Does anyone else think it's odd that Bush's PR flacks in the press are howling about the early exit of Bob Kerrey and Lee Hamilton from the 9/11 commission's Bush/Cheney interview -- when, in fact, Bush and Cheney originally wanted a short session and didn't want to talk to everyone on the commission in the first place?

Initially, the White House said Bush would answer questions for just an hour and that only the chairman and vice chairman, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton, could participate. Eventually, the White House relented on both points. All 10 commissioners will be there.

--USA Today, 4/27/04

You can look at this two ways: The commission wanted an open-ended, full-panel hearing, so Hamilton and Kerrey had a nerve leaving early -- or Bush and Cheney and their coat-holders in the press have a nerve complainng about an early departure from a meeting they thought never should have taken place and should have been extremely limited in scope if it did take place.

Oh, and of course Richard Ben-Veniste said everyone got to ask questions, as AP notes -- which, presumably, was the whole point of a full-panel meeting. And even the New York Post story acknowledges that Tom Kean told Kerrey he could go.

By the way, did every commissioner stay for every last second of Clinton's four-hour session? Does anyone know?

(And right-wingers, don't tell me that session was lower on the protocol scale because Clinton's just a former president -- if Reagan were compos mentis and agreed to appear for an interview, righties would be furious if he wasn't treated with the same deference as a sitting president.)

(Links from Rantingprofs.)