The Right State

Harry Reid has really lost it.  Either that or the minority leader is desperate to keep this non-scandal alive hoping to bring about a Democratic majority in Congress.  This from the party who made excuse upon excuse for President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  Georgia10 at the Daily Kos takes a look at the comments of our favorite Minority Senate Leader and asks what does President Bush have to hide?

Was any other highly classified data, beyond that contained in the National Intelligence Estimate, selectively leaked to reporters or other persons outside of your Administration, and if so, why? And, why did you tell the American people on October 13, 2003, that you “don’t know of anybody in (your) administration who leaked classified information”? These and other questions are best addressed by following the advice of the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said that “there has to be a detailed explanation precisely as to what Vice President Cheney did, what the President said to him, and an explanation from the President as to what he said so that it can be evaluated.”

Presidents at times need to hide certain details, but there is one big difference between what Bill Clinton and President Bush were doing.

Clinton broke the law, lied to a grand jury, and lied to the American people.  He hid facts of his conduct during a grand jury investigation.  End result is that President Clinton broke the law and should have paid the consequences.  He didn’t.

President Bush on the other hand has broken no law.  He has the constitutional authority to declassify documents and have them released.  Reid and the left harp on the idea that President Bush released classified documents even though he said he would not tolerate anyone in his administration leaking such information.  The President has the authority to release information especially when so many in the MSM were not reporting the correct facts.  If the documents are no longer classified, how can he release classified material?  The argument of the left makes no sense whatsoever.  End result was that President Bush was doing his job.

If the President can declassify documents, how can he at the same time break the law by releasing classified material?  He can’t.  I have explained why the President did nothing wrong in a post here including this from Judge Napolitano.

…the president can declassify what (s)he or his/her predecessors has classified, or delegate to the vice-president or a group of advisors to declassify same, but none of them can declassify what Congress has classified.

Eventually the President’s message will resonate with the American people.  He has the unenviable job of protecting this country against those who would do us harm.  Defending the United States should be, and I believe it is, George Bush’s number one job.

All the Democrats are doing is playing politics with this country’s security to gain short term political benefits.  Eventually the American people will see through this two-step shuffle the Democrats are playing with national security.

Tags: Politics, War //