Answer to the Schmidt and Falsani Questions

Good blogger and superb contributor to this and other blogs Bob in PF answered the John Schmidt question right away. I wondered what Schmidt had said in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary. Bob quotes the former associate attorney general, Daley chief-of-staff and Democratic candidate for attorney general in 2002 as saying that Bush has a right to pursue his present course on surveillance basis the Constitution. Schmidt took a swipe at John Dean who called for censure by quoting Ed Levi, former president of the University of Chicago and attorney general under Ford , saying that Levi had to clean up the mess the Nixonian’s (implying Dean) had made. Bob in PF is in support of Dean, for Bush censure and likely impeachment which I don’t buy but his well-researched response in Comments is superb. That’s what I call fast work and creditable, too, Bob listing the source.

Anyhow, it verifies the hunch I had that the reason Schmidt’s views weren’t publicized in the New York Times and Sun-Times is that they were not consistent with the papers’ partisan direction. The fact that Schmidt is a Chicagoan, was Daley’s chief of staff, associate AG, ex-Dem candidate and cites the only Chicagoan to be AG, Levi, cuts no ice with Ms. Sweet because the views don’t conform to current liberal Democratic policies. If we had a Republican paper in town, it would have printed Schmidt. But that’s another story.

And the very impressive Frederich March who has written so well and effectively in Comments, supplies the fact that Cathleen Falsani was reared Catholic but is one no longer, having written with some bitterness about her early experience in Catholicism. She did go to Assumption Church (which I attended years ago before it turned trendy) for ashes on Ash Wednesday—and also mentioned a friend’s observance of Lent by dancing in her living room to U2’s “Yahweh.” Yep, that sounds like Falsani. Helps a lot. Thanks!