Michael Barone, Lying Sack of Shit

Depends Media mogul Michael Barone is a dishonest sack of shit. Here's Barone, presenting his latest lie:

"So much for democracy

Here's James Risen, the New York Times reporter who coauthored the paper's December 16 story on NSA surveillance of foreign terrorists [sic], flogging his new book on the Today show. He presents an interesting theory of governance.

"Risen: Well, I -- I think that during a period from about 2000 -- from 9/11 through the beginning of the gulf -- the war in Iraq, I think what happened was you -- we -- the checks and balances that normally keep American foreign policy and national security policy towards the center kind of broke down. And you had more of a radicalization of American foreign policy in which the -- the -- the career professionals were not really given a chance to kind of forge a consensus within the administration. And so you had the -- the -- the principles -- Rumsfeld, Cheney and Tenet and Rice and many others -- who were meeting constantly, setting policy and really never allowed the people who understand -- the experts who understand the region to have much of a say.

"Couric: You suggest there was a lot of power grabbing going on."

Because he thinks you're morons, Barone tells you that that Risen was describing how democracy should work -- a "theory of governance," if you will.

Of course, the gasbag is lying to your face. That's what he does.

That's all he does.

Here's what Risen said, in context, and with the preliminary questions that Barone omitted, to decieve:

COURIC: And, in fact, he [an Iraqi sent by the Administration] claimed that the nuclear weapons, or the WMD, had been destroyed during the first Gulf War during the bombing strafe, right?

Mr. RISEN: Yes, right. And then it had been abandoned right after the war. And that's...

COURIC: So they came back and reported what they had found. How many people, by the way, were dispatched in all?

Mr. RISEN: Roughly 30.

COURIC: So they came back. They reported that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Were they listened to?

Mr. RISEN: No. They were basically ignored. In fact, the CIA believed--they came to believe that, well, these people are just being told what--what these guys, you know, are being ordered by Saddam to say, that this is dis--disinformation, and so they ignored it.

COURIC: Meanwhile, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet do not come across very well in this book.

Mr. RISEN: Well, I--I think that during a period from about 2000--from 9/11 through the beginning of the Gulf--the war in Iraq, I think what happened was you--we--the checks and balances that normally keep American foreign policy and national security policy towards the center kind of broke down. And you had more of a radicalization of American foreign policy in which the--the--the career professionals were not really given a chance to kind of forge a consensus within the administration. And so you had the--the--the principles--Rumsfeld, Cheney and Tenet and Rice and many others--who were meeting constantly, setting policy and really never allowed the people who understand--the experts who understand the region to have much of a say.

As Barone knows, Risen is explaining why the Administration's WMD lies were lies (although Risen soft-pedals it) and why the Iraq debacle happened. He's not suggesting that the government should be run by the career professionals; he's showing how and why the Administration fucked up through willful ignorance.

The Surgeon General should declare Barone the leading cause of rectal cancer, given the malignant properties of the smoke he blows up your ass on a daily basis.