At Hullabaloo, digby writes, Donald Rumsfeld: Rock Star Has-Been:
As I watch Don Rumsfeld lie all over television this morning it makes me feel nostalgic for the good old days. Remember when the press gushed over him as if he were Justin Bieber? It's a wonder anyone has any respect for the profession left at all:
"Everyone is genuflecting before the Pentagon powerhouse," noted Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz (12/13/01). Since the war in Afghanistan started, Kurtz observed, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was "getting better press than Rudy Giuliani." Rumsfeld, Kurtz wrote, was "America's new rock star."
Why do so many journalists revere Rumsfeld? His "rough-hewn charm and no-nonsense demeanor" are part of it, says Kurtz. And dozens of other journalists concur, often citing his "candor" and describing him as "plain-spoken" and a "straight-shooter." Journalists' comments about Rumsfeld range from the flattering to the obsequious to the downright bizarre.
"Sixty-nine years old, and you're America's stud," Tim Russert told Rumsfeld when he interviewed him on NBC's Meet the Press (1/20/02); Larry King informed him that "you now have this new image called sex symbol" (CNN's Larry King Live, 12/06/01). Fox News' Jim Angle (12/11/01) called him "a babe magnet for the 70-year-old set."
Remember when he would hold press conferences and the reporters would giggle like schoolgirls at his every utterance? Pentagon briefings were so much fun in those days.
But nothing can beat the paeans to his many manliness from wingnut women of all ages. It was a sight to behold. ...
Say what you will about these days, but at least we don't have to put up with this drivel.
Rummy meanwhile is on his redemption tour, all over the TV, saying things like "heavens to betsy" and "oh my goodness" and it's not getting the laughs it used to from the press. It's tough being a "rock star" has been.
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2005:
Ahmad Chalabi claims he has the votes to become the new Iraqi Prime Minister:
Shiites and their clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance, which received nearly half the election votes, were to decide in coming days on their choice for prime minister. The two main candidates so far are the former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi, a secular Shiite, and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the interim vice president.
Chalabi last week claimed in an Associated Press interview that he had enough support among the 140 alliance delegates elected to the National Assembly to beat Jaafari. He repeated the assertion in an appearance Sunday on ABC's "This Week" television show with George Stephanopoulos. "I believe I have a majority of the votes on my side right now," Chalabi said.
What a strange twist of fate, no?
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The photo below shows one reaction to the speech tonight by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam. In his rambling speech Saif lied through his teeth and blamed everybody but the regime for the turmoil in the country. Some commenters here said he sounded like Glenn Beck on crack.