TNR's Jason Zengerle on the long over-due "Saudi-gate" brouhaha initiated by that Newsweek article:
As any connoisseur of the Sunday shows knows, guests and discussion topics are determined days in advance of the actual shows. Usually by Friday afternoon, the weekend's lineups are set. But when news breaks, the shows must adjust accordingly. This weekend's report from Newsweek about possible Saudi government financing of two of the 9/11 terrorists certainly qualified as news--and the Sunday shows responded with alacrity, adding guests and shifting focus. The Bush administration, on the other hand, was not so agile--and their silence on the Saudi story spoke volumes...By begging off this week's Sunday shows, the Bush administration managed to avoid having to answer these questions right away. But laying low has its downside--namely, the Bushies have now allowed Lieberman and others to frame the debate, and when the administration finally does get around to addressing the Saudi matter, it will be forced to do it on the terms that Lieberman and the others have set. It's not like the White House to cede the initiative when it comes to public relations; but, in this instance, the Bushies have opted for the extra time because, in the matter of the Saudis and 9/11, the administration has apparently concluded it is dealing with an extremely volatile situation. Based on what we saw today, there's no reason to believe they're wrong about that.
Aside from the actual content of this story (the details of which are very nearly as significant as they're cracked up to be-- the overall issue incalculably so) it's also fascinating from a political stagecraft angle. Watching it play out is something else. It's like a movie, a morality play about political hubris and the pundits who love it. The Republican army is utterly victorious in the Glorious Midterm Elections, its foes nothing more than mangled chunks scattered across the battlefield. The victors retire to the palace for a grand feast and celebration. They fought bravely, and the defeat was so decisive that everyone is certain their benevolent rule will endure, unchallenged in any serious way by the defeated enemy, till the end of time. We hear the sound of the cheering of a great crowd: it's the Emergent Republican Majority proclaiming that they will never vote for anyone else ever again. The audience expects the credits to roll...
and then...
...we see Joe Lieberman's hand, groping in the bloody snow, for what, we know not. Suddenly, the hand alights upon a copy of Newsweek, which seems to be shining with an unearthly inner light. With tremendous effort and visible pain, Lieberman arises and trudges towards the palace, holding the magazine aloft. The crowd of rabble who had, in a previous scene, been triumphantly exchanging their betting markers for crumpled wads of cash are now shown handing back the cash to the other crowd of rabble; some are tearing the markers up, some gazing upon them wistfully. The Republicans refuse to come out of the palace, recognizing the potential power of Lieberman's makeshift amulet... and in the distance, we see the massing hordes of the more dangerous, common enemy, preparing for battle...
I don't know how the movie ends. Saudi-gate won't solve all of the Democrats' problems. It will be tricky to use it effectively, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they can't manage it. But it is a real issue, upon which Bush himself is extremely vulnerable. And it's not going to go away.
Frankly, I don't much care about the political sweepstakes. I'm just glad the issue is finally being raised. Whatever happens, we learn, once again: it ain't over till it's over. And even then, well, you never know.
Posted by Dr. Frank at November 25, 2002 11:54 AM | TrackBack