Rep. Rahm Emanuel: “Richard Clark is a career civil servant and registered Republican who served in four administrations: President Reagan…”

“Richard Clark is a career civil servant and registered Republican who served in four administrations: President Reagan, President Bush, President Clinton and now our present President Bush. Most recently, he served for this President as a counterterrorism czar for President George W. Bush. Apparently, he committed an unforgivable sin on ``60 Minutes'' Sunday night. In his new book, ``Against All Enemies,'' Mr. Clark lays out a detailed, factual, substantive critique of the President Bush's failure to adequately address the threat of terrorism and specifically al Qaeda before September 11. I worked in the Clinton White House. I worked with Dick Clark. We did not always agree on everything; but we never doubted his patriotism, and working for four Presidents, one Democrat and three Republicans, he was committed to this country and to his mission in serving it. Let me give my colleagues a quote from that show: ``I think the way he,'' that is, the President, ``responded to al Qaeda, both before 9/11 by doing nothing, and by what he's done after 9/11 has made us less safe. Absolutely.'' ``He [President Bush] ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something to stop 9/11. Maybe. We'll never know.'' What has been the consequence? He has been castigated since the newscast aired Sunday night.…”