The Deets

Nader isn’t pulling his punches:

Yahoo! News - Nader, Kerry to Discuss Defeating Bush: “Following a speech on the environment at Georgia State University, Nader stepped up his attacks on Bush, describing the Republican incumbent as ‘a giant corporation residing in the White House camouflaging as a human being.’ “

The Bush campaign again on the defensive. More shoot the messenger responses rather than refuting the accusation with examples of compassionate policies.

Yahoo! News - Bush Campaign Blasts Kerry’s Bible Quote: “‘The Scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?’ Kerry said. ‘When we look at what is happening in America today, where are the works of compassion?’

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry’s comment ‘was beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack.’”

The messenger shooters are having a hard time keeping their stories straight.

The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 149 - Democratic Underground: “It was a little strange to watch senior administration officials falling over each other to personally attack a man with thirty years of government service under his belt, a man who worked for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and who was retained by George W. Bush. But I guess ‘the truth’ is not a pleasant concept for the Bush administration, and when putting your hands over your ears and singing ‘la-la-la!’ doesn’t work any more, you’d better take those damn truth-tellers down.”

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Senator Norm Coleman comes across as an even larger hypocrite than usual when he accuses anyone of being a flip-flopper on issues. Additionally, the criticisms of John Kerry’s voting record are extremely misleading. For example, the half-truth slanderers such as Norm Coleman, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, slam Kerry for voting against additional funding for Peacekeeper [MX] missiles. Yet George H. W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Colin Powell all held the same position in 1992:

John Kerry’s Defense Defense - Setting his voting record straight. By Fred�Kaplan: “Peacekeeper [MX] missile”

Additionally, any fiscal conservative (otherwise know as Democrats in recent times since MBA presidents have proven to have no fiscal responsibility) should know the key to managing the military budget bloat is to spend the money wisely on programs that will actually defend us, rather than international treaty breaking missile defense systems. By the way, if you aren’t sure how much the US is spending on the military versus other countries around the world, check this out.
Coleman takes on Kerry-jabbing role: “‘It does seem like pretty shaky ground for a person like Senator Coleman to stand on, when he’s had to change so many positions when he changed his political party,’ said Bill Burton, spokesman for the Kerry campaign.”

You cannot make this stuff up:

Temporary hiring freeze at some Homeland Security agencies: “The Homeland Security Department said on Friday that it is putting a hold on new hires at two bureaus for a few weeks while it analyzes whether they’re spending more than their budgets allow.

Dennis Murphy, Homeland Security spokesman, said budget analysts are reviewing the payroll systems of the two bureaus, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The analysts are trying to determine the accuracy of initial projections for their spending for the whole year. “

Yahoo! News - Clarke Known As Abrasive but Efficient: “He hoped his real message got through: ‘You obviously do not think that terrorism is as important as I do since you are taking months to do anything, so get somebody else to do it who can be happy working at your pace.’ “

This is great stuff. Keep the heat on, Kerry!

Yahoo! News - Kerry Slams White House Attack on Clarke: “‘If Condoleezza Rice can find time to do `60 Minutes’ on television before the American people, she ought to find 60 minutes to speak to the commission under oath,’ Kerry told reporters. ‘We’re talking about the security of our country.’ “

It looks like Bill Frist may have cornered himself in his attempt to destroy Clarke’s credibility. You know what’s tough to do? Destroy the credibility of a credible person.

Richard Clarke definitely comes across as a credible and bright guy who would not go to press with such an inflamatory book without making sure it was accurate. It would be political suicide to do anything less.

Testimony Tested By Emily�Biuso: “Without mentioning specifics, Frist said on the Senate floor that Clarke ‘has told two entirely different stories.’ But in later interviews, Frist seemed to be the one contradicting himself: ‘Frist later retreated from directly accusing Clarke of perjury, telling reporters that he personally had no knowledge that there were any discrepancies between Clarke’s two appearances.’ “

What did have we learned about 9-11 intelligence this week:

1. Clinton’s strategy of “Swatting Flies” (Bush’s terms for it), while far from perfect, interrupts more terrorist acts than planning for 7 months to create a 3-year plan to go after Osama Bin Laden.

2. If you have a terrorism expert on staff who’s worked for multiple presidents, it might be worth listening to what he has to say.

3. Identify who’s trying to kill you, and focus on the threats rather than fighting unjustified wars.

4. If you’re going to try to assasinate the character of someone who says you screwed up, make sure the message is consistent, Don, Dick, George, Scott, and Condi.