The American Spectator

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I normally have to make an effort to steel myself to endure the vaudeville that the 9-11 Commission hearings have become. It has from the start been a flawed vessel, a reality TV farrago focusing on the hindsight burning into its eyes like bright headlamps from behind on a dark highway. The subplot, of course, has been the quasi-sub-rosa efforts of two members, Jamie Gorelick and Richard (“Call Me Pit Bull”) Ben-Veniste, to deflect attention from Clinton administration fecklessness onto the Bush administration, which, because of post-election confusion and confirmation delays, barely had time to become fully operational by 9-11.

My fortitude was rewarded, however, when AG Ashcroft quietly and politely placed a suitcase bomb on the table in front of him and in a most genteel way, calmly reached over, finger extended, and detonated it. No suicide bomber, Mr. Ashcroft had carefully selected an incendiary device designed to disable only the guilty. I hadn’t seen such a priceless moment of hearings theatre since Mr. Butterfield revealed the Nixon tapes at the Watergate hearings.

p>How charming it was to see two attack dogs neutered. Ban Veniste’s encounter with the charter aircraft tar baby was indeed icing on the cake. Bravo to you, Mr. Ashcroft. You have done your President, the commission, and the American people a great service. br> — Frank Stevenson br> Williamsburg, Virginia /p> p> Thanks for the article. I didn’t get to watch the testimony, and I try to stay away from the nightly news. But I do read the papers, and didn’t see anything about that memo anywhere. Keep up the good work. br> — Russ Bader br> Lincoln, Nebraska /p>

Bravo, Mr. Ashcroft! Score one for our side.

p>Now, if someone could blow Mr. Bum-Veniste out of the water in similar fashion, we might just get somewhere!