He's Out With the In Crowd (Dowd alert)

The New York Times ^ | 04/27/03 | Maureen Dowd

[Pokey78]

WASHINGTON

The swank cocktail party celebrating the fall of Baghdad was the hot ticket on Embassy Row.

The host was the Bush administration's vicar of foreign policy. The guests on Saturday, April 12, included Tony Brenton, acting head of the British Embassy, and dozens of ambassadors from the smaller countries that fashioned the fig leaf known as the coalition of the willing.

The ambassador of Eritrea was welcomed to the house on Kalorama Road, even as the French ambassador, who lives directly across the street in a grand chateau, was snubbed. The German ambassador is kaput, but the ambassador of the Netherlands mingled with Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Doug Feith, and Gen. Richard Myers and Gen. Peter Pace of the Joint Chiefs. The winners were gaily lording it over the losers, sneering at the French.

Conspicuously absent was the nation's top diplomat. Asked if Colin Powell was invited, a State Department official replied, "No. People here didn't know about the party."

The host was Rummy, top gun of a muscle-bound foreign policy summed up by the comic Jon Stewart as, "You want a piece of this?"

Washington has a history of nasty rivalries, with competing camps. There were Aaron Burr people and Alexander Hamilton people; Lincoln people and McClellan people; Bobby people and Lyndon people.

Now, since Newt Gingrich aimed the MOAB of screeds at an already circumscribed Mr. Powell, the capital has been convulsed by the face-off between Defense and State.

There are Rummy people: Mr. Cheney, Mr. Wolfowitz, Mr. Feith, Bill Kristol, William Safire, Ariel Sharon, Fox News, National Review, The Weekly Standard, the Wall Street Journal editorial board, the fedayeen of the Defense Policy Board — Richard Perle, James Woolsey, Mr. Gingrich, Ken Adelman — and the fifth column at State, John Bolton and Liz Cheney.

And there are Powell people: Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, Bush 41, Ken Duberstein, Richard Armitage, Richard Haass, the Foreign Service, Joe Biden, Bob Woodward, the wet media elite, the planet.

The dueling secretaries made a show of having lunch Wednesday at the Pentagon. Meanwhile, Mr. Armitage said Newt was "off his meds and out of therapy"; Mr. Baker called Mr. Gingrich "someone with no foreign policy or national security experience . . . who was in effect forced to resign" as House speaker; a Powell aide said it was "inconceivable that Newt could have made this extraordinary attack on his own" without running it past Rummy; and a Powell friend said the hard-liners had tormented the frustrated diplomat and made his life "hellish."

Newt, amateur historian, is part of Rummy's brain trust. The defense chief regularly forwards blathering Gingrich e-mail about military strategy to irritated Pentagon officials.

This clash is epochal because it's beyond ego. It's about whether America will lead by fear, aggression and force of arms or by diplomacy, moderation and example.

Rummy may merely be a front man for Dick Cheney, who tangled with Mr. Powell for being too cautious in the first Persian Gulf war, and scorned Mr. Powell's strategy of going to the U.N. before the second.

Karl Rove scolded Mr. Gingrich for overreaching; W. still dislikes Newt for leading the revolt against Poppy for breaking his tax pledge.

But the president has not spoken up for Mr. Powell, allowing his credibility to be undermined as he heads off to the Middle East to build the peace. And Mr. Bush has never reined in Rummy's rabid fedayeen.

W.'s gut leans toward the macho Cheney-Rummy idea that America is not bound by history, that the U.S. can help Israel and reshape the Arab world and the rest of the world and not care who is run over, or worry about what will happen if we don't get cooperation on terrorism, proliferation, AIDS, trading, or if people everywhere get up in the morning thinking about how to get back at us.

Nerviness, absolutism and smiting enemies are seductive. Nuance and ambivalence aren't.

The day before Rummy's party, senators were shown an organizational chart for remaking Iraq. Just below Jay Garner, who reports to Tommy Franks, was a line to Larry DiRita, who is a special assistant to the defense chief. Even the time on the chart was "1700," for 5 p.m.

Diplomacy in Washington now runs on military time.   

E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com

[Pokey78]

Catherine Zeta-Jones
2003 Academy Award Winner
Best Supporting Actress

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From Oxblog:

IMMUTABLE LAWS OF DOWD

1. Ashcroft never deserves credit.

2. Offering constructive solutions to problems, instead of whining endlessly about them, is a sign of weakness.

3. The People Magazine principle: all political phenomena can be explained with reference solely to caricatures of the personalities involved ("Dubya" is stupid; "Poppy" is an aristocrat; Cheney is macho-man; etc.). Any reference to the common good or even to old-fashioned politicking is, like, so passe.

4. It is much better to be cute than coherent.

5. Maureen knows best. Her long years as a columnist (doing basically what your great-aunt Tillie does in the nursing home bull sessions, but getting paid for it) have given her deep insight into foreign relations, politics, welfare, the Constitution, and all other topics. To disagree with Maureen in any way is not only a sign of being wrong, it's a hallmark of pure evil...or at least membership in the NRA, which is pretty much the same thing.

