Downing St. Memo Interrupts D.C. Wurlitzer
I was listening to The Diane Rehm Show this morning while en route to an appointment. PBS has been a rare event for me since BushCoup2000 when that organization took on an unequivocal "Kent Brockman and the Ants" vibe. Today, however, I tuned in to hear the latest from Conventional Wisdom Central on Poodle Blair's upcoming visit to his master. Guests were Martin Walker (UPI Editor in Chief) and Adrian Wooldridge, Washington correspondent for The Economist and author of "The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America".
I got the distinct impression they would have avoided the Downing Street memo altogether had doing so been an option, but apparently Ms. Rehm said she'd been deluged with email & calls about it. Walker admitted he, too, had been flooded with email in recent days but took the tack that he personally had written about it extensively and had done all a reporter could be expected to do. Still, he downplayed its significance by adopting the view (paraphrased) "Hey, sometimes governments [have to] lie." I noticed administration defenders have a tendency to shrink from using the word lie even when pressed, but have no reservations about using the words "sexed up" or "massaged" in relation to the information used as a pretext for war.
John Conyers didn't miss the opportunity to call in with his concerns and compared today's environment similar to the one Nixon found himself in following his re-election in '72 with Watergate breaking.
Considering the Downing Street memo wasn't assigned much significance on the program, it was interesting to see how much time was committed to its discussion.
To hear the ice breaking using Real Player, click here.
I got the distinct impression they would have avoided the Downing Street memo altogether had doing so been an option, but apparently Ms. Rehm said she'd been deluged with email & calls about it. Walker admitted he, too, had been flooded with email in recent days but took the tack that he personally had written about it extensively and had done all a reporter could be expected to do. Still, he downplayed its significance by adopting the view (paraphrased) "Hey, sometimes governments [have to] lie." I noticed administration defenders have a tendency to shrink from using the word lie even when pressed, but have no reservations about using the words "sexed up" or "massaged" in relation to the information used as a pretext for war.
John Conyers didn't miss the opportunity to call in with his concerns and compared today's environment similar to the one Nixon found himself in following his re-election in '72 with Watergate breaking.
Considering the Downing Street memo wasn't assigned much significance on the program, it was interesting to see how much time was committed to its discussion.
To hear the ice breaking using Real Player, click here.
posted by Arvin Hill at 6/06/2005 01:57:00 PM
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