-
But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror, the reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan.
WaPo today:
-
It is important that prominent Democrats such as former governor Howard Dean refrain from observing, as Mr. Dean did, that "every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism," because that would imply that no terrorist threats, however serious, should be taken as such. It is equally important that the administration not politicize its warnings, because to do so would weaken them.
In his statement, Mr. Ridge stayed away from politics, although he did, as in the past, find it necessary to attach a list of his homeland security achievements along with the warning, which did reduce its impact.
Things in order of importance:
1) The WaPo should ignore that Ridge explicitly politicized the terror warning.
2) The WaPo should chastize Howard Dean and unnamed Democrats for pointing out the truth - that this and other terror alerts in the past were explicitly political.
3) Then, finally, the WaPo should meekly suggest that maybe it's a bad idea to use these for political purposes, without acknowledging that it had been done.
fredhiatt@washpost.com
...and, yes, to be clear -- the Post is doing some excellent reporting on this subject. Hiatt just can't get his head out of Bush's ass.