I've been enthralled with Josh Marshall's analysis of the White House personal attacks of Richard Clarke and his new book Against All Enemies. His grasp on Washington politics is impressive, to say the least. On the 21st, Josh listed the men and women who have come out against this administration and thus, have been verbally attacked by them. Josh lists how the adminstration has attacked them--
It's amazing how many partisan Democrats and disgruntled former employees working under cover as career civil servants, spies and military officers have betrayed this president. It just seems to happen again and again and again. I mean, just think of the list: Rand Beers, well-known partisan Democrat and hack, Richard Clarke, self-promoter, disgruntled former employee, and "self-regarding buffoon", Karen Kwiatkowski, conspiracy theorist and all-around freak, Valerie Plame, hack and nepotist, Joe Wilson, partisan hack, self-promoter and shameless green tea lover. When will the abuse end?
But my favorite comment, and this highlights Josh's incredible wit, is Josh describing Bush’s NSC spokesman Jim Wilkinson on the Wolf Blitzer show. As background, Wilkinson had smeared Clarke by masking him as some sort of "borderline personality or half-crazed crackpot" [Josh’s interpretation] whose rantings about Bush sound like "X-Files stuff" [Wilkinson’s phrase]. Josh responds
X-Files stuff ...
When you have a good case, you make it. When you don't, you just talk trash.
Or as the lawyers say, when you have the facts on your side, you bang the facts. When you've got the law on your side, you bang on the law. When you have neither, like Wilkinson, you just bang yourself.
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