Great 60 Minutes interview tonight with Richard Clarke, BUT....

[HEFFA]

Why do these guys (O'Neill, Clarke) who are now suddenly overcome by their convictions and the need to share their remarkable experiences with the American public also have to make their announcements by writing books about it? Why couldn't they just go public with their statements? I mean, it seems as though more lives could have been saved if they'd just "blown the whistle" long before now!!

I'm glad to hear their stories, and I'm especially glad that this puts the Thief in Chief et al. in a decidedly harsh spotlight before the American people, but am I wrong in concluding that it also makes their (O'Neill, Clarke) "revelations" about Bushco seem somewhat disingenuous?

Edit: typo....I partied too hard during 60 minutes. :beer:

[UTUSN]

1. But Shrub *Isn't* Disengenuous?

But I digress.

[mike1963]

2. They are doing both, but without a book what media would give them the

forum? How would they simply "go public" and get any meaningful exposure?

[Zinfandel]

13. The republican owned corporate would NEVER just give someone

a forum to tell the truth about Bush. One has to have written a book on the subject and even then many authors critical of Bush and the republicans, will get absolutely NO air time. I'm sure all here at DU can come up with a name of an author who can't get on any of television news shows, even if their book is doing well.

Michael Moore had the best selling book in the country for month's and when he was on Bill Maher's show, he said it's amazing to have the one selling book (critical of Bush) and he was very rarely ever asked to come on any of the cable news shows.

[Don Claybrook]

3. Why does it make them look disingenuous?

Is it because they stand to make money from the books, and the more controversy, the more sales, and the more money?

If so, forget about it. Paul O'Neill is much richer than any of us will ever be. I don't know about Clarke, but I know in general that if he wants a lobbying sort of job with the military industrial complex revolving door machine, he'll have his pick of jobs and the salary will be sky-high.

[DerBeppo]

6. timing makes it look bad.

not just the money they are bound to make, but why did clarke wait so long to tell his side of things? perception is just as important as content in these circumstances. an already cynical populas may just write this off as politics as usual.

[Zinfandel]

18. But did you believe Clarke? Did he know what he was talking about?

As he said he knows Bush's attacks dogs will out in full force tomorrow.

Remember Clarke also worked for Reagan, Pappy Bush, Clinton and the Chimp...and Clark is fucking pissed at this current administration, for doing NOTHING before 9-11 and then just some stupid little tough speeches afterward and then merely just letting the military handle it, while he makes more tough stupid speeches written for him by other people...when all they really wanted to do was get into Iraq get that oil and a base to be in position to steal more oil in the future (this comes from many former and different Bush people, not just Clarke).

YES! I believed Clarke!

[UTUSN]

4. So, About YOUR Convictions... n/t

[HEFFA]

9. You can read all about them in my upcoming book. (nt)

:eyes:

[kentuck]

5. The book only lends credibility....

to their charges. It is in writing. Not simply spoken and lost between commercials.....

[ewagner]

7. also

a book gives the nuances and context for credibility.

[aquart]

8. You've got to be kidding. Really.

The books they are promoting are not tomes on tatting.

And I expect they're indexed? Annotated?

And their prospects of work elsewhere in government are slim to none?

THEY COULD HAVE DONE NOTHING. But, instead, they took the time to recall and write and DOCUMENT the events. Which gives their words WEIGHT.

And with the weight of reputable publishers behind them, THEN they go to the airwaves and publicize the hell out of their books.

Not kooks. Not crackpots. Men who have put their names to books appearing in reputable places.

Disingenuous, my ass.

[HEFFA]

10. Hey, alright. I'm just considering the possibility that selling your news

two years after the fact isn't as great a public service as sharing it back then might have been.

Oh, and to refer to publishers as "reputable" is a little disingenuous as well. They're only in it for the money, bub. It's not like they're doing a public service.

[UTUSN]

14. You Partied During 60 Minutes?

Really? You didn't care that a high level terroism adviser suddenly dissed the pResident? Guess not.

[HEFFA]

16. Clarke's bombshell was the REASON for my personal party!

Couldn't be happier about it. I'm just also anticipating the criticisms that he (and those of us who choose to rely on his arguments as anti-Bush ammo in the coming months) will likely face.

God, I love campaign season! :beer:

[AmyStrange]

17. I partied while reading your post...

and still got the gist of it.

I hope you were joking?

d

[goclark]

11. CLARKE Smoking Gun?

After just seeing the interview on CBS, any idiot could tell that he is telling the truth. Why would he want to expose this World to more terrorist attacks unless he is sincere?

What does it take for America to realize that Bushco has lied to us?

Impeach Bush Now! We need Public Hearings and let it all hang out!

If we can let the sexual behavior of a President who worked 24-7 to keep us safe be displayed a million times on TV, we can surely have Open Hearings about 911 for the World to see and hear Georgie Boy say ---"Condi, what should I tell them now?"

Impeach this sob -now:puke:

[tobius]

31. impeach,impeach,impeach! sorry, won't happen with republican control of

congress and senate. I'm sure you know that.

