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From the way Bush has been acting, a rational person must draw the conclusion that he is afraid of what the commission may unearth. For months he was against the idea of a commission. After he finally agreed, he appointed Kissinger, a consummate liar like himself, to lead it. When that did not work, he appointed Thomas Kean and the other members. He limited the commission's contact with himself. Clinton era papers were held back with the usual excuse of "national security." He insisted the Final Report be done by May; only tremendous pressure from Democrats and Republicans made him postpone the Report to July.
I guess Bush figured he could control, if not the commission itself, its public report. But then Paul O'Neill told all of us that the Bush administration was discussing war with Iraq and not with Al Qaeda. Dick Clarke came along and testified before the commission that before 9/11, nobody heeded his advice that Al Qaeda was a threat; officials were concentrating on Iraq. Clarke further made the damaging statement that the Iraq War is reducing our capability to fight terrorism. Now John Dean is saying that what Bush did - lied to the public in order to start a war with Iraq - is worse than what Nixon had done in the Watergate scandal. At least nobody died as a result of Nixon's scandal, whereas Bush is bringing about the deaths of thousands.
Bush and his Republican political executors hurled denunciations at Clarke. They did not answer his charges. They fiercely fired venom at him. Nothing worked. They were surprised. They could not understand why their old tricks, which were successful in the past, no longer worked. The public believed Dick Clarke.
Condoleezza Rice, who had been running from media to media like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming at Dick Clarke, will finally testify before the commission under oath this Thursday. And the commander-and-chief will answer 9/11-commision questions in private. He will be accompanied by Dick Cheney. I presume this will allow the 2 of them to give the same story.
Conditions are becoming a little too hot for Bush. But don't worry. There still is a way out: Make sure the Final Report is not done before Election Day. According to Thomas Kean, there is no guarantee that the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission will be published before the elections in November. You see, the White House must vet every word in the report - and vetting is a very long process.
Bush believes that no news from the 9/11 commission is good news for him. He is in for a surprise when he finds out the public disagrees.
