August 10, 2006

Olbermann: White House Blames Former Pres. Bush for 9/11, Throws Him ‘Under the Bus of History’

August 10, 2006August 10, 2006 Jon Ponder

As we noted yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow blamed Pres. George H. W. Bush for the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 — but hardly anyone in the media noticed — except of course, Keith Olbermann:

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The real question for the American people to ask themselves is, do you take the war on terror seriously, with all the developments going on around the world? And if so, how do you fight it to win?

There seem to be two approaches. And in the Connecticut race, one of the approaches is, ignore the difficulties and walk away. Now, when the United States walked away, in the opinion of (INAUDIBLE) of Osama bin Laden in 1991, bin Laden drew from that the conclusion that Americans were weak and wouldn‘t stay the course, and that led to September 11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: Nineteen ninety-one? Who was the president in 1991?

And apparently if you buy Mr. Snow‘s argument, more than half the country is encouraging terrorist attacks. A new poll commissioned by Opinion Research for another news organization found that 60 percent of Americans now oppose the war in Iraq, 57 percent wanting a timetable for withdrawal of troops.

Joining me now, the political reporter for WashingtonPost.com, Chris Cillizza.

Thank you for your time tonight, sir.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: Thanks for having me, Keith.

OLBERMANN: To Lieberman and Lamont in a moment.

But if we don‘t start with Tony Snow there, are we not burying the lead here? Did the White House press secretary not only nakedly say that Democrats can cause 9/11s, while at the same time he threw the current president‘s father under the bus of history?

CILLIZZA: Yes, I mean, geez, Tony, tell us what you really think.

Quote du Jour

August 10, 2006 Pensito Editors

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.

— John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006), Canadian-American economist

Brits Foil Terror Plot – Bush Admin To Take Credit

August 10, 2006August 10, 2006 Jon Ponder

Terror Alert Raised

Toronto Sun:

British police said early this morning they have thwarted a plot to blow up aircraft in mid-flight, arresting a number of people in the London area.

Police said the aim of the plot was to detonate bombs smuggled on board aircraft in hand luggage.

“A major terrorist plot to allegedly blow up aircraft in mid-flight has been disrupted,” a police spokesman said.

He said police believes that the intention was particularly to target flights from Britain to the U.S. Police had arrested a number of people in London during the night.

CNN International:

The United States on Thursday raised its terror threat level after British police said they had arrested more than 20 suspects in a major terrorist plot to blow up passenger jets flying between the United Kingdom and the United States.

The U.S. threat level has been raised to the highest level of “severe,” or red, for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

News conferences by top Bush officials are scheduled to start immediately, and we can expect the administration to take full credit for the British investigations.

Day: August 10, 2006

Olbermann: White House Blames Former Pres. Bush for 9/11, Throws Him ‘Under the Bus of History’

Quote du Jour

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.

— John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006), Canadian-American economist

Brits Foil Terror Plot – Bush Admin To Take Credit

Terror Alert Raised

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.