1115.org

Apparently, the script the White House had written was that Paul Wolfowitz would resign yesterday afternoon, and then this morning President Bush would deliver a few somber well-chosen remarks during his joint press conference with Tony Blair.

Just because Wolfie deviated from the script was no reason for Bush to do so. He went ahead and performed his piece (and almost got it right):

First of all, I believe all parties in this matter have acted in good faith. I regret that it’s come to this. I admire Paul Wolfowitz. I admire his heart. And I particularly admired his focus on helping the poor. There is a board meeting going on as we speak. All I can tell you is I know that Paul Wolfowitz has a interest in what’s best for the Bank, and just like he’s had an interest in what’s best for making sure the Bank focused on things that matter: human suffering, the human condition. I — and so I applaud his vision, I respect him a lot, and as I said, I regret this has come to this right now.

You, and the entire World Bank, from top to bottom, I think, George.

Interesting that Bush thinks all parties in this matter have acted in good faith. Sorry, believes. Our president doesn’t think. He believes.

That presumably includes Shaha Ali Reza when she presumably hopped with rage and snarled at Wolfie: “Don’t f*** with me. I’m not f***ing you any more if you can’t come through with an obscene raise.” That is actually good faith, I guess, if she kept her end of the bargain. And we have no evidence she didn’t.

That presumably includes former Spanish government official Ana Palacio, appointed by Wolfie as World Bank General Counsel presumably because of her staunch support for the Iraq war and despite her total inability to win friends and influence people, when she went:

to great lengths to deflect the ongoing investigations. As the bank’s top legal counsel, she was supposed to help investigate the pay raise controversy, but she instead tried to stonewall the investigation from even occurring.

She was probably also acting in good faith when she staged something halfway between a 60s-style sit-in and a Shaha Riza style temper tantrum.

Or how about Wolfie’s quarter million dollar per year (tax-free) bum chum (nullus) Kevin Kellems:

Paul Wolfowitz’s closest aide was involved in crafting an apparently misleading public statement on the Shaha Riza secondment for dissemination by World Bank spokespeople on an anonymous basis, the Financial Times has found.

How about Wolfie himself when he ordered the recalcitrant Xavier Coll, the bank’s vice-president for human resources:

I now direct you to agree to a proposal that includes the following terms and conditions.

Honorable folks, one and all? All acting in good faith?

And would that be faith in the proposition that none of this will ever come out, but even if it does, the godfather-in-chief won’t let them do diddly squat about it?

Too bad the godfather-in-chief lost the ability to make offers that can’t be refused.