Hillary Corners Rummy Over Rove

Senator Hillary Clinton put Rumsfeld in a corner today during the Senate Armed Services hearing over Karl Rove's comments saying Democrats didn't understand the 9/11 attacks. Senator Clinton: .... I hope Mr. Secretary you would agree that Democrats and Republicans, people of every political belief and none at all, united after the 9/11 attacks on our nation and that has been especially evident here in this Senate Armed Services Committee, under the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Warner and Ranking Member Levin. Mr. Secretary, would you agree with that statement? Secretary Rumsfeld: Senator, there’s no question that the country and the Congress united after September 11th. Clinton: Mr. Secretary, I want to read you a quote from today’s newspaper: “Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.” Mr. Secretary, do you agree with that statement by a senior member of this administration? Rumsfeld: I don’t know who made the statement or the context of it and I just got through saying that when one takes a single sentence or single comment out of a longer statement that may have context, I find frequently that it is harmful. I don’t know who said it or what the context was and obviously it’s not something I said. Clinton: I appreciate that. Well, it is a statement by Karl Rove. And it is the kind of statement that is particularly harmful and painful. It is the kind of statement that is unnecessary. It is the kind of statement that pits Americans of good faith, seeking to support the men and women in uniform, seeking to protect them, seeking to support you, despite the fact that we might have serious questions and even disagreements about strategy and tactics. And so it politicizes and turns into a partisan game. Something as serious as the attack on our nation on September 11th and something as deadly as the conflict in which we are currently engaged. So I would hope Mr. Secretary that you and other members of the Administration would immediately repudiate such an insulting comment from a high ranking official in the President’s inner circle. It is very disturbing to many of us, increasingly so, that we cannot have a national conversation about something as important as the conflict that we face, which I for one believe is a long-term challenge to our very existence. And it is certainly a challenge that you are attempting to deal with in the field and in the Pentagon. And, it is not just people on one side of the aisle who have raised these issues. A recent bipartisan group of members of Congress called for an end to the conflict - a withdrawal of the troops - something I don’t agree with, but I understand the frustration and the concern and anxiety that motivates such a statement and question. And I would not in any way question the resolve, the toughness, the patriotism of anybody who raises legitimate questions and has disagreements about how we are to pursue our objectives. And with do respect, I think it would be helpful if we would hear a little bit more of that tone from our President and from our Vice President and from our other high ranking officials in the Administration. I’m old enough to remember how deeply divided our country was in Vietnam. I never want to see that again. We may have disagreements about how to engage in this conflict and how to win it, but I never want to live through that again and I don’t think any of us do so I would respectfully suggest that perhaps we adopt a somewhat different tone and approach in discussing these very critical matters for the benefit of all of us and particularly, for the benefit of the young men and women who we’re so proud of and so grateful to for their sacrifice. Rumsfeld: Senator I certainly agree, I think you’ll find the tone in my remarks fit what you’re talking about. I think that it is unfortunate when things become so polarized or so politicized, and you’ve heard some of that here today. It isn’t helpful. In my remarks I pointed out that there are a number of questions that are raised by the public, by members of the house and the senate, and that’s a perfectly proper and legitimate thing to do. Our democracy permits that, we can live through it in a war time period if we do it in an orderly way, and a sensible way, and a civil way. Nice going Hillary, but of course good old Rummy evaded pinpointing his answer to Rove himself. As usual, this administration won't take any responsibility for comments or actions made by one of its' own. *EDIT* Thanks to reader Jami for this link, you can sign the petition demanding the firing of Karl Rove HERE