Scrutiny

A great word. Here’s the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary:

scru·ti·ny (skrōōt'n-ē)
A close, careful examination or study.
Close observation; surveillance.

Scrutiny is what is on offer from the new Congress, especially where the war is concerned. Nancy Pelosi is promising that whatever else happens, George W. Bush’s conduct of the war will get scrutiny. I couldn’t be happier about that. And I’ll bet George W. Bush couldn’t be happier, too. No, seriously.

One of the dirtiest secrets of our politics is how little scrutiny both parties get for their political views. Most of what we know consists of the “he said, she said” banter that gets passed on through the mainstream media. There are strong and fundamental intellectual reasons for the stances of both political parties; however, typically those long-standing debates don’t fit well into a 30 second soundbite.

If Pelosi and her friends in Congress really start asking hard questions, it should become clear to more Americans how difficult the decisions are. Bush has not done well in explaining things, primarily because he is a shaky communicator generally. But the D’s haven’t done much but heckle, a point I made in my post-election post “Statler and Waldorf Mount the Stage.” Pelosi is very much on the stage and she’s strode there in full Gloria Swanson mode. I’m betting that she’s going to be get a little scrutiny for how she scrutinizes. That will be good for the debate and good for the President.