This is my first ever diary...though I admit in this case it's only a rant.
I can't believe the agreement that the commission reached with the White House for what seems the trifecta: Rice/Cheney/Bush. Unfortunately, it turns out the testimony will be Rice only, with a closed door "conversation" with Bush, chaperoned by Cheney. Which will amount, of course, to Cheney eloquently (if falsely) giving the party line about priorities (and almost certainly the one about it being Bill Clinton's fault) and Bush occasionally chiming in with leakable, overly rehearsed, sound bytes. First off, what the hell kind of message does this send to the rest of the world that the (alleged) leader of the free world can't speak for himself!? Not, of course, that I wish to imply that this White House gives a damn about the rest of the world, it's only that Bush ran on "restoring honor to the White House" and sure, he probably hasn't gotten any blow jobs from interns while in office, but does it honor the office that the person holding it is incapable of answering questions!?
Besides the obvious hand holding, the deal also includes a provision that following the "conversation" no more administration officials will be called on to testify. That's right, kids! Not only will it be closed door, and not under oath, the commission precludes the possibility to verify the truth of Bush and Cheney's statements with any other admin official (in all likelihood, because almost anyone else in the administration could be called to testify UNDER OATH where there are perjury penalties for lying). This provision, if anything, encourages Bush and Cheney to make as many claims as they want with the gaurantee that no one from their camp can insert truth into the matter. This setup must be Karl Rove's wet dream, since only people outside the White House can contradict them and those people can be easily spun as both "partisans with axes to grind" and "outside the loop." (I for one would like a diagram of the loop, with everyone's status labled....Colin Powell, where are you when we need you?)
Now for the White House Council-- Mr. Alfonso R. Gonzales. He makes my "disgusted list" not because of the deal he brokered, he kept his client's asses out of the fire, but because of his phone habits. No, this is not a Clinton-esque scandal, I'm refering to something much worse. He actually called up 2 Republicans on the 9-11 Commission to tell them what questions to ask of Richard Clarke hours before his testimony! Can anyone say EX-PARTE?!?!?!? He out to be at least brought up on charges before the Bar's Ethics panel, if not suspended! Not that this sort of behavior surprises me in this White House...I just wish it did!