As chairman of the highly-influential Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has direct control over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal expenditures. Every discretionary dollar Congress spends has to go through his committee first. It’s a position that about 99 other senators would love to be in, not only because of the incumbent […]
Every time a Bush administration official talks about the moral imperative of the war in Iraq, and the need to take down a vicious tyrant who gassed his own people, I think about that famous picture of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam Hussein’s hand in Baghdad in 1983 and I have trouble accepting the White House’s […]
When there’s talk in the U.S about “the war,” most of us immediately think about Iraq and our ongoing problems there. But there’s that other war we started against the country that was actually responsible for sponsoring the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Remember Afghanistan? This was supposed to be the war we “won” before we […]
A handful of governors have had it rough in 2003 due to scandals that have rocked their administrations and destroyed their public support. But Connecticut Gov. John Rowland is in a league of his own. He’s not only facing possible criminal charges, but the Connecticut Legislature in considering impeachment. It started with a routine political […]
OK, it’s New Year’s Eve and it’s a relatively slow news day. I’m taking this opportunity, therefore, to write a few posts about stories that have been lingering on my computer but have gone unwritten. None of these stories are new, and you’ve probably heard about them elsewhere, but I’ve been meaning to weigh in […]
The AP is reporting that Attorney General John Ashcroft will recuse himself from the ongoing investigation into White House officials illegally leaking the name of a CIA operative (thanks for the tip, Chuck). Responsibility for the investigation will now shift to Chicago U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who the AP explains will report to Ashcroft’s new […]
Last week, National Journal conducted an unscientific poll of Democratic Party insiders, asking them, among other things, to “pick the issue that they expect will be Bush’s biggest liability” in the upcoming election. Bush’s favors for corporate interests came in first, a poor economy came in a close second. Way down at number five, however, […]
And my beloved Nick Smith bribery scandal continues… The Washington Post, which has done a pretty solid job covering this story, finally ran an editorial today, arguing that the Justice Department “should fully investigate” the incident. I don’t imagine John Ashcroft cares too much what the editorial board of the Post thinks, but items like […]
Much of the political world was abuzz yesterday afternoon when Wesley Clark’s campaign unveiled its new TV ad. The uproar was caused because the ad shows, for about four seconds, Bill Clinton. I’m not naïve. I fully appreciate that Clinton remains an unrivaled Democratic Party icon. Candidates have been tripping over themselves to praise the […]
Finally, a Bush administration decision that I can wholeheartedly endorse. The AP is reporting that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration will announce today that the U.S. government will ban ephedra from the marketplace. This has been a pet issue of mine for a while and I couldn’t […]