Blowing Off Steam

by digby

It’s probably overkill for me to post about this hour long Pamela Atlas Shrugs “interview” with John Bolton since so many others have already commented. But I thought it was worthwhile to emphasize something about it that Glenn Greenwald mentioned in passing. This interview was done last Saturday. Does everyone remember what was going on last Saturday?

Masood Haider from UN adds: Kofi Annan announced on Saturday night that he had been in touch with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon and that both had agreed that the end of fighting would take effect at 8 am Monday in Lebanon and Israel.

“I am happy to announce that the two leaders have agreed that the cessation of hostilities and the end of the fighting will enter into force on Aug 14, at 0500 hours GMT,” Mr Annan said in a statement released here.

It wasn’t just an ordinary day. It was the day when the ceasefire was being finalized. And while I understand that he was probably still stinging from having had his ass handed to him by the French, it was still inappropriate to give an hour long interview with a psychotic fawning righwing blogger who asked him questions like this:

Pamela: So much faith in the Lebanese government I do not understand. A puppet of Syria, who is a puppet of Iran. Iran is Barzini here. You see the Godfather? Okay? So a question about it. Who props up that government? I mean if the Israeli, if the IDF, which is, although when I was in Israel, I gotta tell you, a bunch of baby-faced kids. I know they’re always portrayed in the media with Darth Vader helmets and the Israeli war machine. I’m telling you, the cutest kids ever. But if they couldn’t contain, and I think there’s an element of that that no one really wants to talk about. I wonder how much the US government was surprised that Israel didn’t go in, bing-bang-boom, and knock these suckers out. Forget about Israel for a second, even though it’s difficult for me, right and wrong, good and evil, and all that. Let’s discuss real politics, shall we? It’s in America’s best interest that Hezbollah be eliminated. I mean this is not just Israel’s problem. You know who Hezbollah is. You know where they are. So I think there was an element of surprise. Do I think it’s Olmert’s weakness? I do. Did I campaign wildly for Bibi? I did. Do I have a vote? I don’t. So I think Israel also, you know it’s interesting, when I was in Israel, you could see the country was in short of like a shock, like a 9/11 shock. Here they had banked so much on land for peace and peace, even this sh–, even a bad peace, sorry about that, John, is better than a good war, so to speak, although I don’t subscribe to that. I understand that the current, modern civilization does, to which they’re going to pay dearly, but that’s besides the point. Such stock we’re putting in the Lebanese government, who is totally kowtowing to Hezbollah. You put every remark by the crying Siniora, I mean, another Godfather moment. You remember Godfather, Frank Sinatra, it was supposed to be Frank Sinatra, he’s crying, you’re godfather. Same thing happens, somebody slap him. So how could you have so much faith in the Lebanon government? I mean, I want to believe, John. I believe in you. I want to believe.

It might be worthwhile to see if Chris Matthews or CNN are interested in this story. Pamela would be more than happy to go on television, I’m sure, and explain how she got an exclusive interview with the US Ambassador to the UN right in the middle of the biggest crisis of his tenure. It would be a fascinating story.

The last I heard, we were shy one vote for a filibuster. I think we all have noticed that appointments cannot be derailed on substance. A nominee can be a raving lunatic with a Nazi paper trail a mile long and they will still get through. A person will only be defeated or withdraw if the charge is trivial and easy to understand.

This could be it. Pamela is beyond crazy and this is actually the second interview, I believe, with her idol John Bolton (with whom she seems to have a rather odd familiarity.) I think she would look very fetching in a blue dress.

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