Athens observes Rome

In the justified uproar about Karl Rove working on taxpayer time to call liberals wimpy traitors , there was one aspect we thought deserved more scrutiny: his factually incorrect claim that Dubya had immediately marched to war after 9/11. He didn't. And that's not just us speaking, it's a contemporaneous observer speaking just a few months after: Tony Blair. So here's Rove's claim:

In the wake of 9/11, conservatives believed it was time to unleash the might and power of the United States military against the Taliban; in the wake of 9/11, liberals believed it was time to… submit a petition. I am not joking. Submitting a petition is precisely what Moveon.org did. It was a petition imploring the powers that be" to "use moderation and restraint in responding to the… terrorist attacks against the United States."

I don't know about you, but moderation and restraint is not what I felt as I watched the Twin Towers crumble to the earth; a side of the Pentagon destroyed; and almost 3,000 of our fellow citizens perish in flames and rubble.

Moderation and restraint is not what I felt - and moderation and restraint is not what was called for. It was a moment to summon our national will - and to brandish steel.

But here's Tony at a Crawford news conference in April 2002, an event that's under renewed scrutiny in the light of the Downing Street Memos:

Now, we've made it very clear to you how we then proceed and how we deal with this [WMD]. All the options are open. And I think after the 11th of September, this President showed that he proceeds in a calm and a measured and a sensible, but in a firm way. Now, that is precisely what we need in this situation, too.

It was nearly a month after 9/11 before the attack on Taliban began. Looks like that MoveOn petition worked!