Ok, the point of this is not to get into an argument over this, I am simply seeing how overall Hatrack feels about Richard Clarke.
My personal vote: He's a man who is simply trying to publicise his book, I also think that he has one of the largest ego's I have ever seen, seriously the guy is a egomanianc!
Your opinion?
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
...What you said
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Richard Clarke is an egomananiac
This can change as soon as you vote.
Posted by lauraah (Member # 1930) on :
I think that he's a personal stooge for the Clintons. Electing him would be no different than electing the Clintons.
:-) Laura :-)
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Stationary, three votes to zero
Psssst, Bravo you two!
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
I think he's got some important things to say, and its unlikely he's an egomaniac since he takes blame onto himself as much as putting it on the bush administration.
Posted by Brian J. Hill (Member # 5346) on :
Make it four votes to zero.
Add opinion that he's unfortunately typical of most lifetime Washington political appointees.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Four to One, Clarke is a egomaniac.
Additional Points Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book
Dissenting Opinion: Important things to say, not Egomaniac.
[ April 01, 2004, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
Maybe an egomaniac. Definitely telling the truth.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Five to One, Clarke is a egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book
Dissenting Opinion: Important things to say, not Egomaniac
Additional Opinion: Telling Truth
[ April 01, 2004, 04:35 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
His apology was so contrived, it made me sick. Egomoniac who has the publics best interest far from his mind. Of course, I need to read the whole book, not excerpts. But his interviews made me feel ill.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Six to One, Clarke is a egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick
Dissenting Opinion: Important things to say, not Egomaniac
Additional Opinion: Telling Truth
[ April 01, 2004, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Not egomaniac. *laugh*
Wow, Rhaegar. This thread combines the most brainless aspects of Internet polling with all the exciting recap aspects of a popularity contest.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Six to Two, Clarke is a Egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick
Dissenting Opinion: Important Things to Say, Not Egomaniac, Poll Stupid, Popularity Contest, Telling Truth
[ April 01, 2004, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
*raises hand*
Poll Stupid.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Anyone seen the ELECTION sketch by Monty Python with the Silly Party and Moderately Silly Party and the Very Silly Party?
Reminds me of that.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Six to Two, Clarke is a Egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick
Dissenting Opinion: Important Things to Say, Not Egomaniac, Poll Stupid, Popularity Contest, Telling Truth
Additional Opinion: Something Reminds Viewer of Monty Python Sketch
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Sweet. I have a voice.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Six to Two, Clarke is a Egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick
Dissenting Opinion: Important Things to Say, Not Egomaniac, Poll Stupid, Popularity Contest, Telling Truth
Additional Opinion: Something Reminds Viewer of Monty Python Sketch, Viewer Has Voice
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
I only see 5 "egomaniac" votes, if you're counting my "maybe".
So please place my "telling truth" opinion in the "additional by majority" column.
Geez, if it's going to be a stupid poll, at least make it accurate.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
I believe Frisco you missed the Laura post, this is being counted as an Egomaniac vote. And your Telling Truth comment is not a vote agreed upon by other majority voters, it counts as a discention.
[ April 01, 2004, 04:59 PM: Message edited by: Rhaegar The Fool ]
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
No, frisco is right. You moved the counter up to 5 after his maybe.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
She said five if you count her maybe, I was counting her maybe AND the laura post hence the six.
Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
Yes, you counted his maybe as an "egomaniac" but you did NOT count his joint opionion under your "additional opinions added by majority."
Either the count should be at 5, or the rest of frisco's comments should be under "additional opinions added by majority"
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
So you're saying everything in the "Added by majority" column is agreed on by the majority? Are you just assuming this?
And, no, there are only 5 "egomaniac" votes.
Laura said nothing about his ego.
You're fired.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Very well, so it shall be written.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
His egotism is unimportant. Judging from the news today, Rice, on behalf of the administration, was scheduled to give a speech on the importance of missile defense on Sept. 11th.
I watched Clarke field questions for an hour on TV last Sunday. The guy is good. Really unflappable. It's pretty obvious the administration wasn't paying as much attention to Al Qaeda as they should have, and an argument could be made that the previous administration could have done better as well.
The more pertinent questions, IMO, are those that relate to how appropriate the administration's policies have been since Sept. 11th.
And there are probably almost as many opinions on that as there are people on Hatrack.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Five to Two, Clarke is a Egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority Voters: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick, Telling Truth
Dissenting Opinion: Important Things to Say, Not Egomaniac, Poll Stupid, Popularity Contest
Additional Opinion: Something Reminds Viewer of Monty Python Sketch, Viewer Has Voice, Clarke is a Clinton Puppet
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
So are we debating whether or not Clarke is an egomaniac, or whether or not he's telling the truth? Or, whether or not he's telling the truth and various administrations can be blamed?
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Current Hatrack Opinion: Five to Two, Clarke is a Egomaniac.
Additional Opinions Added By Majority Voters: Typical Washington Career Employee, Out to Publicise Book, Interviews Make Viewer Sick, Publics Best Interest Far From Mind, Apology Contrived Made Viewer Sick, Telling Truth
Dissenting Opinion: Important Things to Say, Not Egomaniac, Poll Stupid, Popularity Contest
Additional Opinion: Something Reminds Viewer of Monty Python Sketch, Viewer Has Voice, Clarke is a Clinton Puppet, Clarke is Unflappable, Not Enough Attention Payed to Terrorism Prior
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
The poll is about the ego, the other opion spaces are for basically anything you want to say connected to the issue.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
I'm out for a while, feel free to keep up updating for me.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
My opinion is that due to relative isolation and predominance in the world during the 90's, most administrations pretty much ignored foreign policy and paid attention to domestic matters in order to get re-elected.
