I have to admit, I was surprised to see the media smack the White House around with unusual ferocity for the Bush gang’s scripted videoconference with troops in Iraq. We’ve seen these “Bubble Boy” problems before, but reporters acted fed up yesterday. I think there’s a good reason for the change. To fully appreciate just […]
Bush participated this morning in a video teleconference with U.S. troops in Tikrit, Iraq. Amazingly, everyone stayed on-message. One could be forgiven for giving in to cynicism and thinking that maybe the White House scripted the whole thing and the teleconference was an excuse for another war-president photo op. Except, it wouldn’t be cynical, it’d […]
Sidney Blumenthal said something yesterday about the Plame scandal that got me thinking. From the steakhouses of the lobbyists to the cloakrooms of the Senate, from book launch parties to news bureaus, the main subject in Washington is who will be indicted and when. It’s a common sentiment; people I know in DC tell me […]
The Rocky Mountain News ran a widely-cited article recently suggesting that James Dobson’s support for Harriet Miers is less than solid. I’m not so sure. Here’s the newspaper account: “Lord, you know I don’t have the wisdom to make this decision,” Dobson said. “You know that what I feel now and what I think is […]
Almost exactly a year ago, Kevin Drum noted a Cornell study that highlighted a point many of us suspected throughout the campaign: whenever the government would issue a terrorist warning, Bush’s poll support got a bump. The full report is here, and the basic result is simple: a terror warning leads to an average increase […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Former congressman Bob McEwen (R-Ohio), a far-right favorite, narrowly lost a primary fight earlier this year against Jean Schmidt in Ohio’s now-infamous 2nd Congressional District. Now, McEwen may have a new target: […]
As an example of Harriet Miers’ attention to detail, the Washington Post noted today that Bush’s Supreme Court nominee was literally responsible, as White House staff secretary, for handing every piece of paper that went to the president. At times, apparently, her uncompromising standards drove other White House staffers nuts. “You had to meet her […]
If there’s even a shred of good news for Bush in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, it’s hiding very well. It has been weeks since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast; since gas prices began spiking to record highs; and since Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, held her antiwar […]
As you may have already heard, TV preacher Pat Robertson went on the offensive on behalf of Harriet Miers yesterday, suggesting that Republican senators had better get in line behind the White House agenda. Or else. “You know, when you look at the people who are supporting Miers — Richard Land, who is faith commissioner […]
Dan Froomkin offered a helpful update the other day of one of my favorite TV interviews of recent memory — Irish TV’s Carole Coleman sit-down with George W. Bush. Long-time readers may recall that Coleman gave Bush fits, interrupting his filibusters and pushing him to acknowledge reality. The president, who had grown accustomed to a […]