This is part of an exchange between Chris Wallace and Senator Jay Rockefeller on Fox News Sunday...
WALLACE: Senator Rockefeller, the President says that Democratic critics, like you, looked at pre-war intelligence and came to the same conclusion that he did. In fact, looking back at the speech that you gave in October of 2002 in which you authorized the use of force, you went further than the President ever did. Let's watch.
SEN. ROCKEFELLER (October 10, 2002): "I do believe that Iraq poses an imminent threat, but I also believe that after September 11th, that question is increasingly outdated."
WALLACE: Now, the President never said that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat. As you saw, you did say that. If anyone hyped the intelligence, isn't it Jay Rockefeller?
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: No.
Now in all fairness, this isn't the totality of his response. Essentially, he argued that he wasn't getting the same level of intelligence that Bush was.
Soooo, how does that explain that he, not Bush, was the one saying the threat was imminent?
WALLACE…and yet you, not the President, said that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat.
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: Chris, there's always the same conversation. You know it was not the Congress that sent 135,000 or 150,000 troops.
WALLACE: But you voted, sir, and aren't you responsible for your vote?
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: No.
WALLACE: You're not?
You have to love this. ' I'm a senator, and I vote, but I'm not responsible for the votes I cast, especially if it goes against the lie I'm telling you now...'
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: No. I'm responsible for my vote, but I'd appreciate it if you'd get serious about this subject, with all due respect....
OK, so he at least acknowledges that he voted for military action against Saddam, but wants Chris Wallace to get serious about it. I guess there's something more serious than voting to authorize troops in harm's way, or just flat-out disavowing what you yourself said about Saddam as an imminent threat leading up to the war.
Holy moly...
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