Tuesday, March 23, 2004
A Very Sad Event
Today, the September 11 Commission begins two days of hearings.0 comments
I just stood and watched ten minutes of Colin Powell's prepared remarks before the Commission.
If that didn't break your heart, nothing can.
- First, it was obvious that he was nervous and ill-at-ease, as he continually stumbled over the reading of his prepared text or misspoke as he attempted to read and connect with the members sitting before him. This is especially odd since Powell is an old hand at testifying before committees. It appeared almost as if he had no say in the preparation of his remarks, had not seen them beforehand or had been given a severe chewing out before heading to the hearing.
- Most heartbreaking, IMHO, is the sad fact that, given his woeful performance before the Security Council of the UN before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the other times he has been thrust into defending in public the very people he has fought most bitterly with in private, gave me the sad realization that I just no longer believed a word that this man who had given so much of his life to his country was saying.
- As if to underscore that assessment, as I was watching Powell read his remarks on the CNN coverage, I noticed the stock prices rotating in the lower right corner. As Powell continued, a decent advance in the market to that point slowly had the air taken out of it: drip, drip, drip, gone.
Sad.
posted by Gotham 11:43 AM
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