A reader catches Kai Ryssdal committing journalism:
I don’t know if y’all had a chance to listen to Donald Rumsfeld being torn a new one on Marketplace yesterday, but it was glorious to hear. Rummy was no doubt expecting softball questions about his new book Rumsfeld’s Rules and instead was grilled about how the wisdom in his book is in stark contrast to his work with Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve never felt a man squirm through airwaves like that.
Listen to the whole interview here. Before he decided to commit war crimes, I knew Rummy as an acquaintance, stayed at his house in Taos, dined with him, and often argued with him. He’s fun to argue with, but when cornered, he simply shuts you down.
I remember asking him before the Iraq war why the US was firing Arab linguists just because they were gay. Didn’t we need every Arab linguist we could get? He point blank refused to admit it was happening at all. He openly asked how someone as allegedly smart as I was could be so misinformed. In front of others, he dressed me down for my ignorance. I did not give in, but I did make a mental note: this guy is dangerously out of touch with reality, even as he insists he alone grasps reality.
His invasion and occupation of Iraq alone should render the only response to his “rules book” a blast of hysterical laughter. Or the kind of honest interviewing you’d never get from Politico.
But this man should not be interviewed anyway. He should be arrested.
The Dish 