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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2004-03-25

More On Clarke, II

Two things are notable in the episode with Dick Clarke this week. One is the fawning treatment he's gotten from the press, which has blown his little diatribe up to be the most important policy book written since. . .well, maybe Earth in the Balance.

Second, I think the White House may have been outmaneuvered on this one. I understand the importance of preserving Presidential privilege, but Condi Rice should have gone in front of the committee. I'm thinking some last-minute negotiations could have gotten her on the docket right after Clarke. Imagine the contrast of this engaging, brilliant young woman following the pedantic, wounded old man, with testimony and knowledge that could bury every assertion he made within two hours of him making it. A blown opportunity.

I just remembered where I met Dick Clarke: college. Not him, specifically.. . but haven't we all had professors who were too inflated with their own importance to care about anyone around them, too safe in their tenure to recognize the real world, and too narrow in their specialization to understand the big picture.

I'm willing to grant that Clarke was probably an impassioned and dedicated public servant--at one time. Now he's just . . . I don't know--tired and ambitious.
Posted by: Michael / 3/25/2004 11:41:00 PM

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