rushlimbaugh

I always think I've seen it all, but then I find something that proves I haven't. On Page 3 of Sunday's New York Times, in the Week in Review section, Richard Berke writes something amazing. Yes, in case you didn't know it, there's too much loyalty in the Bush administration. And because there's too much loyalty, there isn't enough backstabbing. Without the backstabbing, there's not a genuine debate on public policy going on in America today. This is the theory of the New York Times' ace reporter Richard Berke. He tells us how, in previous administrations, such as Clinton's, there was backbiting all the time. What does he mean? Well, he means there were leakers. There were people who disagreed with what Clinton was doing, and would call Richard Berke and tell him and he'd have a story, and this story would be published, and we'd have a national debate on whatever the leak was about. President Clinton lashed out at this kind of leaking once, because no president likes it.

But President Bush so inspires loyalty amongst his staff that there are no leaks, nobody stabs Bush in the back. Nobody calls Richard Berke and says, "Let me tell you what's really going on." So this, according to the Times, poses a serious problem to our country's health, our democratic health, because the free and open exchange of ideas is being shut down by loyalty, of all things! Everybody is marching in lockstep in the administration.

Can you believe it? Everybody agrees with one another in the administration. Why, how criminal can you get? Doesn't the president know he's supposed to hire people who are going to try to undermine his agenda? Doesn't he know he's supposed to hire people that are going to disagree with him for the sake of openness and debate and leaks for the New York Times? Circulation is way, way, way down over there! How are they supposed to increase sales without publishing salacious rumor and unattributed quotes?

Other great news over the weekend: Anthony Lewis quit. He's no longer writing columns for the Times. Saturday's was his last. To give you an idea how an out-of-touch liberal this guy was, in the same Week in Review section, they asked him, "Have you changed your views on socialism?" He responded, "...I'm still for it. But it doesn't work."

We are making headway, folks. We're making headway!

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2001