Aces and Eights
for release 07-17-05
Washington D.C.
Poker players know what a "tell' is. It's a little gesture or mannerism that a player will display when he is bluffing or when he has a pat hand. He may rub his nose or tap his fingers or play with his chips. A seasoned gambler can always find his opponent's tell.
Besides being one of the most obnoxious and persistent liars and twisters that I've ever observed, Ken Mehlman, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee has a tell. When he is uttering a particularly heinous lie, his right cheek sort of balloons out. He's blowing so much hot air that his cheek muscles can't contain it. I know that if you have ever seen him speak you have observed this.
Sunday morning's Meet the Press offered a great example of Mr. Mehlman's tell. His cheek popped out regularly as he tried to mouth the preposterous notion that Karl Rove had been "exonerated, not implicated" by this week's revelations in the matter of the Plame outing. This completely contravenes the facts, as anybody who is not legally blind can see. Rove obviously and clearly passed on classified information to members of the press. For two years this administration has been making public statements concerning this investigation but now the White House wants to stonewall on the topic. That should tell any reasonably aware person that there is something that they don't want to talk about.
The boys at BushCo are banking on the incredibly short attention span of the American public. They figure that if they just keep mum long enough, that another bombing will occur or a prominent Democrat will be photographed leaving a motel room with his secretary or that Tom Cruise will switch to Islam or something else will happen to command the news cycle and everyone will find the turd blossom topic tiresome and they can go back to business as usual.
This is what they are hoping: When we get down to the minutia of this case, you know, the 'who knew what and when did they know it,' stage of the game, where legalisms become the issue instead of principles, people will become bored with the whole subject and switch the channel to Fear Factor. They are probably right. These people are not stupid, they are simply corrupt.
The reason that they don't want to talk about this whole subject is not fear of having to fry Karl Rove. His resignation would make the whole thing disappear. Then they could simply rehire him as a consultant. Presto, business as usual. No, the can of worms that they don't want opened is whether or not this administration cooked the intelligence that they used as an excuse to propel us into a war that has cost many more lives (American, British, Afghani and Iraqi) than the events of 9/11.
One thing a poker player does not want to be is overconfident. That's when you make mistakes. Perhaps this is why the inevitable comparisons are being made between Plamegate and Watergate. The damaging part is not so much the crime as it is the coverup. Whether or not Karl Rove or any of the White House insiders leaked the identity of a secret agent makes not one whit to me. I think there should be no place for secret agents in a free society. If you are a cop, you should wear a uniform.
Just as I didn't care when I found out that Nixon's boys were trying to bug the DNC offices in the Watergate, I don't care if Rove got loose lipped with a reporter for the purpose of political gain That's business as usual in politics. What was really the issue in Watergate, as it is in this case, is the existence of a culture in the White House characterized by systemic deception and secrecy and arrogance. It doesn't take an investigation to know that this is true.
George Bush has until now in the poker game, possessed most of the chips. His party owns both houses of Congress, The gigantic bluff that is called the War on Terrorism has worked. He enjoys the support of the powerful people who profit from his policies. His little army of syncophants has marched in lock-step and been faithful to the talking points. It's a well oiled machine. He figures he can do anything. Sort of like Richard Nixon.
You know a poker player is in trouble when you see him start to sweat. It's the worst tell that there is. No amount of botox can make Ken Mehlman's cheek stop pooching out or can quell the sheen on Scott McClellan's forehead. This administration is sweating.
The Poet's Eye knows a tell when it sees one. Bushco may have drawn aces and eights this time.
" You could beat the system, you could beat your girl
But who ya gonna beat come the end of the world
Imagine everything you ever worked for, strived for
Suddenly becomin everything your gonna die for
Ace's and eight's
Ace's and eight's
Ace's and eight's
That's a dead man's hand"
--Uncle Kracker
