For those who are frequent visitors to The Washington Note, you’d know that my Apple G4 turbo-charged powerbook went on the fritz last week, and I hope to be back up and running with a new hard disk on Thursday this week.
But combine massive computer failure with a trip to mountainous, rural Hawaii at a retreat with no car, almost no connectivity and just one news channel — and you either have heaven or hell. Well, the news channel is Fox News, so you take your pick.
I did see John Bolton give his first “on the record” television interview today, and he and I both seem to be in agreement that Zalmay Khalilzad is a good choice to succeed him at the United Nations. Bolton has to say that probably — just for protocol reasons. But I think that having someone of Khalilzad’s experience and deal-making capacity at the UN is a strong plus for the United States.
But to get a sense of John Bolton’s less-polished views, you ought to listen to this audio file (if it is still up!) of an “off the record” briefing that John Bolton did for AIPAC last week. The interview and large portions of the transcript were posted by a serious Bolton-fan stalker at the blog, Atlas Shrugs.
Someone who must go unnamed in the AIPAC network was kind enough to share with me this material.
While Atlas Shrugs has since removed the transcript from its site, the link to the “audio file” was still working as of this morning. Can’t promise it will be there for long.
But the real weird thing on Fox News this morning, following Condi’s nomination of Khalilzad for the US Mission to the UN post and Ryan Crocker’s strategic redeployment from Pakistan to serve as US Ambassador to Iraq, and Bolton’s reaction — was a graphic viciously attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for already breaking a campaign promise and taking Monday off for football games.
Fox News rattled on that after just taking the reigns of the House of Representatives, Pelosi — who had promised five day work weeks — was already feathering her nest and making things more comfortable by taking off Monday for football.
Fox didn’t stop there. They also had some talking heads on board, of whom National Review‘s Rich Lowry was one, to further lampoon Speaker Pelosi for this take a day off slip.
Well, Fox owes Pelosi a prime time apology — and maybe a panel of experts on following to discuss why Fox uses the “Drudge Report” as a primary new source and didn’t run the traps on a story it was giving huge profile to — and on which it organized a panel of Pelosi-bashing pundits.
Drudge broke the story Sunday evening after seeing a House release noting that there would be “no business” on Monday. Then he let his imagination take over and started the attack on Pelosi and House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer.
But as Raw Story has reported, the request for the day off came from Republican Minority Leader John Boehner:
Contrary to an Internet report, Republicans in the House of Representatives appear to have asked for a day off less than one week into the 110th Congress, RAW STORY has learned. The Democratic leadership consented, and no action is scheduled on the House floor today.
Congress will not meet today to begin the official “100 hours” agenda of the Democratic Members due to a request put in to the Democratic Leadership by Rep. John Boehner, the Republican Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.
“Mr. Boehner made this request, and in the interest of comity, Democrats granted it,” a senior Democratic aide told RAW STORY.
So, what is the story now, Fox?
Pelosi abandons campaign pledge to help out Republicans obsessed by football?
Doesn’t seem to fly quite as well.
Fox really owes her an apology — Hoyer too for that matter. And I want to be on that panel of talking heads analyzing this.
My hell with Fox News all the time ends tomorrow. In Honolulu on Wednesday and Washington Thursday morning.
— Steve Clemons
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