GATES CONFIRMED

Well, the Senate rolled over en masse. In committee yesterday, Iran-Contra wasn't even mentioned; and Gates was up to his eyeballs in that little circumvention of Congress and usurpation of power. Absence of evidence is not the same thing as absence of guilt. (If you don't believe me, just ask your local prosecutor.)

When the whole senate voted for confirmation today, only two senators cast "Nay" votes, and both were Republicans: Jim Bunning of Kentucky and the outgoing Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Of course, Santorum didn't vote "Nay" because he surrendered to a wave of sanity; in fact it was quite the opposite.

Santorum said he thought Gates did not fully understand the dangers of “Islamic fascism” in the Middle East. (Gates may have issues that cause me to oppose him as SecDef, but misunderestimating the misnomer "islamo-fascism" isn't one of them). He also said that Iran and “its client state of Syria” were fomenting violence in Iraq, and that the Iraq Study Group’s recommendation to engage Iran and Syria was “a prescription for surrender.”

So we have a new Secretary of Defense. Pardon me for being underwhelmed by the Deciders choice.