# Pat Robertson wants to nuke the State Department **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708 "2003-10-10T18:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/41 "2003-10-11T14:24:50Z")
JRDelirious writes: \> Celyn, yes, “Foggy Bottom” is real, it’s the neighborhood in \> Washington DC at walking distance southwest of the White \> House . . . Minor nitpick: It’s more or less directly west of the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/42 "2003-10-11T15:08:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Hell, I have to wonder what **december** would’ve said about this. > > Of course, I can’t remember him being a real fan of Robinson, but you never know… \*\* Given that Robinson has a reputation for “Jew-baiting”, I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/43 "2003-10-11T16:20:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*PAT ROBERTSON: I read your book. When you get through, you say, “If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that’s the answer.” I mean, you get through this, and you say, “We’ve got to blow that thing up.” I mean, is it as bad as you say? \*\*Let me interrupt this pile-on for a second: is our good friend Pat quoting himself as the reader in making those statements, or is it possible those are quotes or at least paraphrases from the book? Ok, back to the pile-on: Nobody mentioned how he commanded Hurricane Isabel not to hit the coast, and head back out to sea. There are other sources for this, but I couldn’t resist linking to [TooMuchSexy](http://www.toomuchsexy.org/archives/2003/09/17/pat_robertson_vs_hurricane_isabel.php). ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/44 "2003-10-11T16:25:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\* > > Pat Robertson wants to murder my dad. :mad: > > \*\* IIRC, our president used a similar statement when describing Sadaam Hussein. (Something along the lines of, “He tried to kill my daddy!”) I think this means you are completely justified in attacking Pat Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/45 "2003-10-11T17:29:03Z")
This is pretty old news, actually. He said almost the same thing [back in June](http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/030630e.asp). (At the end of the interview.) But at that time, he attributed the sentiment to Newt Gingrich. I haven’t been able to confirm that Gingrich actually advocated that. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/46 "2003-10-11T17:31:25Z")
I clicked their “prayer request” link, and filled this in: I request that you pray for Pat to stop advocating nuking the State Department. There are innocent men and women working there, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/47 "2003-10-11T18:01:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Celyn \* > **If so, wonderful! (Though it does rather sounds as though it ought to be a nice traditional foodstuff in Britain).** I believe you’re thinking of the traditional Christmas pudding, “Spotty Bottom.” ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/48 "2003-10-11T18:42:21Z")
And “Foggy Bottom” sounds like one of those goofy places the English love. “Just go past Big Ben, make a left at Foggy Bottom, and head straight down Wobbling Dewflaps.” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/49 "2003-10-11T22:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dqa \* > \*\ ***Let me interrupt this pile-on for a second: is our good friend Pat quoting himself as the reader in making those statements, or is it possible those are quotes or at least paraphrases from the book?** I think it’s pretty clearly the generic “you.” As in, “At the end of _Blair Witch Project_, you either want to throw up, piss yourself, or fall asleep.” Not you, specifically, but you, as in the generic audience member. In other words, Robertson is saying, when we get to the end of the book, _we_ (as in _I_ the demented televangelist troll) want to destroy those fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/50 "2003-10-11T22:17:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saint Zero \* > \*\*Jay Leno says it, it’s funny. > > Pat says it, people take him seriously. > > Geez. \*\* If nothing else, Leno is trying to be funny. Robertson is not. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/51 "2003-10-12T02:07:38Z")
How, precisely, does what Robertson said differ from “Making a terrorist threat”? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/52 "2003-10-12T02:54:38Z")
