Fraters Libertas

It's Piling Up So Fast, We Need Wings To Stay Above It

Last night I approached the Richard Clarke 60 Minutes interview with an open mind. I didn’t know his background, didn’t know his story, but his high position in the administration would have seemed to give him some credibility. But after about two minutes, even through the Leslie Stahl/Don Hewitt veil of skewed reality, this facade began to crack. The first sign of trouble was Clarke’s description of his mindset on 9/11:

"I kept thinking of the words from 'Apocalypse Now,' the whispered words of Marlon Brando, when he thought about Vietnam. 'The horror. The horror.' Because we knew what was going on in New York. We knew about the bodies flying out of the windows. People falling through the air. We knew that Osama bin Laden had succeeded in bringing horror to the streets of America,"

On one of the most cataclysmic days an American government ever had to face, and he’s sitting around, dwelling on cliched cultural references. This is not what I’d expect from a responsible, high government official. This is what I’d expect from a blogger. And needless to say, the two mindsets should never be intermingled.

His choice of a cultural reference based in loss and failure is also significant. Also see his wallowing in the victimhood aspects of the day, and the desire to compliment the terrorists and to feed their twisted desires by telling them exactly what they want to hear (“Bin Laden had succeeded in brining horror to the streets of America.”). It’s uniquely characteristic of the political Left. For only as victims do they feel they have a right to pursue their own interests. And only by acknowledging the power of the terrorists, and cowering before it, can the path of appeasement be traversed.

Sickening sentiments for most Americans, I think. For most of us, the iron entered our hearts, even during those first shocking hours of the attack. The terrorists didn’t succeed in anything. They pulled off an atrocity that any reasonably competent, yet wildly demented, organization could have done. There are no compliments for that, there are no acknowledgements of their success. There is lethal retribution and oblivion for them. And that’s all.

Needless to say, Clarke’s behavior and rhetoric is not characteristic of the Bush administration’s philosophy or policies. As the 60 Minutes story continued, it was clear this guy was an outsider and ineffectual in his job. Even assuming his claims are true (which is not a given) he was unable to get meetings and unable to communicate effectively with anyone. It became clear he was nothing more than a hold over from previous administrations, an ineffectual bureaucrat, never respected by the Bush team. He was probably only kept on for appearance’s sake. I’m sure someone thought having some degree of continuity with the Clinton White House would look good politically, and if they just gave this guy a desk, a salary, with no real responsibility, what harm could it do? Washington has tens of thousands of these types sitting around, what possible problem could one more cause?

A hard lesson learned in management and human nature. Never employ anyone you don’t trust. Because it turns out even clock punching cogs usually have egos. And material desires. So now the guy the Bush administration didn’t trust with anything besides an impressive title is using that very possession to avenge his raging ego. Selfishly settling scores, trying to sell books, and maybe land a job with John Kerry, all under the guise of being a champion of truth. Of course, all aided by a compliant media, rushing to judgment with scream headlines on the substance of his claims.

How much damage will this story do to Bush’s prospects? It’s hard to say. This election will tilt upon those fine folks on the fence, who don’t make up their minds on who to vote for until the last minute. With the media’s continuing willingness to promote the “Bush Caused 9/11” story, this might just be on their minds come election day. If so, I better get started thinking of my own Apocalypse Now references for my Wednesday Nov. 3 post.