Following up on yesterday’s item about Russ Feingold exploring a presidential bid, the Wisconsin senator popped up again today with an interesting piece in Salon — written by Feingold himself — about what he learned during a recent trip through Alabama. Feingold and his wife visited Greenville, Ala., which he described thusly: “If the red-and-blue […]
I hate to keep harping on yesterday’s White House press conference, but it was a treasure trove of material. There was an interesting question from an international reporter, whom I believe works for BBC, who asked whether Bush is concerned whether the multiple torture reports from the last year might “damage America’s reputation as a […]
Salon’s Eric Boehlert noted today that Bush’s approval ratings heading into next month’s inauguration are among the “worst of any president in modern-day history.” Republicans like to brag about the sweeping mandate that President Bush received on Election Day. But as he prepares for his second term, Bush approaches Inauguration Day with historically weak job-approval […]
It was a minor part of a larger profile piece, but I found Sen.-Elect Tom Coburn’s reaction to Senate ethics rules telling. The rules they learned in the orientation session on ethics? “Ridiculous,” [Coburn] says. “Crazy.” He can fly his wife home from Washington with frequent-flier miles, but not to Washington. He can dine with […]
During the presidential campaign, Bush acted as if he hadn’t been president for the last four years. During yesterday’s press conference, he acted as if he won’t be president for the next four. Every question regarding Social Security, for example, elicited responses in which Bush, who claims to have Social Security “reform” at the top […]
Bush’s responses to reporters’ questions yesterday about Donald Rumsfeld predictably dodged specific concerns and relied on the president’s expertise in psychoanalysis. “Listen, I know how — I know Secretary Rumsfeld’s heart. I know how much he cares for the troops. … [H]e is — he’s a good, decent man. He’s a caring fellow.” So, we’re […]
These stories answer a series of important questions, but raise a number of new ones. Detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were shackled to the floor in fetal positions for more than 24 hours at a time, left without food and water, and allowed to defecate on themselves, an FBI agent […]
I guess the president missed the memo. At his final press conference of 2004, and just days before Christmas, Bush unintentionally may have inserted himself in a deep religio-political controversy. Here’s how Bush ended today’s press conference: “Listen, thank you all very much. I wish everybody — truly wish everybody a happy holidays.” Oops. That’s […]
Last week, Bush made it sound like his economic policies were poised to create tremendous growth in the coming years. “[O]ur economy has come through a lot and it’s growing. And people realize that, and that’s positive. And there’s a reason why people say it’s growing, besides me, and that’s because the facts say it’s […]
In the Clinton years, the Justice Department just didn’t care much about getting obscenity prosecutions. Janet Reno & Co. went after the most serious incidents — child pornography, for example — but were largely unconcerned with the more traditional adult fare. When John Ashcroft became attorney general, the right assumed it’d be a new day. […]