Robert Gates, The Confirmation Hearings, And The Democrats' Response

Was I the only one who sat aghast that the Democrats practically kissed Robert Gates, Bush's chosen successor to Donald Rumsfeld at the Department of Defense/Pentagon and a man formerly tied to the many evils of Iran-Contra? [See the Maureen Dowd column I quoted from earlier.]

I certainly did not find Gates the great "refreshing" "breath of fresh air" and "honest man" that the Dems did.

I don't get it. I simply do not.

And I got positively nauseated when I heard Gates keep saying how he was making a "major sacrifice", that he would give up a much more lucrative position just to serve his country.

Right. That's why Rumsfeld is so much richer today than he is when he left Bechtel to destroy both Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as our military.

Give me a freakin' break. Gates is taking the job because he will make out like a bandit, both directly and through sweetheart deals and kickbacks he will receive both now and after.

The only ones undercompensated at The Pentagon are the men and women sent into the line of fire - and the Afghans and Iraqis who get handed $100 or $200 whenever we wipe out their house or their families.

That is criminal.