More 9/11 Commission Bullshit. The White House will not allow the 9/11 Commission to record the private testimony given tomorrow morning by George Bush and Dick Cheney. The New York Times reports: "The panel said it did not press for a formal transcription of the session, letting the White House decide." ... So for the umpteenth time, the cowardly Commission bows to pressure and allows the White House to dictate the terms of its investigation. Naturally, Bush refuses to explain to Americans (1) why he needs a babysitter during the sessions and (2) why he's deadset against having a transcript.

By contrast, the testimony of both Bill Clinton (4 hours) and Al Gore (3 hours) -- which was given to the Commission in separate sessions, by the way -- was recorded. ... Reuters also notes that "Clinton's appearance before a grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky scandal was recorded on video tape and later released." ... Because true patriots know that lying about a blow job is more serious than what caused the murder of 3,000 people and the total destruction of the two World Trade Center towers.

From the AP: "President Bush's supporters see his and Vice President Dick Cheney's upcoming testimony to the Sept. 11 commission as a form of closure, enabling them to show maximum cooperation and get on with other business. ... The testimony of Bush and Cheney will not be under oath, but they will 'tell it exactly how it happened,' [Bush's chief spokesman Scott] McClellan said. McClellan said he expected Bush -- not Cheney -- to do most of the talking. ...

"Bush first opposed creating the commission and then opposed extending its life. He also initially opposed having Rice testify in public. And he at first said he would only meet with the chairman and vice chairman of the panel, and only for an hour. But he relented on all counts. ...

[Me: Just more Kerry flip-flops. Move along. Nothing to see here.]

"'Unless a president really messes up, the sense that you're being forthcoming I think helps in this case,' [Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute] said. 'If Bush says something really foolish, that could be a negative. But I doubt very much that that's going to happen. And the odds of that happening with Cheney there are less.'"