It took Congress a week to hold hearings about Nipplegate. Vince Guerrieri wonders why America's more pressing issues like 9/11 and Iraq took so much longer to get that far.
Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.
--Mark Twain
Well, our federal representatives seem to be busying themselves this time of year.
A few (U.S. Rep Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards) are vying for the Democratic nomination for President. It’s an election year for all 435 representatives and one-third of Senators.
Inbetween, some of them are actually trying to get work done.
Congress is holding hearings about the Super Bowl halftime show, Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. All three involve different kinds of intelligence failures. We had no inkling of a terrorist attack, and some of us didn’t even believe it until the second plane smashed into the second World Trade Tower. We went to war with Iraq for reasons that at best are difficult to prove and at worst are flat-out lies. And there was definitely a lapse in judgment on the Super Bowl halftime show, produced by MTV and including various violations of good taste.
Heads will probably roll as a result of the hearings on the Super Bowl halftime show. The NFL has already swore that MTV won’t be allowed to produce another halftime show ever again. But the results probably won’t be as clear-cut for the Iraq and 9/11 hearings.
In case you missed the halftime show and the ad nauseum rehashings, Kid Rock wore an American flag, Nelly gyrated and grabbed his crotch while urging people to take off their clothes, and in the piece de resistance, Justin Timberlake reached over and ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s top, exposing her right breast, nicely accessorized with a nipple medallion.
Of course, I found the halftime show particularly offensive, but only because it involved Timberlake and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. I sing Sinatra in the office and I get made fun of. He samples Led Zeppelin and the Police and gets to sleep with Jennifer Lopez.
But what I find even more offensive is that while Congress, in its hoary wisdom, is willing to throw the book at CBS, MTV and Viacom, bigger crimes are being let go. When I read Howard Cosell’s autobiography, I Never Played the Game, I scoffed at the idea he had that the National Football League is the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. Now, I believe him. Paul Tagliabue got hearings within a week on Janet, Justin and the rest of the mess.
It took more than a year for President Bush to sign a law creating the 9/11 Commission. The commission has since interviewed more than 200 people and held public hearings. Its findings should be released by Aug. 25, 2004, a scant two weeks before the Gallant Old Party uses the death of 3,000 people for its own gain, holding the Republican National Convention in New York City, later than usual to coincide with the 3rd anniversary of Sept. 11.
Congressional hearings on Iraq will probably not be finished before Election Day, which will rob an irate public of the opportunity to be able to vote against Bush for a clear-cut, rational reason, instead of the knee-jerk distaste he now inspires.
We invaded Iraq and quickly deposed the government. President Bush went so far as to say “Mission Accomplished.” More Americans have died since then in Iraq than during the actual war. Not to be outdone, Bush said, “Bring ‘em on,” about threats of terrorism and insurgency in Iraq. The ancient Greeks called that hubris.
If you remember, we went to war because of an imminent (well, not imminent, but you know what I mean) threat by Iraq to have weapons of mass destruction, as well as a link between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. The second charge might have some merit, although there has been no indication that Iraq aided in the planning or execution of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. The first charge, thus far, does not. After ignoring the United Nations’ report that they couldn’t find weapons of mass destruction, the United States invaded the country, deposed the government and found…no weapons of mass destruction!
Of course, they blame Bill Clinton for this. Come to think of it, Bill Clinton’s also being blamed for 9/11. But blame’s like fertilizer…it has to be spread around equally. Clinton might have thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, but he sure didn’t go to war over it. Clinton might have allowed Osama bin Laden to become a threat, but he certainly benefited from the guns and money he got from the Reagan administration…come to think of it, so did Saddam Hussein.
But heads will roll because Janet Jackson showed one breast during a Super Bowl halftime show.
I haven’t decided if this is a sign of America’s Puritanical preoccupation with the pleasures of the flesh, or a willful misdirection of our attention. Either way, I don’t like it.