Ferrablog

So the closest thing we had to a prophet of 9/11, Richard Clarke, is now being smeared by the right because he's going to make a lot of money off the sales of Against All Enemies. Bill Frist, as part of his perjury innuendo on the Senate Floor, accused Clarke of profiting from 9/11 and challenged him to donate the profits to charity. The Drudge Report, as reliable an indicator of the right-wing zeitgeist as one will find, was out in full force yesterday detailing how Clarke's cut of the sales could hit seven figures. And, as the indispensable Daily Howler reports, that's all the bobbleheads at Fox and Friends (as well as Don Imus) could talk about.

But this outburst of feigned shock at someone actually making money begs several questions:

* Where was the outrage when Bob Woodward profited from 9/11 when he wrote Bush at War, a largely sympathetic portrait? Should he have donated the proceeds to charity?

* Where was the outrage when Showtime aired "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis", a veritable propaganda piece for the Bush Administration? Shouldn't they have donated their profits as well?

* What about the fact that Bush's fundraisers offered photos of him making phone calls on 9/11 as an enticement to solicit donations?

I could go on and on with examples, but the point is made. Of course, while they say Clarke should donate the profits to charity, they'll have no problem giving our newest millionaire a healthy tax cut on all those book profits.