I'M NOT WATCHING WOODWARD ON 60 MINUTES TONIGHT

...because of the paper mentioned in the previous post.

However, I have to post this bit from CBS's recounting, via O-Dub and Jesse. Emphasis added:

But, it turns out, two days before the president told Powell, Cheney and Rumsfeld had already briefed Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador.

"Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, 'Top secret. No foreign.' No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this," says Woodward.

"They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar. And so Bandar, who's skeptical because he knows in the first Gulf War we didn't get Saddam out, so he says to Cheney and Rumsfeld, 'So Saddam this time is gonna be out, period?'" And Cheney who has said nothing says the following: "Prince Bandar, once we start, Saddam is toast."

After Bandar left, according to Woodward, Cheney said, "I wanted him to know that this is for real. We're really doing it."

But this wasn't enough for Prince Bandar, who Woodward says wanted confirmation from the president. "Then, two days later, Bandar is called to meet with the president and the president says, 'Their message is my message'" says Woodward.

Prince Bandar enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election -- to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day.

Kyle's mom, do you have any comment?


"Wha-wha-WHAAAAA!?!?"

This is one of those times when a sentence that begins "Imagine if Clinton had..." becomes the catalyst for a brief yet forceful meeting of forehead and table.

Bush devoted a great many positive words in his speech/Q&A last tuesday to the prospect of a democratic Iraq. Yet from this revelation, it's pretty damn clear what he thinks of democracy here in America.

You'd think that after Florida he'd . . . actually scratch that, you wouldn't think.

UPDATE: Jesse has some more thoughts.

The darkly insinuated (and stated) reason for offense at Kerry's "foreign leaders" remark was that Kerry was going to somehow sell out our national security for their support, that he'd promised them things if they'd just do things to support his presidential run.

Bush has done exactly that.