Yes, that is the beginning of "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll. It is also the beginning of a column in today's Washington Post by Dana Milbank entitled "Through the Looking Glass, Darkly" which is well worth the time to peruse. After quoting the beginning of the Carroll, and following that with Tony Snow's statement on the VP - including the speculation Cheney may have recused himself, Milbank puts it all in context:
Lewis Carroll had nothing on the Bush White House of 2007.
The president and his aides have been trending toward the margins of reality for some time now, but with this week's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison term, the administration's statements dissolved into nonsense.
The heart of the column can be seen here:
Logic suffered a more serious challenge when Bush press secretary Tony Snow, in his briefing, made the following points about Libby's case:
· That Bush wasn't "granting a favor to anyone" but that the case got his "special handling."
· That it was not done for "political reasons" even though "it was political."
· That it was handled "in a routine manner," yet it was also "an extraordinary case."
· That "we are not going to make comments" on the case, even though Bush had already issued a 655-word statement commenting on the case.
And if that makes sense to you, beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch.
"You're insulting our intelligence," one of the reporters advised Snow.
"How can you stand there with a straight face?" queried CBS News's Bill Plante.
In the event you did not see clips of the press briefing yesterday, which was held in a more than half empty press room, what I have just quoted gives you a real sense of the new unwillingness of the press corps to be spun, and of the increasing frequency of the rhetorical contradictions to which this administration is resorting.
I will not quote more, having already pushed the limits of fair use. I am not a great fan of Milbank, but this piece is not to be missed.
I do not think the recent events have the impact of the Saturday Night Massacre, not yet. But the press response is part of a pattern that is increasingly not only skeptical of statements made by the administration, but willing to challenge statements immediately, as happened yesterday.
It is probably to be expected that the President and his minions will resort to their greatest hits, as he did in remarks today again equating 9-11 and Iraq, and saying if we lay down arms over there they will follow us here. "Be afraid. Be very afraid." And yet, we now have statements from inside Al Qaeda that they view our misadventure in Iraq as a great gift from us, around the world we as a nation are viewed as the greatest threat to security and peace, an opinion held by many of our young people.
I think it possible that soon Keith Olbermann will not be alone among major media figures to call the administration on its untruths, perhaps even using the "L" word - Lies.
And when conservative editorial pages, such as the Chicago Tribune, in an editorial yesterday entitled Do the crime, do the time offer statements like
But in nixing the prison term, Bush sent a terrible message to citizens and to government officials who are expected to serve the public with integrity. The way for a president to discourage the breaking of federal laws is by letting fairly rendered consequences play out, however uncomfortably for everyone involved. The message to a Scooter Libby ought to be the same as it is for other convicts: You do the crime, you do the time.
, this a paper that endorsed him both presidential runs, the rules of the game are changing.
It is of course too early to predict how all of this will play out. Clips of the presser on the evening news get the attention of whatever portion of the population may tune in. Chattering classes will read things like the editorial and Milbank's op ed and with the herd mentality that is so often demonstrated begin to pile on.
Read the entire Tribune editorial. Read all of Milbank's piece. And keep your eyes open: the national mood may be making a significant change.
Peace.