**Ranger** you have asked the ten dollar question, my wise friend. I think the appropriate punishment for this asshat would be to lock him in a room with the Dixie Chicks, Barbara Streisand, Ann Heche and Ellen Degeneres and Gallagher and throw away the key. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/53 "2003-10-12T03:51:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > My dad was in Nam. I wonder what Pat was doing for his country at that time. Lying about his record in Korea, most likely. I’d disown Pat Robertson, but that would mean ever even thinking I owned the man. He’s a leech on my party, and the sooner he gets shucked, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/54 "2003-10-12T20:58:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\ ***Ranger** you have asked the ten dollar question, my wise friend. > > I think the appropriate punishment for this asshat would be to lock him in a room with the Dixie Chicks, Barbara Streisand, Ann Heche and Ellen Degeneres and Gallagher and throw away the key. \*\* I disagree with your suggestion for punishment. As a basis for comparison, some jerks who wanted to play a prank involving an envelope of fine white powder are facing 7 years as guests of the government for “Making A Terrorist Threat” ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/55 "2003-10-13T01:28:31Z")
Don’t know about English foodstuffs, but when I lived in Arlington I was rather fond of [Olde Heurich’s Brewing Company’s Foggy Bottom Ale](http://www.foggybottom.com/index.htm). Haven’t drank one since 1996, and damn I miss them. Even though it’s really a contract microbrew from Utica, NY, Ol’ Pat better leave the area alone anyway since I associate it with that great ale. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/56 "2003-10-13T16:53:38Z")
Well now Pat’s responded [here](http://www.cbn.com/700club/RobertsonStateDept.pdf). He’s saying everyone’s getting all riled up over nothing, as “nuking” wasn’t the term used in the book - “gutting” was. 😕 What the fuck is he talking about? 😕 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Gomez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Gomez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gomez)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/57 "2003-10-13T17:34:53Z")
I guess his prostate cancer’s gone into remission, then ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/58 "2003-10-13T21:30:48Z")
OK, [I’ll mention it](http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000D88C5-279D-1F30-9AD380A84189F2D7&ref=sciam). > [@](#): > > So I would have to reason that any of those events–or much more likely, none of them–could have been responsible for the tornadoes. Indeed, the big problem in this field is figuring out when the weather is a sign of divine intention and when it’s just the weather. For example, on August 27, 1998, while my column about Robertson’s threats to Orlando was on the newsstands, Hurricane Bonnie smashed into Virginia Beach, Va.–which is home to CBN. Nevertheless, I believe it was just a coincidence. I’ve been taking Pat very seriously since he doomed my new/old hometown to divine retribution just as I moved here the second time. I would like to take this time to thank the powers-that-be for hitting us with only nice breezy tropical depressions, good for a couple inches of rain, since then. I have never prayed for storms to hit Virginia Beach, I would like to note. I have snickered at the irony. Sorry. I always hope for storms to stay out at sea as long as possible. Then, I start packing – I’m not hanging around to pray at a Cat III or above. ---
**Author:** ![NaSultainne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NaSultainne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NaSultainne)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/59 "2003-10-14T04:05:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > Well now Pat’s responded [here](http://www.cbn.com/700club/RobertsonStateDept.pdf). He’s saying everyone’s getting all riled up over nothing, as “nuking” wasn’t the term used in the book - “gutting” was. > > 😕 What the fuck is he talking about? 😕 > > Esprix If, though it’s obviously an unlikely possibility IMHO, anyone is really interested in the context and content of Robertson’s comments, I’d think those persons would read, slowly and carefully, his remarks. Robertson is (incorrectly) **summarizing** Mowbray’s solution to the ongoing problems at the State Dept. which he writes about in his book _Dangerous Diplomacy_. Mowbray used the term “gutted”, as in, clean out Foggy Bottom from top to bottom, get rid of the career officers responsible for such things as **Visa Express** , the program which allowed the Saudi 9/11 terrorists to gain entry to the U.S. despite incomplete, innacurate, and faulty Visa paperwork. Ok? Robertson was in no way advocating nuking Foggy Bottom, regardless of the spin now put on his remarks. He was doing a lead-in for the interview with Joel Mowbray and in doing so over-stated Mowbray’s position. Sure, it was a tactless mistake. Sure, these days it’s not likely to be taken with the standard grain of salt, but jumpin’ jehosaphat, people. Do you ever, and I mean it, folks, do you _ever_ read what is said, not put your own little biased spin into someone else’s mouth? Hate the guy all you want, but at least have the intellectual integrity to do so on legitimate grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708/60 "2003-10-14T06:02:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Which dorm? The Dakota. Yes, Thurston RAs should get hazard pay. I’ve stayed away from that hell hole for a reason. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-wants-to-nuke-the-state-department/206708.md?page=4)