Josh Marshall is wrong and Howard Kurtz is right: Nancy Pelosi’s handling of the military-aircraft question has been thoroughly irresponsible. She has recklessly allowed security considerations to override appearances.
That’s pre-9/11 thinking. Post 9/11, we have learned from the Decider that PR is more important than reality. Making it harder for terrorists to take out the third-in-succession for the Presidency (especially in coordination with a possible attack on the President and Vice-President) pales in importance compared to scoring political points, or avoiding having political points scored against you.
Worse, Pelosi deferred to the judgment of the responsible career official rather than relying on her political advisers, taking a poll, or letting her gut decide.
Really, you couldn’t have expected any better from a San Franciscan, could you? Let’s face it: they’re basically a bunch of reality addicts. Some of them, I’m sorry to say, are even patriots: you know, the sort of holier-than-thou folks who put country ahead of party.
Footnote If you doubt that protecting Pelosi in the event that Bush and Cheney were taken out would be a matter of grave national-security importance, I have two words to say to you: Robert Byrd.