"The Devil Made Me Do It"

"The Devil Made Me Do It"
by Jean Carnahan

            President Bush has borrowed a line from Flip Wilson’s character Geraldine Jones, who covered up her irresponsible behavior with such excuses as: “The Devil made me buy this dress. It’s not my fault, honey.  I didn’t want it.  The Devil MADE me do it.”

            If such a “reasoned” defense worked for Geraldine, why not for George?

            Apparently, that was Karl Rove’s thinking, when he told TV interviewer Charles Rose that Bush did not want Congress to vote on the Iraq War resolution in the fall of 2002, because it would make the situation too “political.”  According to Rove, the big, bad Congress cast a “premature vote” before the President could complete his search for WMDs or put together a coalition force. 

            How utterly unbelievable!   

            I am still cleaning spluttered coffee off my monitor and keyboard.

            The truth is: The drums of war were sounding from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue and reverberating throughout the Capitol.  As a member of the U. S. Senate Armed Services Committee during that time, I was among those briefed by Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon brass about the certainty of WMDs and the need for quick and lethal action in Iraq.

            Now, Karl wants us to believe that the President was bravely trying to restrain the itchy trigger finger of a devilish, warmongering Congress.  But, press statements coming from the White House at the time, show Bush leading the charge to war.  So, I doubt that Rove’s latest spin will do more than provide fresh material for comedy writers when they return to work.

            I should, however, apologize to Geraldine for using her trademark “the-Devil-made-me-do-it” line to describe Rove’s latest presidential cover-up.  At least, Geraldine took pride in her sincerity.  With a toss of the head, she’d declare, “What you see, is what you get.” 

            What a contrast to the Bush White House, where you seldom see the truth and you never know what you’re going to get next.