Straw Man Made of Brass

Well, it seems that the true issues surrounding General Hayden have been replaced successfully by ones that no one, in the end, will care about. Note this Washington Post piece, which goes over the strategy of having a military man versus a civilian at the helm of the CIA: Experts See a Strategy Behind CIA Shuffle.

That’s hardly what Americans should care about. I doubt that 1% of the public cares whether he wears an Air Force uniform or a grey suit. The serious policy wonks can dig in and get mighty indignant about it, but that “liberal elite” won’t sway many. And that’s why the issue made for a perfect straw man. By focusing on something that will be rebutted easily, we fail to see how getting Hayden will be like baring our teeth to the force of a brass knuckle punch.

Hayden was the architect of the warrantless surveillance program that Bush should probably be impeached for. When he was asked about the fourth amendment issues about undue search, he delivered a lecture to the reporter about constitutional law that was, well, completely wrong.

What Americans have to ask themselves is whether they should let this unpopular President have his way with our civil liberties one last time. Will this fix anything? Or will it simply get someone at the CIA who Bush can “strategerize” with while fishing around for the giant perch story that will make his presidency immortal—if only in his own eyes?