EmptyTimCup
07-28-2012, 10:45 AM
White House Leaks: What Does Axelrod Know, and How Does He Know It? (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/07/27/White-House-Leaks-What-Does-Axelrod-Know-and-How-Does-He-Know-It)
In any case, how could it be that a political operative is now speaking out on perhaps the most sensitive national security matters that the nation confronts? These questions come to mind in the wake of Axelrod’s Wednesday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Host Joe Scarborough said to Axelrod--in a statement, not a question--“It is very obvious that the White House is leaking classified information.” And how, exactly, did Axelrod respond?
Axelrod answered, “I can tell you that the president of the United States did not leak classified information, as Mitt Romney suggested yesterday, and he didn’t authorize the leak of information, as Mitt Romney suggested yesterday.”
Romney had, indeed, delivered a stinging attack on the leaks, declaring in a speech to the VFW on Tuesday, “This conduct is contemptible. It betrays our national interest.” Clearly, those words from the Republican challenger had rattled both the White House and the Obama re-election campaign. Thus, Axelrod was on TV the very next day, battling back. Axelrod’s message was intended to be political pacification: in effect, he was saying, Hey, folks, don’t worry about the leak issue; these are just partisan attacks from Barack Obama’s Republican opponent. So there’s nothing to see here, other than the usual political bickering.
But in fact, Axelrod’s words on “Morning Joe” represented a significant backpedaling for Axelrod, who on June 10 had told ABC News that the White House, as a whole--beyond just the President specifically--was not involved in the leaks. Interestingly, in that appearance, we can see that Axelrod continuously used the word “we” in referring to the White House. For a man who left the White House staff in February 2011--giving up his security clearance and thus all access to classified materials--Axelrod certainly sounded as if he were still working in the building. Let’s pause here. Eighteen months after leaving the White House, Axelrod is still able to give precise and informed commentary on a serious legal investigation. The new position, of as July 25, is that Axelrod can attest only to the President’s personal non-involvement in the leaks, as distinct from the rest of the White House.
[clip]
Indeed, the political culture of Washington sees the leak story as mostly inside-the-beltway fun and games. Who’s got the best stuff? Who’s going to sell the most books? And it’s all sort of a joke on the American people. You know them: the folks out beyond the Beltway somewhere who pay the taxes, send their sons and daughters off to war, and hope, even now, that their leaders will play fairly with them. But as cases such as this prove, the joke is on the folks out there.
And oh yes, the joke is also on the Pakistani doctor who helped the US kill bin Laden. He is now in a Pakistani prison for 33 years, and nobody should doubt that he will not survive the full length of that sentence, by accident or design. And the joke is on the Yemenis who have had to flee their country and go into hiding, once their involvement in US drone strikes in that country was detailed. And the joke is on the Israelis, who must live with the impending threat of a nuclear Iran, realizing that the leaks exposed and damaged not only America’s anti-nuclear efforts, but also their own.
These jokes, of course, are not funny at all. This issue is deadly serious. The fate of America in the 21st century is now at risk. And so the DC confederacy of silence could well be the prelude to the awful silencing of American greatness, maybe even our national survival as a world leader.
In any case, how could it be that a political operative is now speaking out on perhaps the most sensitive national security matters that the nation confronts? These questions come to mind in the wake of Axelrod’s Wednesday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Host Joe Scarborough said to Axelrod--in a statement, not a question--“It is very obvious that the White House is leaking classified information.” And how, exactly, did Axelrod respond?
Axelrod answered, “I can tell you that the president of the United States did not leak classified information, as Mitt Romney suggested yesterday, and he didn’t authorize the leak of information, as Mitt Romney suggested yesterday.”
Romney had, indeed, delivered a stinging attack on the leaks, declaring in a speech to the VFW on Tuesday, “This conduct is contemptible. It betrays our national interest.” Clearly, those words from the Republican challenger had rattled both the White House and the Obama re-election campaign. Thus, Axelrod was on TV the very next day, battling back. Axelrod’s message was intended to be political pacification: in effect, he was saying, Hey, folks, don’t worry about the leak issue; these are just partisan attacks from Barack Obama’s Republican opponent. So there’s nothing to see here, other than the usual political bickering.
But in fact, Axelrod’s words on “Morning Joe” represented a significant backpedaling for Axelrod, who on June 10 had told ABC News that the White House, as a whole--beyond just the President specifically--was not involved in the leaks. Interestingly, in that appearance, we can see that Axelrod continuously used the word “we” in referring to the White House. For a man who left the White House staff in February 2011--giving up his security clearance and thus all access to classified materials--Axelrod certainly sounded as if he were still working in the building. Let’s pause here. Eighteen months after leaving the White House, Axelrod is still able to give precise and informed commentary on a serious legal investigation. The new position, of as July 25, is that Axelrod can attest only to the President’s personal non-involvement in the leaks, as distinct from the rest of the White House.
[clip]
Indeed, the political culture of Washington sees the leak story as mostly inside-the-beltway fun and games. Who’s got the best stuff? Who’s going to sell the most books? And it’s all sort of a joke on the American people. You know them: the folks out beyond the Beltway somewhere who pay the taxes, send their sons and daughters off to war, and hope, even now, that their leaders will play fairly with them. But as cases such as this prove, the joke is on the folks out there.
And oh yes, the joke is also on the Pakistani doctor who helped the US kill bin Laden. He is now in a Pakistani prison for 33 years, and nobody should doubt that he will not survive the full length of that sentence, by accident or design. And the joke is on the Yemenis who have had to flee their country and go into hiding, once their involvement in US drone strikes in that country was detailed. And the joke is on the Israelis, who must live with the impending threat of a nuclear Iran, realizing that the leaks exposed and damaged not only America’s anti-nuclear efforts, but also their own.
These jokes, of course, are not funny at all. This issue is deadly serious. The fate of America in the 21st century is now at risk. And so the DC confederacy of silence could well be the prelude to the awful silencing of American greatness, maybe even our national survival as a world leader.