Wishing Ill for Your Country

To watch "The Talking Points Memo" in the Screening Room click here.

There is no question the Bush administration has some problems with the weapons of mass destruction situation. But the administration is now speaking out, they aren't hiding and that's a good thing.

President Bush and Secretary of State Powell both claim the weapons intelligence was valid. They are asking for more time. We think that is a fair request. However, the Bush haters, led by New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman and L.A. Times columnist Robert Scheer, continue to call the president a liar. Not nice and not provable at this point.

But the troubling issue here is that Krugman, Scheer and millions of other Americans don't want the coalition to find the weapons of mass destruction. They want the Bush administration to be embarrassed.  Thereby, the critics are putting partisan politics above the good of the country, because America loses credibility throughout the world if the WMD thing is bogus.

Talking Points cannot respect people who want their country hurt so they can make a political point. That being said, if U.S. intelligence was wrong, CIA Director George Tenet has to go, among others, and President Bush has to explain how he was briefed. The USA simply cannot operate with doubts about its intelligence competency. This issue is far too important for all-Americans, as we all need to be protected in this age of terror.

Once again, however, a fair person gives the government time to resolve the WMD question. That's the right thing to do for all-Americans.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

As you know, The Factor is continuing to boycott French goods, things made in France, not things made by Americans with French labels. Evian water, which is bottled in France, comes under the boycott description.

But get this: Evian is the official bottled water of the U.S. armed forces, which might be ridiculous if you consider that France is so opposed to our military people working up a sweat in Iraq.

Be that as it may, we believe an American bottled water would serve the country just as well.