It was a pleasant surprise to see the press pick up on the controversy over Condoleezza Rice doing campaign work on Bush’s behalf, an unprecedented step for a national security advisor. I don’t think the White House has thought the story through, however, because their spin doesn’t make any sense.
Dems turned up the heat on the story yesterday after the Washington Post scoop started gaining traction.
Democrats charged yesterday that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had politicized her traditionally nonpartisan job, after revelations that Rice has recently traveled widely to make speeches in battleground states.
Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked a special counsel to investigate whether Rice has violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from engaging in political activities while on the job. Conyers said in a letter to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel that “any political activity on the part of the National Security Adviser would undermine the trust bestowed on such a non-partisan post.”
The facts are pretty clear here. Rice didn’t travel to any swing states before the campaign season — indeed, she rarely left DC — but all of a sudden, she’s traveling to nine battleground states in less than two months. If I’m in the White House communications office, the correct spin is that the NSA is entitled to make political appearances on the president’s behalf and just because her predecessors didn’t do it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. There are no ethical, legal, or campaign regulations, they could argue, to prohibit any of Rice’s political appearances.
But that’s not the defense the White House came up with. Instead, true to form, the Bush gang simply denied reality again.
Dems argued that Rice should stay off the campaign trail — and the White House argued Rice is staying off the campaign trail.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan defended Rice, saying she is being “accessible to the American people to talk about” national security issues.
No, no, no. I know these guys are big on the whole “create your own reality” game, but if the Washington Post details exactly how political Rice has become, it doesn’t make any sense to pretend otherwise, especially when there’s a better spin available.
Rice isn’t just being “accessible”; she’s obviously campaigning. There’s an argument to be made that this isn’t that bad, but the White House prefers not to make it. Kerry’s message that these guys are out of touch with reality gets reinforced every day.
In related news, The American Prospect’s Garance Franke-Ruta had a terrific observation about this yesterday. She remembered that conservatives argued earlier this year that Rice shouldn’t be bothered with the inconveniences of helping the 9/11 Commission because — you guessed it — she had far better things to do with her time. David Brooks, for example, argued in April:
These are the crucial months in Iraq. The events in Najaf and Falluja will largely determine whether Iraq will move toward normalcy or slide into chaos.
So how is Washington responding during this pivotal time? Well, for about three weeks the political class was obsessed by Richard Clarke and the hearings of the 9/11 commission, and, therefore, events that occurred between 1992 and 2001. Najaf was exploding, and Condoleezza Rice had to spend the week preparing for testimony about what may or may not have taken place during the presidential transition.
If Rice was too busy helping monitor international crises in April to speak with the 9/11 Commission, why is she free to make multiple campaign appearances in swing states now? Is her schedule suddenly clear?
Indeed, KE04 reinforced the argument that an NSA would be better off actually working instead of making campaign stops, particularly considering current events.
* On Same Day Rice Gave a Political Speech In Ohio, U.S. Military Conducted Operations Against Zarqawi. [LAT, 10/16/04]
* On Same Day Rice Gave a Political Speech In Ohio, Poland Announced It Would Be Pulling Troops From Iraq. [LAT, 10/16/04]
* On Same Day Rice Gave a Political Speech In North Carolina, U.S. Was Accused of Doling Out Hundreds of Millions In Unaccountable Iraqi Projects. [AP, 10/14/04]
* On Same Day Rice Gave a Political Speech In Ohio, Europeans Negotiated With Iran To End Nuclear Program. [LAT, 10/16/04]
Sounds like somebody should care more about doing her job and less about keeping it. In theory, one should take care of the other.