NYT: 9/11 Panel Chmn Urges (Pres.) "Vote" on Report (Bush "warning")

[DeepModem Mom]

9/11 Panel Chairman Urges 'Vote' on Report
By PHILIP SHENON

Published: August 5, 2004


WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 - The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission said on Wednesday that voters in November's presidential election should weigh how President Bush and Senator John Kerry respond to the commission's final report in determining how they vote.

The chairman, Thomas H. Kean, a Republican and former governor of New Jersey, said he was "gratified" by the way both Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry had responded to the recommendations of the bipartisan commission, which has called for an overhaul of intelligence agencies.

But despite his praise for Mr. Bush, Mr. Kean's comments in an interview carried an implicit warning to the president, who has already rejected specific recommendations in the commission's report, including its call for the establishment of a national intelligence director who would have direct control over the budgets and personnel of the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies.

Mr. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, has endorsed all the commission's recommendations, including the appointment of an intelligence director with the full authority envisioned by the commission, and he has called for quick follow-through by Congress and the White House. He has accused Mr. Bush of sluggishness in responding to the commission's report.

Mr. Kean said he thought it was appropriate for Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry to be judged in the election by the way they respond to the work of the commission.

"I think it will be an issue and should be an issue," said Mr. Kean....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/politics/campaign/05panel.html

[SEpatriot]

1. Bush fought it tooth and nail

People need to be reminded that W fought the commission from day one. Most Americans support the work of the commission (even those that feel it didn't go far enough) and forget this:

"President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11."

President Bush and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will meet only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members said Wednesday."

(RE: TESTIMONY OF CONDOLEEZZA RICE) "Again, this is not her personal preference; this goes back to a matter of principle. There is a separation of powers issue involved here. Historically, White House staffers do not testify before legislative bodies. So it's a matter of principle, not a matter of preference." "