Democrat dishonesty vs. Republican impotence

A most infuriating trend continues to bother me. The conversation of ignorance continues to dominate the debate on the “State of the Union /Uranium /Niger” issue. Democrats have been boldly dishonest in their claims, and Republicans have been impotent in their response.

The recent debate between Ann Lewis, former press official for President Clinton, and talk-show host Michael Reagan on the “Hannity & Colmes” broadcast was just an example.

Ms. Lewis repeatedly implied in the first opening seconds of the segment that “President Bush has a responsibility to ‘come clean’ with the American people.” Sean Hannity never adequately rebuffed her, nor did Reagan.

Michael Reagan was content to push the circular question back to Ms. Lewis numerous times, “So are you saying that President Bush is a liar?”

To which she replied, “Well, I’m not saying that.”

Nonetheless last week the Democratic National Committee, Ms. Lewis’ employer, released a new television commercial, the intent of which is showing President Bush as having lied in his State of the Union Address. A claim Democrats are too cowardly to make personally, yet perfectly content in misleading others to come to that conclusion.

Well on this point, I have had it. Every time they decide to covertly make the assertion that the president lied, I will blister them. Be it in print or on the air, I will be without mercy in excoriating those who will blatantly deceive while making that very claim about the president.

And for the record – since telling the truth is what the issue of the uranium flap seems to be about – let’s set the six facts on the table. The irrefutable known and provable facts of the case. These can not be disputed because they are the truth – and even the president’s enemies know them.

1. The statement as given in the State of the Union speech was true at the time of the speech.

As difficult as it has been for the public to understand this, the exact statement from the president: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa,” was in fact true at the time that he gave the speech. Nothing to date has proven or even begun to prove that this statement was not true at the time.

2. The statement as given in the State of the Union speech is true today.

To date, no one has proven the statement to be a false statement. No evidence has been provided by the president’s many critics that in any way conclusively points to any points of the statement being false. The British have been queried multiple times since ‘the scandal’ has broken out, and they still stand by the intelligence they have regarding the matter. PING! The president told the truth!

3. British Intelligence sources continue to stand by the soundness of the intel to this day.

Let’s be clear here – all the 16 words say is: “This is what the Brits have learned.” In order to be able to prove the veracity of the statement, one must simply ask the British. Prime Minister Blair has not recanted, revoked or altered the British position on it one bit. PING! The statement stands – and if the president wished to say it in his press conference today, it will still be true.

4. The CIA’s intel in the matter was based on non-British sources.

In fact, the British sources are not cited in the CIA’s intel on the matter at all. Our CIA utilized intel primarily from Italian sources. Some of which was based on forged documents. The CIA, for the record believed the Italian sources to be faulty and reported this to be so. The State of the Union statement makes no reference to the forged documents, nor the Italian sources. PING! Again – the statement is true!

5. The U.S. fact finder, Mr. Wilson, based his report on the Italian intel and testimony from the government of Niger.

As he so plainly stated on “Meet the Press,” with Andrea Mitchell, he was hired by the Office of the Vice President to go and investigate the intelligence that the CIA had (Italian sourced) and what it had turned up. Upon his trip to Niger, he too agreed with the assessment of the Italian documents being forged. He also quizzed the Niger government on the matter. He returned and gave his report to administration officials. PING! Still no evidence that the president’s statement is false. (Much to Andrea Mitchell’s chagrin.)

6. The Niger government interview revealed support for the British Intelligence position.

I have yet to see this fact be covered with any depth of seriousness by the mainstream press in America. But it didn’t escape the eye of the nation’s number one national-security reporter – Bill Gertz. In the interview with Niger officials, and as reported by Gertz in the Washington Times, Wilson was told that though the government would not be selling uranium to Iraq, they were “aware” however “that prominent Iraqi businessmen were in their country attempting to finalize a number of commercial transactions which could include the purchase of uranium ore.” PING! Let’s hear it for Andrea Mitchell’s biased telling of the Wilson story on “Meet the Press.”

The sad excuse as to why these specifics of the case are not articulated is not for me to answer. The media seem to be in bed with the Democratic National Committee. The DNC has no issue to run on, their candidates are flailing around like a just-caught fish on a dry wooden dock, and in place of establishing true credibility with issues and consensus building around what their vision is, the easiest thing to do is tear down the man who has the job at present.

It is cheap, it is politically slutty and whorish, yet it is what the leadership of the Democratic Party has been reduced to. They are willing to ruin the troops’ morale, leave a job unfinished and leave our country exposed to another attack in the future – all for the privilege of gaining power.

Fortunately, until my dead cold fingers are loosened from this keyboard or from around my microphone, they won’t get away with it without a fight.

Now give me my mic.