6. It is usually possible and always desirable to name-drop and name-call in the same sentence.

7. The particulars of my consumer-driven, shamefully self-involved life reveal universal truths.

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Explanation of the Dowd/Douglas connection: by Miss Marple- 2/11/03

Ms. Dowd was escorted around New York and DC for many months by one Michael Douglas of Hollywood fame and fortune. She got to go to all the best parties, was photographed for the tabloids, and was picking out a gown to wear at the Oscars. Of course, Michael had become interested in her during Clinton's impeachment, when she had written some very anti-Clinton columns. After a few weeks of the Michael treatment, she began to write anti-Starr, ant-Newt columns, ignoring Clinton.

Then Clinton was acquitted by the Senate. In an amazing coincidence, Michael Douglas dropped Ms. Dowd like a hot potato, and instead picked up a hot tomato, Catherin Zeta-Jones, who subsequently bore him a son and they were married.

Ms. Dowd cannot get over her tragic loss. Her columns are increasingly anti-Bush, in the hope of impressing her lost love, Michael.

In addition, we think she has a secret crush on the President and is trying to get him to pay attention to her. Ha!

[Restorer]

It's about whether America will lead by fear, aggression and force of arms or by diplomacy, moderation and example.

Oddly enough, people tend to pay a lot more attention to your diplomatic initiatives when ignoring them results an a bunker-buster landing on their head.

[Rain-maker]

Dowd is just plain whacko imo. All emotionally based garbage talk with nary a whisper of logic to any of her ranting.

She would be better of writing about estrogen replacement for schizophrenics.

[ez]

Newt, amateur historian,

Actually, as I understand it, Newt is a former History Professor, which as far as I know, makes him more of a historian than any of the other people mentioned on Mo's list.

[dighton]

Is Howell Raines capable of embarrassment? Dowd's continuing employment suggests not.

[NYC GOP Chick]

It's apparent that she still hasn't gotten over being dumped by Michael Douglas. That, and her unrequited crush on President Bush, who's also married to a much prettier and saner woman.

[tet68]

Mo, we notice your reporting of this get together but it's not first hand, is it.

Thought so.

[SamAdams76]

cat·ty
adj. cat·ti·er, cat·ti·est

1. Subtly cruel or malicious; spiteful: a catty remark.
2. Catlike; stealthy.

[OldFriend]

Lead by moderation?????????????????

[jackbill]

Have you ever heard this bitch speak? Her voice is worse than fingernails on a blackboard. Several years ago she was the emcee for some sort of award ceremony, the only public appearance that I'm aware of her making. It was pathetic.

[SteveH]

Washington has a history of nasty rivalries, with competing camps. There were Aaron Burr people and Alexander Hamilton people; Lincoln people and McClellan people; Bobby people and Lyndon people.

Nastiness? In Washington, DC?

Well then, how in the name of Beezlebubba666 did the Clintons not make this list?

On second thought, maybe hold off asking that question of this particular kneepad columnist. We know she believes it is all ultimately about sex anyway...

[woofie]

This clash is epochal because it's beyond ego. It's about whether America will lead by fear, aggression and force of arms or by diplomacy, moderation and example.

How about we lead by fear, agression,force of arms and diplomacy...moderately of course....it will set a good example

[Cicero]

Is Howell Raines capable of embarrassment? Dowd's continuing employment suggests not.

According to numerous stories, Howell Raines and Maureen Dowd had an affair early in his tenure as editor. He is said to have broken it off, but he still seems to be according her special treatment. When A. M. Rosenthal, former editor of The Times, complained that Dowd was making a fool of herself, Raines fired Rosenthal.

Presumbably the Sulzbergers approve of all this swinish behavior.

[Miss Marple]

It is very simple. Raines keeps her in her job in order to avoid a lawsuit over sexual harassment, should he dismiss her. Maureen knows all the tricks.

[Paul_B]

Hmmm.... I think we might have a problem here, Mo. Best check your 'tude.

[RWG]

It's about whether America will lead by fear, aggression and force of arms or by diplomacy, moderation and example...I vote for fear, aggression and force of arms. Fear that the US means what it says. Aggressive in defending itself and its principles. Force of arms so that tall building are safe.

[Howlin]

I take it Mo saw the nekkid pictures of Zeta-Jones............LOL.

[Howlin]

[johniegrad]

Nerviness, absolutism and smiting enemies are seductive. Nuance and ambivalence aren't.

The "I'm smarter than you" approach to public criticism of the administration is causing headaches to those who constantly bang their head over and over again against the same brick wall of American success. The complete inability to recognize the stupidity of this stance and to fail to learn from it is the hallmark of a disordered personality.

Her shtick is really getting stale. She reminds me of a female Garrison Keeler with PMS.

[ewing]

ROFTFLOL!!