Rummy Gets Caught

I wrote here sometime back about the probability that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was using a signature machine for the condolence letters being sent to the families of the service members killed in action.

The Pentagon finally confirmed that Rummy made some lame excuses and promised to never do it again. Big deal.

My main concern is the fact that the Pentagon, without equivocation, initially denied that this was going on. This means someone flat-out lied. To me this is even less conscionable than using the signature machine.

Let’s face it, even if Rummy does actually sign the letters from now on, do you really think he cares, that it will matter to him or make a difference in how he feels about his war. I don’t think so. So, I think he should be held accountable for the letters he didn’t bother to sign, (Hey Rummy, its not too late to send all 1,300 or so of those families an apology for your arrogance.) but in the end, I don’t think that matters.

What does matter is the continuing arrogance of this administration when it comes to honest (or the lack thereof). When are the Republicans and those holier than thou moral values voters going to step forward and ask why we were told a blatant lie about this situation? I’m not sure about them, but I was taught honest was pretty much covered in the Bible, and is a requirement.

On another front, our dear old Uncle Rummy is taken to the woodshed by the most neo of all the neocons, Bill Krystal. A lot of other Republicans are now being critical of their pal. So what gives?

Well, call it political cover. During the current election, they needed a totally united front. Now, the Republicans know we’ll still be mired in Iraq come the mid-term elections; heck, we’ll be lucky if they’ve had meaningful elections in Iraq by then. The Repubs won’t have George’s ten-gallon hat to ride in, and every day the belief that attacking Iraq was a smart move is deteriorating.

I’m sure the Repubs were willing to stick by the Cabinet during the election with the expectation that Rummy would be one of the first kicked to curb. Now that its obviously not happening, they have to turn on him. They need the cover for the mid-terms, and they know Americans have such a short term memory that we really won’?t remember how they all rallied and supported the neocons before and during the 2004 elections. By the time the mid-terms get into full swing, which will be 12 to 18 months removed from the 2004 election. They can get away with saying they were after him all along, and the moral values voters won?t bother to check.