Bush said today that his administration was, and has been cooperating with the 9/11 commission, but he did not offer any evidence that he, or his staff, was going to hand over high level briefing documents. ABC News reports that Bush said, "Those are very sensitive documents." Somebody should tell this guy that usually when an commission is threatening to subpoena documents it is precisely because of the sensitivity of those documents that make them so crucial to a viable investigation.
A story in Newsday says that Sen. Joe Lieberman has said, "I call on the White House to turn over the documents they are withholding from the independent commission - and do it now." Lieberman co-wrote, along with Sen. John McCain, the legislation that put the commission into effect. Lieberman went on to say, "If they continue to refuse, I will urge the independent commission to take the administration to court." But Joe don't you realize that you are being insensitive. The White House probably has a lot of personal conversations during their morning briefings.
Imagine Bush confiding in his top advisers that he has an intimate relationship with silk sheets and that he often escapes alone to the Lincoln bedroom with his dog Barney, a Judy Garland CD, and a bottle of baby oil hidden in his pocket.
"Why do you take the dog?" Asks Condoleeza Rice
"Oh, I don't take the dog. Who said I took the dog?
Then, in a leter meeting, Karl Rove admits that he once ate roadkill on a bet.
What was the bet? Asks Condoleeza Rice.
That I wouldn't do it. Well, I showed them.
In a particularly sensitive moment, Dick Cheney reveals that he once slept with a sheep that he liked to call, Maureen, but later he found that Maureen's actual name was Butch, and that this revelation triggered a long series of a seemingly never ending array of night sweats and heart attacks.
So, you can understand why it is so important for them to keep these breifings secret. Indeed, they are very sensitive.