[goclark]

32. I Can Dream Can't I?

[AmyStrange]

Because of the media...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Why do these guys (O'Neill, Clarke) who are now suddenly overcome by their convictions and the need to share their remarkable experiences with the American public also have to make their announcements by writing books about it? Why couldn't they just go public with their statements? I mean, it seems as though more lives could have been saved if they'd just "blown the whistle" long before now!!
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

how do you know they haven't been trying to make announcements for a while, but the media sees big numbers now with the upcoming elections and sees this as a time to cash in on people's suffering


"The Truth knows no master" - AmyStrange said to me in a dream

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[SoCalDem]

12. Their "revelations" are nothing new..

The PRESS has been "on vacation" for 3 years, and have been so busy informing us about Kobe,Laci,Martha and all the other crap, that they dropped the ball BIG TIME.. Starting on Sept 12, THEY should have been ferreting out all the details.

The "war" on Iraq should have never happened.. If the PRESS had been doing their job by pointing out that Colin Powell was FULL OF SHIT..and so was his "evidence", NONE of it would have happened.. We could have given 1/3 of the money to key people within Iraq, and probably gotten Saddam out THAT way..

Afghanistan should have been rebuilt..AS WE PROMISED..and Bin Laden would have been caught by now..

Bin Laden's whole family here should have been detained indefinitely, and ALL their bank accounts frozen, until we caught him..

The INFORMATION has been "out there" for a long time, and how is it that a bunch of people on websites (like US) have been able to document and find all this information, and major media outlets with MILLIONS of dollars and THOUSANDS of reporters, could not???

THAT'S THE QUESTION OF THE HOUR ...


The ANSWER????

They wanted it BOTH ways.. They could be complicit, and "buy" the phony intelligence and information..and have that glorious "lead-up-to-war" coverage, followed by the "embedding" escapade, and THEN when it all goes to SHIT, they can "re-investigate and report that the whole thing was a crock ..

Lots of kids have dies for their ratings ...and for *'s bogus poll numbers..

[ThatPoetGuy]

15. O'Neill didn't WRITE a book

The Price of Loyalty was written by Ron Suskind, O'Neill didn't earn a penny from it.

[HEFFA]

19. Oops....my bad. You're right, and welcome to DU!

The first round's on me. :beer:

[chaska]

20. It should be noted (call to action)

Three major defections in as many years (Rand Beers, O'Neil and now Clarke). That's pretty damning by anybody's standards.

We should, nay must, get on the phone, email, etc. starting first thing tomorrow. This is a golden opportunity. We need an investigation. If this issue doesn't do in bush nothing will.

[still_one]

21. Right after 9/11

these reports came out, but the press ignored them. Maybe the press is finally listening, but lets see how much legs this has

[maggrwaggr]

22. exactly! thank you!

I heard these exact same reports back then, but nobody made hay out of them.

[Kadie]

24. Yes!

If the only way I got any news was from the tv I probably wouldn't have known anything about this story until tonite. A big Thank You to the DU for keeping this busy mom to a toddler at least a little bit informed.

:yourock:

[koopie57]

23. I'm glad it is coming out now

cuz more people are willing to listen to what they have to say now and I think people are more will to consider it as valid. And I have no problem with someone earning an honest buck.

on edit: I was typing while the prior two comments were being posted. ;(

[UTUSN]

25. That "But" Sez a Lot n/t

[marigold20]

26. His description of the talk with Bush was devastating.

I believe Clarke said that the obvious message coming through to him from Bush was "find a connection with Iraq". The White House apologist tried to claim that Bush never spoke to Clarke, but Stahl said CBS has two independent witnesses to the conversation. This is getting good!

[sampsonblk]

30. I hope that gets replayed...

over and over on Fox. But somehow I doubt it!

[Oilwellian]

27. Yes, you are wrong

The only disingenuous thing I see is your post. Both Clarke and Beers have been talking about Bush's incompetence since they resigned. Where were you? Cheers.

[Babel_17]

28. I partly agree with you, ....

yes, having a book deal does raise the question of having a financial incentive/an axe to grind.

But the upside of the downside of having incestuous media conglomerates is that it almost goes without saying that there will be a book deal connected to everything. :)

Also, I really think it's hard to be taken seriously if what you have to say isn't laid out in a permanent and easily accessible format like a book. It's almost like that getting a book deal makes half the argument towards a story's credibility.

And giving the profits away just makes a lot of people uncomfortable/distrusting on some level. Smacks of being Polyannish or too idealistic or ingratiating or it gives one the mark of a zealot. I think that attitude is sad but it is there none the less. In a way though expecting people who write such books to forego renumeration is a bad idea in some ways. It would mean that only people of means could afford to write them.

[Jack Rabbit]

29. Answer

Why do these guys (O'Neill, Clarke) who are now suddenly overcome by their convictions and the need to share their remarkable experiences with the American public also have to make their announcements by writing books about it?

Because they no longer work for Bush. As long as they did, they were obligated not to embarrass him. Even unelected presidents can fire them.

Clarke tried to do his job. We should respect that. It was Bush and his aides who didn't want to hear what he had to say, namely, that there was a terrorist threat and that Iraq had nothing to do with it.

Clarke has done the right thing. He tried to get those with the power to make decisions to do something positive. Having failed to that, he now blowing the whistle. Hopefully, the voters will listen and throw these determined liars out in November.