What Did He Know…

…and when did he know it? That’s the question we should be asking St. Dean after this latest revelation:

Presidential hopeful Howard Dean (news – web sites), who accuses President Bush (news – web sites) of being weak on homeland security, was warned repeatedly as Vermont governor about security lapses at his state’s nuclear power plant and was told the state was ill-prepared for a disaster at its most attractive terrorist target.

Security was so lax at Vermont Yankee that in August 2001, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staged a drill in which three mock terrorists gained access to the plant. The agency gave Vermont Yankee the worst security rating among the nation’s 103 reactors.

So Dean, who boasts that he could teach the president a thing or two about national security, has a shoddy record himself on the issue. And what’s worse, here’s the excuse Dean’s spokesperson is offering for the candidate’s shoddy oversight and inaction as governor:

“As many have said before, hindsight is 20-20 and no one could have predicted what could have happened on a terrible day in September 2001,” Carson said.

Ugh. This is a hollow rationalization, disappointing even to non-supporters like myself. As has been reported time and time again, there was ample evidence that terrorists planned to use planes as weapons, which is exactly what they did in September 2001. Incidentally, there were ample warnings that nuclear plants were vulnerable targets before and after the terrorist attacks.

How the hell is Dean going to take Bush to task on the issue if they both have shoddy records, both ignored repeated warnings, and are both offering the same pathetic and demonstrably false excuse?