Was a Sat Night Live script used for planned "Joint 911 apperance?

[papau]

POTUS/VPOTUS unsworn, still-unscheduled joint appearance before the full 9/11 commission will no doubt have many:

"Thank you for that excellent question, Mr. Ben-Veniste. I think Vice President Cheney should probably handle that one... " (as was noted by the ABCNote today!) - -

as they can "correct each other's memories" answering "Why was the administration so focused on Iraq that it neglected to heed Clarke's warnings about al-Qaeda attacks - why did you ignore the briefing Clinton's Sandy Berger gave you?", and "Why did you say the administration consider military action against al-Qaeda before Sept. 11 when the September 2001 Bush plan proposal had no such plan?", and "Why did it take eight months to develop an al-Qaeda policy that wasn't much different from the Clinton approach, and indeed matches the January 2001 Clarke proposal?, and "What did you do with the Hart/Rudman Report given you in Jan 2001?" )


Nice to see that Bush will cave to pressure/public opinion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/31/politics/31ASSE.html

When Goals Meet Reality: Bush's Reversal on 9/11 Testimony
By DAVID E. SANGER

Published: March 31, 2004


ASHINGTON, March 30 — When George W. Bush and Dick Cheney took office three years ago, they made no secret of their intention to restore presidential powers and prerogatives that they believed had withered under the onslaught of Washington's cycle of televised, all-consuming investigations.

But time and again, that effort by the Bush White House has fallen victim to political reality. It did so once more on Tuesday, when the president made a four-minute appearance in the White House press room to announce that he was giving in to demands from the 9/11 commission that he had resisted for months.

His decision to reverse course, dropping his claim of executive privilege preventing public, sworn testimony by his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was part of a distinct pattern that has emerged inside this highly secretive White House.

The first reaction to most demands for outside inquiries, or for details about energy policy decisions or intelligence concerning Iraqi weapons or Nigerian uranium, has been to build walls: Mr. Bush, or more often Mr. Cheney in his stead, asserts a clear, inviolate principle that the president and his advisers need the freedom to gather information, develop policy and exchange ideas in private. <snip>