be shared throughout the federal government,” Gonzales told reporters at a news conference. “We don’t want to be talking so much about the program that we compromise the effectiveness.” Gonzales declined to discuss who denied security clearances to OPR investigators or whether he was consulted on the issue.
A brief description of some of the problems of the program as described by the President: Offering the least information possible and calling it a brief, Bush gives new meaning to the term brief. Eight whole members of Congress are in on the info, four whole Democrats.
“What do I know, I’m just on the intelligence committee,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is fond of saying, ruefully noting that most of what he knows about the surveillance program has come from newspapers.
Respect for privacy and the rule of law in this administration shouldn’t be a joke, but so often is.
More laughs What might have been: good or bad? Oh, and the real problem is we should spy more, not less. Plus: Mixed reviews. Oh look, the whole Senate Intelligence Committee just got briefed. Finally.
