ASHCROFT ON AL-QAEDA….Gallimaufry catches this contemptible quote from John Ashcroft yesterday when he announced the possibility of an al-Qaeda attack in the United States this summer:
The Madrid railway bombings were perceived by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda to have advanced their cause. Al Qaeda may perceive that a large-scale attack in the United States this summer or fall would lead to similar consequences.
The supposed “consequence” of the Madrid attack, of course, was a victory by the opposition party. So Ashcroft is rather unsubtly saying that al-Qaeda would consider a John Kerry victory to have “advanced their cause.”
What a despicable worm. What a revolting, loathsome, toad.
ME: This is the sort of thing which really demonstrates how unhinged many liberals become on the subject of John Ashcroft. Maybe his statement could have been phrased better, though I think it’s just fine as it is. But if I used a statement like that to justify calling Clinton “a revolting, loathsome, toad” I would be deluged with email from Drummian liberals calling me an irrational Clinton-hater too blinded by hatred to speak intelligently about the man.
Are we to believe that any mention of the Madrid bombings and their consequences are now out-of-bounds for the administration? If not, how would Drum rewrite the statement so as to preclude any such inference? If this statement elicits this silly “revolting toad” nonsense, surely even a more restrained mention of Madrid would still result in critics saying Ashcroft is implying the terrorists want Kerry to win.
Oh, and for the record: I know my wife didn’t write Ashcroft’s comments (she’s his speechwriter) because she was in London with me when the press conference came on.