Frist, do no harm

Hosts on Air America have had much amusement with the following tidbit, but if you are one of the many people not served by one of their stations, I'll repeat their find here.

Senate Majority Leader Bill First has denounced Richard Clarke in the most scabrous terms, and has described Clarke's book, Against All Enemies, in this fashion:


...notwithstanding Mr. Clarke's efforts to use his book first and foremost to shift blame and attention from himself, it is also clear that Mr. Clarke and his publishers adjusted the release date of his book in order to make maximum gain from the publicity around the 9/11 hearings. Assuming the controversy around this series of events does in fact drive the sales of his book, Mr. Clarke will make quite a bit of money for his efforts.

I find this to be an appalling act of profiteering, trading on his insider access to highly classified information and capitalizing upon the tragedy that befell this nation on Sept. 11, 2001. Mr. Clarke must renounce any plan to personally profit from this book.


Multiple problems beset this accusation. First, it's lazy. "He wrote that thing just for money" is a charge that can be leveled at any author who writes any book for any reason. I've heard this nonsense spouted even when book sales numbered only a few thousand copies. No conservative expressed outrage when, shortly after the World Trade Center tragedy, profiteers filled grocery store magazine racks with 9/11 "memorial" publications.

Second, as most people know, the book's release was delayed for a number of months by the White House. Anyone who doesn't like the timing should blame the administration.

Third -- and this is the juicy one -- Frist has his own book about terrorism out there. You can find it in your local bookstore or on Amazon.

No word yet on whether Frist will donate his royalties to charity.