Pick Your Poison

Some have said that the Foley issue is actually a blessing for the Republicans because it diverts attention from Woodward's book, which slams the administration for not telling the truth.

I think this is total nonsense. The Woodward book, while very damaging for Bush in that it essentially demonstrates that he has knowingly mislead the public, covers a line of debate that has largely been fought out over the last few years. There won't be many converts won based on this book.

The Foley issue, on the other hand, opens up an entirely new strain of criticism against the Republicans: that not only are they acting as Bush's rubber stamp on Iraq, they are so desperate to hang onto power that they're willing to let a man with a known history of troubling behavior have access to kids. My bet is that, when all is said and done, the Republicans, and Hastert in particular, will look a lot like Cardinal Law, the leader of Boston's Roman Catholics who took a remarkably similar tack in dealing with his diocese's priest abuse allegations. Law eventually was forced to resign.

But, while I have been critical of Woodward in the past and am more than just a little skeptical of him in general, his 60 Minutes interview is pretty damning, and you can watch it below:

Part 1


Part 2