IE: At the time, no one cared about what was going on in other places in the world, and if we heard that Clinton or Bush was paying our money on what would have probably been construed as "fruitless" peacekeeping, there would've been a public outcry. There DEFINITELY would've been an outcry if we had actually gone after Al Quaeda after the embassy bombing.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I question the motives of anyone who claims in 2002 that Bush was doing a fantastic job and then claims in an election year that Bush is doing an awful job.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Does it make a difference if that person is WORKING for Bush in 2002, and criticizing policy extensively in private?
Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
Not egomaniac.
He's a man who was doing his job by making his boss look good in 2002, and who is now able to tell the truth since he no longer works for Bush.
There's not really any reason to think otherwise about him, unless you're just looking for an excuse to invalidate his claims.
[ April 01, 2004, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: Xaposert ]
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Does Clarke have an Ego--Yes.
Is it large-- YEs.
Is he an Egomaniac? No. Not to the point of being legally insane or such.
Is he telling the truth? Yes, as far as he remembers it.
Is he as big of a whistle blower as the media has made him out to be? No.
He said that "The President considered terrorism an important priority, not an urgent one until 9/11." Truthfully, who in the US considered terrorism an Urgent issue before 9/11.
Is he a Democratic Stooge? No. He worked hard and long for President Bush Senior and Ronald Reagan long before he worked for Bill Clinton.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Who's lying Clarke or the DubyaAdministration which refuses to present clarifying documents to the PresidentialCommission?
[ April 02, 2004, 01:09 AM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Anyone remember the first episode of the Lone Gunmen? And do you remember the main plot of the episode was that the government was going to crash a passenger plane into the twin towers in order to gain more defense funding?
Weird, isn't it?
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
[ April 02, 2004, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
I didn't listen to everything Clarke said, but he totally schooled that Republican dude who asked him which was true — the book or the memo
[gets news from the Daily Show]
Posted by Daedalus (Member # 1698) on :
Heh.
Isn't it charming how Republicans as a group resort to name-calling -- who cares if Clarke's egotistical? -- when Bush's corruption and incompetence are called into question?
Honestly, are you so out of options to respond to Clarke's accurate charges that you need to defame the man behind the truth in order to get Bush off the hook for his own failures?
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
Daedelus, I am not polling whether or not he's telling the truth, I'm simply asking if others agree that he has a huge ego.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Out of interest, Rhaegar, which is more important to you: whether he's telling the truth, or whether he has a huge ego?
Posted by IdemosthenesI (Member # 862) on :
quote: Ok, the point of this is not to get into an argument over this, I am simply seeing how overall Hatrack feels about Richard Clarke.
My personal vote: He's a man who is simply trying to publicise his book, I also think that he has one of the largest ego's I have ever seen, seriously the guy is a egomanianc!
This is not a poll about his ego. It simply became that once it started to look like we believe Clarke has told the truth. As for his press briefing in 2002 summer, if your boss told you to go talk to the press on company time after a major catastrophe as a company spokesman I sincerely hope you wouldn't go out and say "It is the fault of the administration of this company. I feel this catastrophe could have been averted had it not been for their incompetence." You wouldn't have a job anymore. It was Clarke's opinion, and I tend to sympathize, that a press briefing was not worth his job of thirty years when clearly the nation would be better served by having him in government.
As for being a democrat stooge, under oath before the 9-11 commission he adressed this charge by calling attention to the fact that he was under oath and then saying he will not accept any post in the Kerry administration if one is offered.
As for his charges, they seem rather difficult to answer. Maybe that's why people are more concerned about his book and his press briefing.
Make my vote for "telling the truth" "not an egomaniac"
By the by, when you decided that "Maybe an egomaniac. Definitely telling the truth" sounded more like an expression of support than an indictment, why didn't you add it to the Clarke supporter tally?
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
In Clarke's 60 Minutes interview, he couldn't seem to look at either the camera or the interviewer when responding to questions.
It could have been shame for revealing secrets, but I just got this feeling of dishonesty from him.
I don't know for sure if what he said was the truth or not, but his body language, lack of any eye contact and this, I don't know how to put it but, shifty weasel-like aura, made me want to turn away from him and not listen, whether what he said was truth, lies or some muddy mix.
I'm just going to lump him in with that group of folks in the grey, teflon-coated suits, that seem to be leaching the life out of our society.
Posted by IdemosthenesI (Member # 862) on :
I actually only saw his testimony before the 9-11 commission.
Oh. And the interview on the Daily Show, but I don't know if that really counts.
Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
Sopwith,
And I think Ender's Game is a dumb book, because it has a cheesy cover...
[ April 02, 2004, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: Xaposert ]
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
I didn't say I could tell a liar by the look, but I can tell a man I wouldn't blindly trust pretty quickly.
I didn't make a statement as to whether he had told the truth or not, but just one about the "men in the gray suits."
Your assumption was that I made a claim to him lying, but I didn't. I do, however, classify him with the blame-shifters, the rapacious, the half-truth bakers that seem to run things on both side of the electoral fence and much of our business world today.
Perhaps it's pretty easy even for his supporters to jump to the idea that he could be lying. He gave me nothing to make me want to listen to him, no sense of earnest, no sense of indignation, no sense of pride.
Posted by UTAH (Member # 5032) on :
Maybe twisting and stretching the truth. Definitely trying to sell his book. What does he have to be an egomaniac about, anyway?
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