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You are here: Home / Politics / Media / Paging Sgt. Schultz

Paging Sgt. Schultz

by John Cole|  July 15, 20089:29 am| 26 Comments

This post is in: Media, Military, Assholes

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The Tillman investigation stymied by bad memories:

The committee says that in their quest to find out when officials first knew about the possibility that Tillman’s death was not due to enemy fire, they were “frustrated by a near universal lack of recall,” according to the report.

The committee interviewed several senior White House officials including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, communications director Dan Bartlett, former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, and chief speech writer Michael Gerson.

“Not a single one could recall when he learned about the fratricide or what he did in response,” says the report.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers told the committee that he learned by the end of April that Tillman’s death was possibly due to friendly fire, but that he could not remember whether or not he passed that information to Rumsfeld.

Someone yesterday mentioned this Bob Somerby quip about the press, where he stated the following:

Let’s be cruel. Things have deteriorated to the point where staffers at People are mystified by the inanity of the political press corps.

At what point did it get this bad that the people in the Tillman case knew they could just get away with saying “I don’t remember” to everything, and no one would do anything about it? The Bush administration has been lying at will for years, and no one cares. How did it get this bad? When did it happen? How did it happen?

Should we get lucky and Obama wins the General, this will be my headline:

“Obama wins. Republicans and media rediscover Constitution, rule of law, limits on executive authority.”

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26Comments

  1. 1.

    Gus

    July 15, 2008 at 10:02 am

    At what point did it get this bad that the people in the Tillman case knew they could just get away with saying “I don’t remember” to everything

    Reagan set the precedent in the Iran-Contra affair. To be fair, Reagan was likely getting senile at the time and he probably really couldn’t recall his role.

  2. 2.

    Jim Pharo

    July 15, 2008 at 10:04 am

    …and the press will re-discover the many scandals and missteps of the nascent Obama administration, which they will cover for eight consecutive years without pause.

  3. 3.

    El Cid

    July 15, 2008 at 10:07 am

    Should we get lucky and Obama wins the General, this will be my headline:

    “Obama wins. Republicans and media rediscover Constitution, rule of law, limits on executive authority.”

    I agree, except by the time you could post that, Republicans will already be screaming about and demanding prosecutions for violations they insist have already been committed or allowed by Obama.

    Including a reverse of the “missing W key” nonsense — the new occupant will be blamed for crimes of entering office which never happened.

    Somehow, everything from the inauguration to how his staff begins to entire the White House will be portrayed as grand crimes. Literally. I’d put $100 on it.

    In fact, a healthy contest would be to ask what the most likely set of “reverse missing W key” stories and charges will be.

  4. 4.

    RC635

    July 15, 2008 at 10:10 am

    At what point did it get this bad that the people in the Tillman case knew they could just get away with saying “I don’t remember” to everything, and no one would do anything about it? The Bush administration has been lying at will for years, and no one cares. How did it get this bad? When did it happen? How did it happen?

    Good place to start.

  5. 5.

    Scott H

    July 15, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Don’t you think there came a time in the Bush Administration when people, just to get through the day, had to wrap themselves in a cognitive fog?

    The first big job of the next President (unless it is McCain) isn’t even in the news: rebuilding a broken federal government. All the talent, in agencies across the board, that could get out, got it, in herds. What’s left think things like, oh say, taser bracelets for airline passengers are a great idea.

  6. 6.

    Corner Stone

    July 15, 2008 at 10:16 am

    I’d say an even better place to start is with the pardon of Nixon. CW now papers over this event as a “healing moment”, something the nation could get past and start fresh after.
    IMO, we are realizing the true fruit of that monumentally corrupt decision now, with this admin.

  7. 7.

    Napoleon

    July 15, 2008 at 10:20 am

    I agree, except by the time you could post that, Republicans will already be screaming about and demanding prosecutions for violations they insist have already been committed or allowed by Obama.

