I recall there being a few skeptics here regarding the Bush administration raising the security alert level when it was politically advantageous.
____________

Tom Ridge on National Security After 9/11 (http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/08/19/tom-ridge-on-national-security-after-911.html)
August 19, 2009 04:58 PM ET

By Paul Bedard

Tom Ridge, the first head of the 9/11-inspired Department of Homeland Security, wasn't keen on writing a tell-all. But in The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, out September 1, Ridge says he wants to shake "public complacency" over security. And to do that, well, he needs to tell all. Especially about the infighting he saw that frustrated his attempts to build a smooth-running department. Among the headlines promoted by publisher Thomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was "blindsided" by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.

[No More... (http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/08/19/tom-ridge-on-national-security-after-911.html)]

LOL! Big surprise... not!

What's more shocking, that Republicans can be so openly manipulative just to influence political outcomes or that the public is so gullible to fall for it?

Don't you wish one of these guys that writes these books brimming with moral indignation would've had the cajones to actually come out and say when they tender their resignation exactly WHY they're resigning?

Do they neuter you when you get appointed to a cabinet position?

LOL! Big surprise... not!
Yeah, the only thing that surprised me was that it wasn't obvious to everyone. I blame this. (http://www.physorg.com/news170070531.html)

What's more shocking, that Republicans can be so openly manipulative just to influence political outcomes or that the public is so gullible to fall for it?
Yeah, the health care misinformation campaign the Republicans are running really brings this one home. It never ceases to amaze me just how spectacularly stupid people can be -- and some of these TownHallers appear to be putting a real effort into it. Tuda's forced sterilization and infanticide program becomes more and more appealing, especially if it can be retroactively implemented. :)

Case in point:
Poll: Republicans Think Government Should Stay Out Of Medicare (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/poll-republicans-think-government-should-stay-out-of-medicare.php)

Don't you wish one of these guys that writes these books brimming with moral indignation would've had the cajones to actually come out and say when they tender their resignation exactly WHY they're resigning?
Seriously!

Don't you wish one of these guys that writes these books brimming with moral indignation would've had the cajones to actually come out and say when they tender their resignation exactly WHY they're resigning?They generally do it when it's profitable, i.e., once they're out of office and have nothing to lose and considerable money to gain through a book deal.

Did you really think these people suddenly man up, accept responsibility, and/or find their conscience once they leave office? It's all about the attention and the dollars.

Did you really think these people suddenly man up, accept responsibility, and/or find their conscience once they leave office? It's all about the attention and the dollars.
Sad but true.

And we need to degenderize that phrase "man-up". It's a great phrase but it excludes half the population. Mensch up?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch