Ferrablog

While it's embarassing to live in a state governed by Jeb Bush, at least for a few more months I can feel pride in my state's Senators, one of whom is Bob Graham. Today, in response to Bill Frist's anti-Clarke meltdown on the Senate floor, which hinted at selective release of classified Clarke testimony in an effort to discredit the man of the hour, Graham had this to say:

"I concur with Senator Frist's call for de-classification of Richard Clarke's testimony to the Joint Inquiry. To the best of my recollection, there is nothing inconsistent or contradictory in that testimony and what Mr. Clarke has said this week.

I would add three other recommendations:

First, if Mr. Clarke's testimony is to be released, it should be released in its entirety -- not, as the Bush administration has done in the past, selectively edited so that only portions favorable to the White House are made public.

Second, the Bush administration should de-classify other documents that surround the Clarke testimony, such as his January 25, 2002, plan for action against al Qaeda, in order to clarify the issues that are in dispute.

And finally, the Bush administration should release all other testimony and documents related to 9-11 for which classification can no longer be justified -- including the 27 pages of the Joint Inquiry's final report that address the involvement of a foreign government in supporting some of the 19 hijackers while they lived among us and finalized their evil plot.

The American people deserve to know what their government has done -- and should be doing -- to protect them from terrorists, and who should be held accountable for shortcomings that have left our country vulnerable."

I'm beginning to think he only thing selling faster than Clarke's book these days are boxes of Depends being bought by the Republican establishment.