    Including a reverse of the “missing W key” nonsense—the new occupant will be blamed for crimes of entering office which never happened.

    Somehow, everything from the inauguration to how his staff begins to entire the White House will be portrayed as grand crimes. Literally. I’d put $100 on it.

    In fact, a healthy contest would be to ask what the most likely set of “reverse missing W key” stories and charges will be.

    Part of whether this happens right of the bad depends on how soundly they get their clock cleaned in November. It is entirely plausible that the Dems end up with a nearly filibuster proof majority in the Senate and north of 30 seats in the house.

  8. 8.

    cleek

    July 15, 2008 at 10:21 am

    the press has always been shit.

  9. 9.

    The Moar You Know

    July 15, 2008 at 10:23 am

    At what point did it get this bad that the people in the Tillman case knew they could just get away with saying “I don’t remember” to everything, and no one would do anything about it?

    Sadly, John, the answer to your question rests with a singular incident, Iran-Contra. As with so much else on the right, our own Grandpa Caligula, St. Ronald Reagan, hath shown us the way to avoid not only prosecution, but the slings and arrows of bad press, all by using three simple, magical words:

    “I don’t recall.”

    Why ditch a proven winning method? The right wing in this country is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.

  10. 10.

    brendancalling

    July 15, 2008 at 10:29 am

    Should we get lucky and Obama wins the General, this will be my headline:

    “Obama wins. Republicans and media rediscover Constitution, rule of law, limits on executive authority.”

    I have been saying this ever since the FISA/wiretapping shit came up. The democrats have, quite frankly, walked into a trap and I for one hope they get snared.

    Like Glenn Greenwald, I believe that one of the reasons the Dems allowed FISA to pass is because they want that power for themselves. And while the GOPO is greedy, petty, and in general awful, I do not think they are as dumb as they make out.

    With their faithful pets in the media, the minute a democrat tries to exercise these unconstitutional powers, the investigations and hearings will begin. The 4th Amendment will eventually be restored, and the democrats will get blamed for everything. Again.

    You can see that train coming twenty fucking miles away.

  11. 11.

    linda

    July 15, 2008 at 10:31 am

    Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers told the committee that he learned by the end of April that Tillman’s death was possibly due to friendly fire, but that he could not remember whether or not he passed that information to Rumsfeld

    he’s a fucking liar. and this behavior convinces me more than anything, that pat tillman’s death was deliberate. better to infer that you’re a forgetful old coot and unable to testify, than run the risk of saying something unfortunate that leads to more questions and fewer answers.

  12. 12.

    El Cruzado

    July 15, 2008 at 10:32 am

    …and the press will re-discover the many scandals and missteps of the nascent Obama administration, which they will cover for eight consecutive years without pause.

    Failing that, they’ll just make them up.

  13. 13.

    cleek

    July 15, 2008 at 10:33 am

    Like Glenn Greenwald, I believe that one of the reasons the Dems allowed FISA to pass is because they want that power for themselves.

    can you explain then:

    1. which people
    2. what power
    3. wielded how
    4. for what purpose

    ?

  14. 14.

    The Moar You Know

    July 15, 2008 at 10:40 am

    I’d say an even better place to start is with the pardon of Nixon. CW now papers over this event as a “healing moment”, something the nation could get past and start fresh after.
    IMO, we are realizing the true fruit of that monumentally corrupt decision now, with this admin.

    Fundamentally, Corner Stone, I agree – had Nixon been prosecuted I doubt Iran-Contra would have ever occurred. I understand why Ford made the decision he did – and while it wasn’t a bad decision, it wasn’t the right one.

    Nixon resigned when I was a child. I never thought I’d see most of his people coming back to try round 2 of “Steal This Country”, but I guess that’s what happens when you fail to prosecute people for crimes on the first offense.

