Ferrablog

Just watched Condi Rice on 60 Minutes, and man, she was weak. The best she could do was offer up blandishments about how they did view the threat of Al Qaeda pre-9/11 as "urgent" (even though she was read off a list of folks that didn't think so, including Bush himself as told to Bob Woodward). I've heard and read many, many, more compelling (if ultimately off the mark) arguments defending the Bush administration pre-9/11 and disputing Clarke. Speaking of Clarke, he was unflappable on Meet The Press this morning. Russert tried grilling him, but Clarke had the combination of 1) being right, 2) being prepared factually, and 3) being able to articulate his position. He even had a prop - after Russert brought up his letter of resignation that praised Bush, Clarke pulled out a handwritten note from Bush that said:

Dear Dick, you will be missed. You served our nation with distinction and honor. You have left a positive mark on our government.

Clarke added, "This is not the normal typewritten letter that everybody gets. This is the president's handwriting. He thinks I served with distinction and honor. The rest of his staff is out there trying to destroy my professional life, trying to destroy my reputation, because I had the temerity to suggest that a policy issue should be discussed. "

Here's the full transcript.