What Do You Get When Three Republican Senators and General Powell Contradict The W, Rove And Co?

Just exactly what do you get when three republican senators and General Powell contradict the W, Rove and Co?

At what point do the W, Rove and Co admit that they are wrong?

How about when when we add three republican senators and to General Powell, who I might add is also a veteran of the fisrt Bush War in the big kitty litter box that is Iraq?

Let's see...

Q So do you think that Colin Powell, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is just confused about what you're trying to do?

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q And you think that he would write a letter like this without an understanding --

MR. SNOW: I don't know -- it's interesting -- we didn't hear from him, so I don't know.

Q So you think that John McCain and Senator Warner and Lindsey Graham are confused about what you're trying to do?

MR. SNOW: I think what's -- no, but there's a difference here, because what -- there's a difference and there's an opportunity. The assertion that we are trying to amend or change Common Article III is wrong. And I think it's worth saying to everybody, no, we're not trying to change anything; we're trying to figure out what it means. That's what the Supreme Court -- that is the burden the Supreme Court laid before the Congress of the United States and the White House. And you need to work collaboratively with it.

There has been no suggestion that we amend or alter Common Article III. In fact, we thought we found a pretty good standard, which was the Detainee Treatment Act standard that was adopted by Congress and people subjected it to rigorous review. So that's the important point. And I think -- let me put it this way -- we think that the approach we take not only addresses the concerns that are expressed by General Powell and General Vessey. And again, we had no conversations with them; we don't know what they had seen, and I'll let them speak for themselves on this.

But the whole purpose of this is to make sure that we place our troops out of harm's way, and also the people who are doing the interrogations, by making clear what the standards are. This is not an attempt to subject detainees to lawlessness. It's an attempt to try to codify in law exactly what the rules and boundaries are.

Q Well, how do you account for the fact that three Republican senators oppose you so vehemently on this?

MR. SNOW: It's a free country, you're allowed to oppose -- and what I'm suggesting is that there are still ongoing conversations and I wouldn't prejudge.

Ah, I see, the answer to my questions above is never admit you are wrong, and most certainly not for these guys.