Another GOP foot soldier (read: spineless wonder)

Christine Todd "It's my party tooooooo!" Whitman is the latest of Bush's loyal idiots having to explain why she endangered Americans' lives. Specifically, Whitman, as head of the EPA, said the air around Ground Zero was safe when it wasn't. Like her ex-boss, Whitman has mastered the art of the nonsensical response.

Whitman maintained the government warned those working on the toxic debris pile to use respirators, while elsewhere in lower Manhattan the air was safe to the general public.

"There are indeed people to blame. They are the terrorists who attacked the United States, not the men and women at all levels of government who worked heroically to protect and defend this country," Whitman said.

Yes, dear, we know that. Trying to deflect responsibility just isn't going to work for you or any other Bush employee, past or present. For all the lip service you guys give to New York City and 9/11, you have treated this city like crap. From the the human remains used to fill potholes to the idiots who decided the city had no landmarks worth defending, you've used NYC as a rallying point to remind your base about the evil terrorists. But seriously, you never had any real love for a city that represents everything that base loathes.

Back to our gutless foot soldier, having to answer for her bungling. Unlike Colin Powell, Whitman ended up doing it in front Congress--including Jerrold Nadler, who represents Lower Manhattan.

Nadler, a Democrat whose district includes the World Trade Center site, called the hearing after years of criticizing federal officials for what he says was a negligent and incomplete cleanup.

Whitman called such allegations "misinformation, innuendo and downright falsehoods."

Her responses were mostly calm and deliberate. But under questioning from Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., Whitman angrily raised her voice, saying she based her statements on "what I was hearing from professionals," not the whims of politicians.

Whitman pointed out that her son was in the World Trade Center complex that day, "and I almost lost him," at which point Ellison said he would not "stand here and allow you to try to obfuscate."

"I'm not obfuscating," Whitman shot back. "I have been called a liar even in this room today."

Okay, perhaps she does have a spine after all.

For more on the health crises among Ground Zero workers, click here.