Dean: "The Time for Evasiveness is Over"

[killbotfactory]

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” - Abraham Lincoln

STATEMENT BY GOV. HOWARD DEAN

CINCINNATI, OH – “Mr. President, the time for evasiveness, secrecy, contradictory statements and ducking responsibility is over. As a candidate, you repeatedly pledged to bring honor and integrity to the White House. It’s time you fulfilled that pledge by telling the American people the truth.

“We learned today that a White House official insisted upon inclusion of the discredited Niger uranium evidence in your speech against the recommendation of the CIA. As I said last week, that person knows who he or she is – and so does George Tenet and now, so do the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That person should resign immediately.

“George Tenet has accepted responsibility for this egregious act and must bear the consequences. But Mr. President: it is your Administration and it is your obligation to demand answers and actions. That process should begin with Director Tenet telling you who on your staff made that decision; but the process must not end there.

“It is now abundantly clear that beyond the Niger uranium example lays an unacceptable pattern of distorted intelligence manipulated to serve your political ends. Once you had settled on a predetermined result – war with Iraq – your Administration selectively used questionable intelligence while ignoring, burying or rejecting any evidence that undercut your single-minded march to war.”

http://www.blogforamerica.com/

[dajabr]

1. Oh....

I love this one!

Go Dean!!!!

[DrFunkenstein]

2. Like Saying Kenny Boy Knew Nothing About Enron

This issue goes straight to the Oval Office. While Tenet is certainly culpable, as certainly as he is culpable for the 9/11 failures, the buck does not stop there. Cheney had personally overseen that particular intelligence gathering expedition, and was aware of the findings. Tenet should go, but so should Cheney at the very least.

Nevertheless, an excellent job by Dean of turning up the heat another notch.

[Dimsdale]

3. First Cheney..

then Chimpy..a la Agnew and Nixon!

[pansypoo53219]

4. shock and awe, baby!

take it to the woodshed and don't let up til the simians ass is red as a baboon's!

[cjbuchanan]

5. Great message

The Lincoln quote is fantastic.

The statements made by Dean today and other democrats over the last few days have shown the ability to put up an attack that I have not seen in a long time. I think this controversy will help heal the wounds that the war did to this party. This is the party of truth no matter how you feel about the use of the military.

So how long till Tenet "decides" to spend more time with his family?

[killbotfactory]

6. More of the statement...

"It is an outrage that the Republicans in the Senate are in lock-step with this Administration in keeping the facts from the American public and the world, and I regret that the search for truth is coming now, nine months after Congress gave the President blank check authority to go to war.

"This is unacceptable. But now that we are here, it is your duty, Mr. President, to give the American people the answers they deserve."

http://www.deanforamerica.com

[Larkspur]

9. Yes, that was my favorite line

along with Lincoln's quote.

Keep giving 'em hell, Howie!

[RogueTrooper]

7. He is gettting into a good rythmn

A very good statement.

[ProfessorPlum]

8. I saw some excellent analysis of this in the comments on Atrios' blog

I'll post them here, this makes excellent sense to me:

snip

Dean's call for Tenet to resign has two very good tactical reasons behind it. First, if Tenet will ever have the spine and/or cojones to spill the real story, it ain't going to happen while he's still in a government job.

Second, it takes Bush at his word and the words he put in Tenet's mouth -- that Tenet supposedly didn't do his job and let an effective lie get out -- which then obviously raises the question, so what kind of President keeps someone who supposedly did that in his job? And the answer is, a President who doesn't want Tenet to leave and be freer to speak honestly.
Steady Eddie | 07.17.03 - 11:06 am |

Also

Dean's comment, while it may seem intemperate, was an interesting maneuver.

He's saying, if Tenet actually cleared the naughty version of the speech (something we all know, now, to be untrue), Tenet needs to be fired.

The implication is that Tenet hasn't been fired, because Tenet didn't do anything wrong, and everyone in the junta knows it. More to the point, there is nothing more likely to leak than a profoundly unhappy Former CIA Director, and his agency.

With the 9/11 report scheduled to come out soon, they had better try to keep Tenet and his spooks cheerful, lest some eager young reporter get hold of the secret decoder ring that translates all the (redacted) into real words.
Seraphiel | Homepage | 07.17.03 - 11:26 am |

[mkregel]

10. THIS IS WHY I SUPPORT DEAN!

He has the cajones to go after Bush. I think it's why many in the far left corner support him, even though Dean is more of a centrist.

It's because we're sick of candidates who do nothing or behave timidly around the pResident. We are sick of it and we simply want to fight back.

[DrFunkenstein]

11. Then You'll Love This!

I put together four entirely separate articles on the newswires about Kerry blasting Bush in the Bronx:

Bush "Trafficked In Untruth" on Iraq - Kerry
Kerry Faults Bush on Homeland Security
US occupation in Iraq must end: Kerry
Democrat Kerry Says Bush Has Credibility Gap

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=3383&mesg_id=3383&page=

I don't understand how people can still say Kerry is "timid" with a straight face. He has been laying into Bush for months!!!

[ProfessorPlum]

12. It's like music to my ears

Go Kerry! Go Dean!

[VBNI]

13. Dean has to answer

Dean has to answer questions that are raised by his record as Governor. There are questions out there. They will come up.

[DrFunkenstein]

14. Questions, Aye?

What might these "questions" be?

The questions are out there!

I believe!