I know this isn’t earth-shattering news, and that these kinds of junkets happen constantly, but I’m mentioning this because I find Henry Hyde and his self-righteous moralizing annoying. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, took 23 aides on a 13-lawmaker congressional delegation, to Ireland and Hungary last month. There were […]
I know most people have moved on to bigger and better White House scandals, but I’m still bothered by the fact that the Bush administration diverted $700 million from appropriations meant for the war Afghanistan and spent it to prepare for our invasion of Iraq. Just as importantly, the White House did not consult with […]
Just two short months ago, Bush pollster Matt Dowd offered the gem of a quote: “Normally, presidents finish roughly the same as their job approval numbers.” I largely agree with this and find it particularly encouraging in light of the latest poll numbers from Gallup reflecting Bush’s record-low job approval. President Bush’s approval rating dropped […]
For the better part of three years, the president expressed no interest in space exploration. In January, however, the White House insisted that Bush needed a “JFK moment,” in which the president could be viewed as reaching for the stars — literally. As a result, Bush unveiled a hastily thrown-together initiative that would strive for […]
Two political lawsuits were filed yesterday, both of which were fairly predictable, but will nevertheless be worth watching. First, in Texas, a certain former consumer advocate was trying to qualify for the state’s presidential ballot as an independent. He tried to collect the necessary number of signatures, but failed. As a result, he did what […]
Of all the angles to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal — and there are just so damn many — I continue to be fascinated by how the failures fit into the Bush administration’s ongoing love of secrecy. By now, nearly everyone realizes that the Taguba report was widely ignored by people (Rumsfeld, Myers, Bush) who […]
With all that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to overlook that the Bush administration’s domestic policies are almost as disturbing as its foreign policies. The New York Times had an important editorial today about Section 8, the federal government program that provides housing assistance to 2 million poor families in this country. After […]
Bush has always been fond of his “soft bigotry of low expectations” line. He uses it in a variety of contexts, but the point is always the same: America shouldn’t take pride in weak success or barely surpassing failure. It’s insulting, he argues, to expect little and applaud when we get it. I kept thinking […]
If Ralph Nader could, in theory, count on support from anyone in Congress, it should be Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Bernie is an independent because he doesn’t think the Dems are liberal enough. In Vermont, he created a third party called the “Progressives,” which routinely splits the left vote and allows an otherwise liberal state […]
The Wall Street Journal had a really good story today about Bush and trade (reg. required). It all-but accuses the president of (gasp!) shifting his policies to fit with the political winds of the day. In fact, it more-or-less says so in the very first sentence. For a president who boasts that he says what […]