Henry Hanks points out that there’s a major problem with Howard Dean’s attempt in last night’s debate to essentially blame Fox News for his speculations about whether or not the president had been tipped off about 9/11 but let it happen anyway,
SPRADLING: Congressman, thank you.
Governor Dean, you had once stated that you thought it was possible that the president of the United States had been forewarned about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You later said that you didn’t really know.
A statement like that, don’t you see the possibility of some Democrats being nervous about statements like that leading them to the conclusion that you are not right for being the next commander in chief?
DEAN: Well, in all due respect, I did not exactly state that. I was asked on Fox fair and balanced news that…
(LAUGHTER)
I was asked why I thought the president was withholding information, I think it was, or 9/11 or something like that. And I said, well, the most interesting theory that I heard, which I did not believe, was that the Saudis had tipped him off.
We don’t know why the president is not giving information to the Kean commission. I think that is supposed to be investigated by Congress. I think it’s a serious matter. I agree with Wes Clark, the president is not fighting terrorism. And we need to know what went wrong before 9/11.
I did not believe, and I made it clear on the Fox News show that I didn’t believe that theory, but I had heard that. And there are going to be a lot of crazy theories that come out if the information is not given to the Kean commission as it should be.
The problem here is that Dean is lying both about what he said and where he said it. The comments that started this whole controversy didn’t occur on Fox News but rather during a Dec. 1 appearance on The Diane Rehm Show, which the last time I checked is not part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Here’s the exchange,
Rehm: Why do you think he (Bush) is suppressing that (Sept. 11) report?
Howard Dean:I don’t know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I’ve heard so far — which is nothing more than a theory, it can’t be proved — is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now who knows what the real situation is?
Notice, too, that Dean is also lying about what he said. Dean does not say that he doesn’t believe this theory about Bush having been warned, he simply says that it can’t be proven.
And Dean supporters really think this guy is going to be able to beat Bush?
Source:
Transcript: Democratic Presidential Debate in Durham, N.H.. Washington Post, December 10, 2003.