Former Homeland Security Secretary and former Pennsylvania Governor (Remember: Don't quit your day job.) Tom Ridge confessed today that the Bush administration pressured the Department of Homeland Security to raise the threat level (from yellow/elevated to orange/high) at several times over the past three years for political purposes.

"More often than not, we were the least inclined to raise it. [...] There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, ‘For that?'"

Source: USA Today

The president utilized the raised threat levels to distract Americans from the investigations into his negligence prior to the horrific events of nine-eleven, his misuse of intelligence on the weapons capabilities of Iraq, the illegal outing of an undercover CIA operative, advanced knowledge of rampant prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, illegal propagandizing of his Medicare, education, and faith-based programs, and the existence of a stagnant economy with zero-sum job growth.

Image: U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Labels: bush, iraq