This is about one battle in the titanic political war going in in America at this time.  In this game, there are two sides.  As with all team games, it is relatively important that each group's players give their best.

As of this writing, the White House seems to have caved in to the massive liberal media pressure and the principals will talk to the 911 committee. Both President Bush and Vice President Cheney will offer their views.  Condoleeza Rice will testify before the full committee under oath. But, in 1999, Richard Clarke, then a national security advisor for the Clinton administration, refused to testify under oath before a Senate committee, basing his refusal on the tradition that presidential national security advisors do not do that.  (Exactly the same reason give by Rice.  The media did not hammer Clarke for giving it, but we have seen what happened this time. It is called "bias."

This is the same Richard Clarke that on 60 Minutes, and for a full hour with Tim Russert on Meet the Press on Sunday, March 28, 2004, criticized Condoleeza Rice, chief national security advisor for the Bush administration, for ducking sworn testimony.  This is called "hypocrisy.".

We do not yet know the name of the committee before which Clarke testified (see postscript, below), but our information indicates that Gordon Smith was there when Clarke refused.  Our question to our senator is, since he said nothing publicly about personally witnessing Clarke's hypocrisy, whose side is he on?

America's or the Democrat's?

Postscript: Senator Smith's office was informed of this charge on March 29, 2004. Following that, KUIK's Jayne Carroll, on her local afternoon radio talk show confirmed that it was the Special Committee on Y2K, and Gordon Smith was, indeed, a member.  If we receive a response from the senator, even if it is after the publication date of this issue, it will be printed in this space 

One last thought.  If Smith kept quiet for political reasons, he needs a better grounding in politics.  The latest poll prior to the new Bush announcement showed Bush in the lead and Kerry sinking.  But, then, Smith may have just forgotten about the incident.  He is quite busy these days making political correctness a statutory criminal offense.  They're called 'hate crime laws,' and in ouropinion are hate crimes in and of themselves.

LL/OrMag

NewsMax: Clarke Refused to Testify Citing Same Reasons as Rice 

© 2004 Oregon Magazine