Galloway and the mother of all invective

[cal04]

"I know that standards have slipped in Washington in recent years, but for a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice," he told Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who chairs the senate investigations committee, after taking his seat at the front of the high-ceilinged hearing room, and swearing an oath to tell the truth. "I'm here today, but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question."

The culture clash between Mr Galloway's bruising style and the soporific gentility of senate proceedings could hardly have been more pronounced, and drew audible gasps and laughs of disbelief from the audience. "I met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him," Mr Galloway went on. "The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns, and to give him maps the better to target those guns." American reporters seemed as fascinated as the British media: at one point yesterday, before it was his turn to speak, Mr Galloway strode from the room, sending journalists of all nationalities rushing after him - only to discover that he was going to the lavatory.
By condemning him in their report without interviewing him, the senators had already given Mr Galloway the upper hand. But not everything was in his favour. For a start, only two senators were present, sabotaging Mr Galloway's efforts to attack the whole lickspittle lot of them - and one of the two, the Democrat Carl Levin, had spent much of his opening statement attacking the hypocrisy of the US government in allegedly allowing American firms to benefit from Iraqi oil corruption.

Even so, Mr Galloway was in his element, playing the role he relishes the most: the little guy squaring up for a fight with the establishment. For these purposes, Senator Coleman served symbolically to represent all the evil in the world - the entire Republican party, the conscience of George Bush, the US government and the British government, too: no wonder his weak smile looked so nauseous.
"I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq," Mr Galloway told him. "Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong."

And yet for all his anti-establishment credentials, Mr Galloway is as practised as any of his New Labour enemies at squirming away from awkward questions. Under scrutiny by Senator Levin, he deployed a classic example of the bait-and-switch technique that is the government minister's best defence in difficult questioning. But Mr Galloway Goes To Washington had never really been an exercise in clarifying the facts. It was an exercise in giving Norm Coleman, and, by extension, the Bush administration, a black eye - mere days after the bloody nose that the Respect MP took credit for having given Tony Blair. And it went as well as Mr Galloway could have wished.

rest of the article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1486431,00.html

[Inland]

1. "I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell," as Truman said.

Let's work some hell on repuglicans by telling the truth about the war!

[kliljedahl]

2. In other words, he KICKED ASS!!!

If we amend the constitution to allow a person not born here to run for pResident I want it to be for him, not the Gropeinator.

He showed more backbone than any of our Democrats.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Galloway gave out a righteous ass-whuppin'.

And I especially like it that his target was Normie "The Weasel" Coleman, who, to my great dismay, is one of my state's senators. That turkeyf*cker occupies the seat once held by Paul Wellstone, whose dirty socks Normie is not worthy to launder. Nobody deserves Galloway's invective more than The Weasel.

[knowbody0]

4. he's gotten the best

of every one who interviewed him after he skewered the senate

[zoeb]

5. if I lived in Normie's state I would have the "cavalier"

statement on a t-shirt...big shirt for a big statement! lol

[Briar]

6. Typical Bliarite trashing of Galloway

The Indie did a little better - and even the BBC admitted that the Senate Committee hadn't laid a glove on him, while he had landed some canny punches.

The Guardian can't conceal its own sell-out to New Labour when it prints baised drivel like this.

[depakid]

7. To Hitchens: "You're a drink-soaked former Trotskyist popinjay"

ROTFLMAO!

Before the hearing began, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow even had some scorn left over to bestow generously upon the pro-war writer Christopher Hitchens. "You're a drink-soaked former Trotskyist popinjay," Mr Galloway in formed him.

"Your hands are shaking. You badly need another drink," he added later, ignoring Mr Hitchens's questions and staring intently ahead. "And you're a drink-soaked ..." Eventually Mr Hitchens gave up. "You're a real thug, aren't you?" he hissed, stalking away.

[yellowcanine]

8. "popinjay" - a strutting supercilious (patronizingly haughty) person.

Hmm, it was addressed to Hitchins, could have applied to Coleman as well.