Diatribune

The Wall Street Journal has a sychophantic interview with Karl Rove, over his planned departure from the White House, filled with gems.  Here's one from Gigot himself:

I've known Mr. Rove for 19 years and spoken to him hundreds of times. Yet I can't recall a single instance where he disclosed how his views differed from Mr. Bush's.

An advisor who never disagrees with an advisee is what, Mr. Gigot? Useless, to start with, right? Sychophantic, maybe, right? But you might not sense such subtleties... Now here's a real doozy from Rove himself:

What about those who say he's leaving to avoid Congressional scrutiny? "I know they'll say that," he says, "But I'm not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob."

Get that, folks? Rove is effectively saying that the Congress in Dem hands is a "mob". Show a Republican democracy in action, or accountability coming down the road, and that Republican will shout "mob!". But here's the peak of Rove's 'wisdom':

Mr. Rove also makes a spirited defense of this president's policy legacy, sometimes more convincingly than others. On foreign affairs, he predicts that at least two parts of the Bush Doctrine will live on: The policy that if you harbor a terrorist, you are as culpable as the terrorist; and pre-emption. "There may be a debate about degree," he says, "but it's going to be hard for any president to reverse that."

The irony is that Rove is absolutely right about pre-emption. Bush will forever be remembered for the doctrine of Pre-emptive War, and it will be hard for the US to ever live down a policy that is inherently aggressive, destabilizing, illegal and reckless. ----------------------- But Gigot and Rove aren't the only sycophants around. There are Dem Blue Dogs. According to The Hill, Bush administration member, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, bypassed Dem Congressional leader Pelosi to 'round up' the Quasi-Dem (my opinion) Blue Dogs, in order to force through wildly expansive Fisa legislation opposed by the Dem leadership and by most Dems generally:

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Michael McConnell has quietly courted key members of the House Blue Dog Coalition for a short-term fix for the administration’s foreign-intelligence surveillance program, putting additional pressure on Democratic leaders to pass a bill before the end of the week. ... McConnell’s office, however, started reaching out to Blue Dogs before negotiations intensified in an attempt to help leverage the Democratic Caucus. Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said over the weekend McConnell asked him to organize a Blue Dog meeting, which was held on Tuesday in a secure location. The DNI’s office also reached out to Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), the former ranking member of the Intelligence panel who now chairs the intelligence subcommittee on the Homeland Security Committee. Pelosi denied her the top spot on Intelligence last winter.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/spy-chief-courts-blue-dogs-for-fisa-... As I'm sure most Dems know, the Dem leadership had their own proposal which fixed the hole in Fisa without recklessly expanding Presidential powers. But the President wasn't satisfied with that and used the Blue Dogs to cram a bill down Dem throats that effectively gutted Fisa 4th amendment protections. And isn't the reference to a "secure location" interesting? Secure from who or what? From Dem leadership? Cramer apparently had the hutzpa, or the obliviousness, or both, to boast (after having been used by the administration to help 'round up' the Blue Dogs), about himself and fellow Dem Jane Harmon:

“The two of us became lead dogs on this,” Cramer said.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/spy-chief-courts-blue-dogs-for-fisa-... Lead dogs? I don't think so. You were led dogs. Isn't it time we stopped electing Dems who listen more to the GOP than they do to their leadership OR to their base?

__________________________