Jonathan Alter on O'Franken Factor: "...astonishingly incompetent.."

[kentuck]

Did anyone here this today? Alter said, "They don't know what they're doing. They're clowns." It seems that the media has finally realized that they are dealing with incompetence that is so dangerous they have to tell the people about it..
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This was excerpted from www.atrios.blogspot.com

"the level of incompetence here is so staggering here, and yet there's this gap between how astonishingly incompetent...and we can go over particulars in the last year if you want to... how astonishingly incompetent they've been and the perception is still of them as solid citizens..."

...

"The only way you can sort of start to let the public know is to say no. They don't know what they're doing. They're clowns."

..

"I was among those people who was deceived. When I was told by administration officials that they were working on a nuclear weapons program - Paul wolfowitz told that to me directly. It did cause me some alarm and cause me some sense that it was not worth the risk to not take Saddam out."

[oldhat]

1. Kevin Drum

Drum has a good takedown of Alter here:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_05/003955.php

[mzmolly]

3. I like this part.

... His advice on the radio was that "The only way you can sort of start to let the public know is to say, no, they don't know what they're doing. They're clowns." But if that's the case, why doesn't he write that in Newsweek? After all, he's the guy with both inside access and a big megaphone, and if he doesn't say it, who will?

Let's hope he "says it" in Newsweek, and soon.

[bpilgrim]

4. zactly

what took him soooo long :shrug: most of us are already 'woke' numbnuts :argh:

just report the TRUTH :bounce:

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[bpilgrim]

2. maybe he/they shoud READ a little more

sheesh...

the elite are such SUCKERS :puke:

peace

[calimary]

13. Sorry, I'm not impressed. Just read Alter's commentary and found

it rawther milquetoast. Some of these chumps will bend themselves into pretzels rather than tell it like it is. But seems like this guy is one of many who would prefer to keep tiptoeing around the truth. Like he's afraid it's gonna rear up and bite him or something.

[Sticky]

5. He told Imus he is having chemo

It was a little shocking to hear and I could tell Imus had no idea.

Maybe he's taking a closer look at life and the things that are important. This could be a turning point for him....

[kentuck]

6. Incompetence is a very serious charge.....

And fairly easy to prove by the facts. It's also a charge the American people have not had to weigh at any length. How will it affect people's opinion and attitudes if the truth gets out about the incompetence at the highest levels of government?

[bpilgrim]

7. we got YEARS of FACTS to PROVE the LIES

you know as well as i do that everyone of these bastards OWE US and they can START with the 2004 selection :evilgrin:

:hi:

peace

[napi21]

9. Hasn't incompetence already been proven?

It's pretty easy to make a list of the things ShrubCo has tried and failed. Just how much proof do you need?

You gotta get people LISTEN! That's the tough part!

[jobendorfer]

8. reminds me of what deep throat said

about the watergate conspirators. Hopefully my memory
serves me correctly, but at one point he told Woodward
and Bernstein something like:

"Forget all the myths the media's told about the White
House. Truth is, these are not very bright guys and
things just got out of hand."

Maybe some of these guys are the very same guys?

J.

[napi21]

10. Probably are since Shrub chose all the old farts from

previous admins to run his show.

[goclark]

11. Clones n/t

[Stephanie]

16. "these are not very bright guys"

That's what I keep SAYING. That Junior is stupid is a given. But Rove is not a genuius. He's a guy that never finished college. Did you ever imagine you could rise to the WH without even an undergrad degree?

And Cheney flunked out of Yale. Even the Dauphin managed to GRADUATE Yale, but Cheney flunked out. Why does everyone think he's SMART or COMPETENT? All of his schemes are ridiculous, all of his ideas fail, he's a freaking IDIOT. IMHO.

[cliss]

12. I heard it, K.

In fact, I'm hearing it all the time now. I think people have finally made up their minds. They were willing to give Ole George the benefit of a doubt -- after all, we were vulnerable 2 years ago. We were willing to trust the dude.

I do believe the verdict is in. They are a Coterie of Clowns.

[Stephanie]

14. This must be a criminal act. Isn't it "yelling fire in a crowded theater?"

...I was told by administration officials that they were working on a nuclear weapons program - Paul wolfowitz told that to me directly.

[Djinn]

15. incompetant? or right on plan?

particularly in relation to the Iraq war I think dissmissing the actions of this admin as incompetant is letting them off incredibly lightly.

Does anyone really beleive they didn't PLAN for the current shit fight in Iraq? if there had been a smooth transition to a new form of government there it would have been harder to sell the place lock stock and oil barrell to foreign (mostly US) companies? it would have been difficult to push the "you're a sovereign nation now but we'll still run your armed forces"

Personally I prefer the description warmongering criminals to incompetant