I ASKED Sen. John McCain for additional insight into America's latest misery. He said:
"This Abu Ghraib prison torture at the hands of our military follows the route of classic scandal. A little horror comes out and the public is sickened. A little more horror leaks out and we're sickened further. I've argued we first must allow everything . . . everything . . . to come out before we make moves. We have to let it play out to the fullest before we take any action. It's premature to just argue louder for Rumsfeld's head. He enjoys the president's confidence."
Then: "But I agree this is one of the toughest times I've ever been through."
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Anyone else find that a rather strange conclusion?
Three months ago, Columbia Journalism School grad Alexandra Polier was the target of Internet rumors and media speculation about a supposed extramarital affair (denied by all concerned) with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Back then, the 27-year-old Polier's photograph was published in papers from New York to London, and she pleaded publicly "that the press respect our privacy and leave all of us alone."
But now she's had enough of privacy. Word from Nairobi, Kenya - where Polier has been living with the family of her Israeli fiancé, Yaron Schwartzman - is that she's toiling on an epic essay about her experiences at the center of a political firestorm.
According to an informed source, the former Associated Press intern is writing her account - for which New York magazine is paying $10,000 - of how it felt to be on the wrong side of the reporter-subject equation.
Polier was hounded by media lowlifes and guttersnipe gossip columnists (me, perhaps?) who published provocative details of a Friendster.com profile in which she - or someone claiming to be her - was described as "just another hot piece of a-- with a philosophy degree."
My informant tells me: "She is also going to detail her work for Kerry and, possibly, her relationship with one of his staffers, not the candidate."
After cybergossip Matt Drudge energetically stoked the rumors into a full-fledged nonscandal, Polier issued a statement that said, in part: "Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them. I have never had a relationship with Sen. Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false."
Kerry also dismissed the stories, telling reporters: "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue."
Yesterday, the Kerry campaign declined to weigh in on Polier's article-in-progress, and New York mag spokeswoman Serena Torrey told me: "We don't comment on any stories that may or may not be in the works."
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/193289p-166968c.html
John McCain wants to be effin's SecDef. Effin's said as much. McCain's pandered as much. Kristol wants Bush to fire Rumsfeld and replace him with McCain. Me, I want McCain to shut up and go away. I've had it with him.
Last Friday I didn't get to see the Senate and House hearings with Rumsfeld live so I stayed up and watched them into the wee hours of the morning Saturday. I concluded the following: the Senate is what we used to refer to in pathology lab as "one giant space-occupying lesion." Quite frankly, if they all took a wrong turn and fell into the Potomac this evening, I don't think the country would miss a single one of them.
I was totally impressed with the House members who questioned Rumsfeld - even most (but not all) of the dems. They were not into grandstanding, they were into asking logical questions. It was quite refreshing to watch.
Oh, and Rumsfeld made me very proud to be an American and very proud to have him as SecDef. He's a wonderful guy and we're lucky to have him.