New Synonym for Scurrilous - Telling the Truth When Others Won't

Just in time to make the morning news, Condoleeza Rice has come up with some old e-mail messages (the "unclassified portions") that are supposed to be a rebuttal to the eloquent and candid testimony provided by thirty-year intelligence veteran Richard Clarke at yesterday's session of the 9/11 commission.

CNN.com is reporting that Rice has called Clarke's testimony a "scurrilous" acusation," since it implied that in ignoring warnings of a domestic attack using commercial aircraft, Bush Jr. was not attentive to the terrorist threat.

It's no wonder Rice would accuse Clarke of "expressing offensive reproach," since I'm sure she is offended by the honest approach that Clarke used in both personally apologizing for and in reproaching the Bush administration's lack of attention to the threats identified by Clarke and his team.

Despite warnings presented by Clarke, and others in Washington, including the committee chaired by Gary Hart, others in the Bush administration "couldn't imagine" that planes could be used to attack the WTC. Come on folks, how stupid do you think the American people are? Tom Clancy even wrote a novel about a similar threat. Why is it that folks in this administration have such long memories about Clarke's role in the letting them know about this threat, but "can't recall" so many other details of those days prior to the attacks?

Rice's desperate attempt to cover her tail comes despite bi-partisan acknowledgement that Clarke is an extremely dedicated and knowledgeable staffer, who's thirty years of public service has spanned four administrations. Clarke was not only aware of the threat and proposed measures to combat it that fell on deaf ears, but was among the first in Washington to warn of the potential threat of cyber-terror, a threat that has yet to be addressed.

Rice, who can't be bothered to show up for these hearings, sounds as arrogant as Rumsfeld did yesterday when he noted that "the Senate can be a problem." Ironically, she describes Clarke as the arrogant one.

For once, today, it was refreshing to hear from someone in the administration who had the cojones to apologize to the American people, and particularly to the families of those killed in the attacks instead of concentrating on covering his behind.

By the way, just because the Bush administration couldn't be bothered with intelligence gathered during the Clinton administration, doesn't mean it didn't exist.

Arrogance is calling reporters to your office to hear negative assertions and name calling from a woman who couldn't even show up for the hearings. What Rice called Clarke's arrogance was really courage. The courage to admit that the Bush administration dropped the ball and the integrity to admit it and apologize for it.