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    July 15, 2008 at 10:58 am

    At what point did it get this bad that the people in the

    Tillman case knew they could just get away with saying “I don’t remember” to everything, and no one would do anything about it? The Bush administration has been lying at will for years, and no one cares. How did it get this bad? When did it happen? How did it happen?

    This is a damn good question. Apologists for the Bush Administration excuse everything because we are “at war” against terrorists. But that the media, the Democrats in the Congress, and almost everyone else would simply roll over and ignore what this administration is still doing, well, this defies any rational explanation.

  16. 16.

    DougL

    July 15, 2008 at 11:12 am

    I’d say an even better place to start is with the pardon of Nixon.

    I’d say it even goes slightly further than that. My mom was a political junkie back in the day and I remember her being glued to the TV during the congressional hearings about Watergate. Even at the young age of four, it didn’t escape me that a lot of those called to testify answered a lot of questions with “I do not recollect.”

  17. 17.

    KevinD

    July 15, 2008 at 11:25 am

    If I ever get accused of a federal crime, I’m going to try that defense.
    “I’m sorry, I don’t recall robbing that bank”

  18. 18.

    TenguPhule

    July 15, 2008 at 11:51 am

    How did it happen?

    People voted Republican and failed to ask questions.

  19. 19.

    Joe Max

    July 15, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    The Bush administration has been lying at will for years, and no one cares. How did it get this bad? When did it happen? How did it happen?

    That’s easy, John. It all began with our sainted Ronald Reagan.

    It was Saint Ronnie that added “I don’t recall” to our political lexicon.

  20. 20.

    Gay Veteran

    July 15, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    guess the Pentagon could use a Tony Snow right now

  21. 21.

    Neo

    July 15, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    The whole Congressional committee seemed to be stuck in a fog regarding the Jessica Lynch story.

    The basis of Ms. Lynch’s legend came from an unknown “official” used by Susan Schmidt and Vernon Loeb of the Washington Post. “Several” other “officials” cautioned that the facts weren’t yet known, and “Pentagon officials” said reports of Lynch’s gun-firing heroics were only “rumors.”

    House Oversight skipped over the fact that there was no hyping press from either the White House or Pentagon, as Rep. Waxman left the “urban legend” of their propaganda remain intact. As to the sloppy reporting by The Washington Post, Schmidt and Loeb were never called to talk about their ‘heroic adventure’ story that got all the other inaccurate reports going.

  22. 22.

    tim

    July 15, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Anyone who googles “Pat Tillman” and really reads thru all the background info that pops up will realize how obvious it is that Pat Tillman was murdered in cold blood to Shut Him The Fuck Up.

    Timothy Trollinski

  23. 23.

    timb

    July 15, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    Yeah, the restoration of checks and balances and federalism and separation powers is all just a few months away and much of it will led by the like of John Hindrocket, Jeff Golstein, and Jonah Goldberg. Sean Hannity will be a champion of the public’s right to know.

    All of this will happen as Obama is announcing combat troops will be staying in Iraq for longer than 16 months, more troops are needed for Afghanistan, and he is about the tax the rich. he will piss just about everybody doing things he HAS to do to govern the country.

    P.S. Does anyone remember all the “failed presidency” talks of the Clinton first term, c. summer of 1993. Has Time or Newsweek featured a cover calling this president a failure? Whether they have or not, by this time next year, they will be calling Obama one.

    P.P.S. My pessimist side has really flourished in the last 8 years. One can only hope Pakistan doesn’t disintegrate in the next year or so, until competent people can get on the ball.

  24. 24.

    mark

    July 15, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    Has anyone ever been convicted of perjury for lying about not remembering something?

  25. 25.

    Robert

    July 15, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    How did it get this bad? When did it happen? How did it happen?…I don’t recall.

  26. 26.

    Chris Andersen

    July 15, 2008 at 6:22 pm

    Reagan said “I don’t recall” nearly a hundred time. The chattering classes collectively shrugged.

    Where did it begin?

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