Crusty CNN commentator Jack Cafferty had a "Live Chat" on The Huffington Post on Wednesday, and he sounded like a regular HuffPost blogger, charging that Bush lied us into war to enrich his friends, and never wants America to leave: "I don't think President Bush ever had any intention of leaving Iraq. I think we have been lied to about that the same way we were lied to about WMD. Military bases are under construction all over the country including one on the Iran-Iraq border." Cafferty also agreed with a questioner complaining about how the "good concepts" of "Kucinich, Paul, Richardson, and Gravel" are ignored by the media, and suggested the country needs publicly-funded political campaigns, but it will never happen.
The typical Bush-buried-3,000-troops-for-his-rich-friends line tumbled out this way:
Barbara asks: Would really like to get at the real reason we went into Iraq. We know there were no WMD and there was absolutely no connection between Saddam and al Qaeda. So let's get to the real reason or reasons this bunch of Neocons trumped up a bunch of lies to get us there and seems determined to keep us there.
Cafferty says: In my humble opinion the Bush administration used 9/11 as an excuse to start the war in Iraq. People make a lot of money during wartime... $600 billion we've spent there so far.... and a lot of that money has gone to friends of the administration. And of course there is all that oil. I don't think for a single second there was anything honorable about the decision to invade a sovereign country. They had nothing to do with 9/11 and had done nothing to the United States. But hey... what do I know?
The question about Kucinich and Gravel being underreported policy geniuses looked like this:
Ron asks: Hi Jack, love what you do on TV! Why does the media ignore the good concepts, ideas, and actions of presidential candidates such as Kucinich, Paul, Richardson, and Gravel, while pumping never ending images and sound bites from the likes of Obama, Clinton, Guiliani, and Romney. Since when does the amount of money in a guy's pocket mean their ideas are any better? Can they really buy intellect like they would a counterfeit term paper?
Cafferty says: I couldn't agree more. That is exactly why we need public funding of campaigns. That way everyone would be equal and the ideas would make the ultimate difference. But it will never happen. The politicians are much too used to their lavish lifestyles paid for by wealthy contributors who then come and ask for their payback once their candidate is safely ensconced in office. The system stinks!
Finally, this exchange was weird, perhaps a failed attempt at humor:
Manuel asks: Well, as long as we're advertising this book, why not advertise "Broken Government" by Mr. John Dean? With all due respect to Mr. Cafferty, he really knows what he's talking about.
Cafferty says: Never heard of him.
As Brent Baker reported in the Cyber Alert a while back, Cafferty cited Dean as an expert who wisely saw the need for Bush to be impeached.
