Possessing an advance of former Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge's new book, Chris Matthews broke the story on Hardball today that Ridge admits being pushed by Rumsfield and Ashcroft to raise the Homeland Security Level the weekend before the 2004 Presidential election, even though the Homeland Security Department saw no reason to do it. The sensational quote from the book referenced in Matthew's Report essentially says that Ridge thought that maybe something more was behind the request than the nation's security, like Bush's re-election.
According to Matthews, Ridge goes on to say that he was concerned enough that he had to leave the Administration because of the incident.
How brave of Ridge to resign from the Bush Administration because of the politicization of the Homeland Security Threat Level on the weekend before the 2004 Presidential Election! What a true American Profile in Courage!
Amazing.
Think about it. What would have happened if Ridge had the integrity to do what any truly patriotic American would have done and fessed up before the polls opened?
Instead, this pathetic excuse for a leader chooses to make this revelation to sell a book, after the statute of limitations has run.
To make matters worse, the loser doesn't even really fess up in the book, either. The quote is all lawyered up. Without directly stating what actually happened, this former US Attorney just tries to rewrite history to make himself look like a hero.
Tom Ridge... another great (and book royalty-flushed) American hero brought to us by George W. Bush and the Republican Party.