On the Al Franken show, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter discussed Congress’ unwillingness to investigate anything that’s gone amiss in this administration. Franken mentioned the Republican Congress’ lack of interest in the disappearance of $8.8 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds. Alter contrasted the current situation with an earlier one:
Alter: During World War II… a shooting war every day with thousands of people being killed, a senator from Missouri named Harry Truman — who was seen at the time as a machine hack — he held hearings.
He was a Democrat. Nobody from the Roosevelt Administration said, “No, you can’t hold hearings about war profiteering.”
Franken: Democratic House, Democratic Senate, Democratic White House — they hold hearings.
Alter: Because smart people in government know that those hearings can actually help them do their jobs more competently. Ferret out wrongdoing. If you’re really patriotic, you want accountability, because you want to improve performance.
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No personal attacks on any of the participants here.