Seeing Patterns

Bush, Clarke and A Shred of Doubt

Richard Cohen points out this morning that the treatment of Richard Clarke after he went public with his misgivings about the Bush Administration's handling of the war on terror is strikingly similar to the way Paul O'Neill was treated after the book containing his own allegations was published. Both have been branded as fools by a variety of folks at the White House, using whatever rhetoric can discredit the accuser, regardless of truth.

Meanwhile, E.J. Dionne, Jr., hashes out the argument against Justice Scalia. His refusal to recuse should be an election issue; after all, isn't he the man after whom Bush said he'd like to pattern his nominees for judgeships? In light of Scalia's blindness to his own biases, that seems like a frightening notion.