Great post, tx.
You have it all nailed, perfectly.
I noticed the other day that Pres. Bush selected some of the wounded troops from Iraq to serve on the commission with Bob Dole.
I like that he is getting the ones from THIS war...and not a bunch of old geezers that want face time.
Even Bob Dole said today that he was reluctant to do this until Prs. Bush said that this was not just a commission to "write a report in 90 days and get on TV"...but a commission to actually see what needs to be done, and authority to call for those changes.
However, I am sure that Dole is aware of the BRAC studies..he just didn't get into it with Stephy today.
When I first heard thta Sen. Dole was going to be on this comission...I thought he was the perfect choice.
He's a combat wounded veteran who has seen the best..and worst that the military and VA hospitals have to offer.
Well, I hope Dole and these Iraq war vets are strong enough to keep this commission under control, because the only reason Donna Shalala is on it is to turn it into yet another partisan, blame-Bush-for-everything hatchet job like the 9/11 "Commission" and the Iraq "Study" Group, and then spend the entire campaign season making the media rounds and basking in the kudos showered on her by the DBM talking heads.
And if Dole and Co. actually succeed in making this commission do what it's intended to do, Shalala will politicize it by walking away from it and accusing Dole of "covering up" for the Administration, and the democrats will denounce it and conduct their own "investigation" (which they'll do anyway to cover their bets).
And which version do you suppose the media will accept as the "truth"?