Johnny, Tommy, Rummy, and Ash

We've been waiting almost a year to find out from John McCain where bin Laden is hiding, since McCain said during the campaign that he not only knew where that was, but knew how to get him. Want to share that info, Senator? Talked to your daughter about starting the book yet? No? What about all the other pols working the cable shows to sell their secrets?

Tom Ridge, Dick Chaney, Newt Gingrich, and a slew of others, have written books pundits refer to with words like, "explosive," "unredacted," and "tell-all tome." These guys knew all this stormy stuff and never told anybody until they had a book to sell? It seems every politician with a book and a real or imagined hot topic is hawking his or her too-little-too-late book on cable and network news shows.

Tom Ridge comes out with a blockbuster-in-advance memoir, co-written by Lary Bloom, who also authored "The Writer Within: A Guide to Creative Nonfiction." Ridge's book includes exposing how Attorney General John Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pressured him into raising the terror alert from yellow to orange in order to increase George Bush's chances of winning the 2004 election. It would've been real news, had Ridge gone to the media at the time he was being pressured to deceive the American people and play on the public's fear of changing presidents in the middle of a war. Thanks, Tommy.

Not that there's anything wrong with waiting almost five years to tell this to anybody. With the kind of news coverage Ridge is getting, he will make a lot of greenbacks. Despite the news being five years old, it's news now.

Publishers offer huge amounts of money to politicians, from Bill Clinton to Sarah Palin, all for the purpose, they claim, of informing the public of the "facts," so we can read about everything-old-is-new-again scandals while we're loafing around, out of work, without a house, and broke. Thanks, but maybe we won't even bother to wait for the paperback, and settle for Olbie & Rachel.

As soon as McCain pens his story and shares with us bin Laden's location, I plan on learning who paid what to whom to keep that secret for so long.

Have at it, Senator.

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Comments

[Brian Ross - Huffpost Blogger]

Excellent article! Bin Laden is hiding on Capitol Hill. McCain has him living in a utility closet, and running in to vote for him when he can't get over to the Senate. Sure, there are a million cameras and he looks absolutely nothing like McCain but he's perfectly safe in plain sight.... After all, who watches C-Span?