Because Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has practically zero public record, any documents reflecting her professional background become all the more significant. If senators are to understand her expertise and qualifications for a lifetime position on the nation’s highest court, they’ll have to scrutinize what limited materials are available. One wonders, then, what the Senate […]
A top United Nations envoy returned from the Darfur region of Sudan recently and had discouraging news: the calamity is actually getting worse. “I found the situation much more dangerous and worrisome than I expected it to be,” said [Juan Mendez, special adviser to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan], who just completed his second visit […]
I try not to include too many personal anecdotes here on the site, but in this case, I’m willing to make an exception. In 2001, I attended the Christian Coalition’s annual national conference, covering the event for my employer at the time. While chatting with some reporters in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, a […]
Time magazine’s Joe Klein has a column this week suggesting that Bush’s presidency has effectively fallen apart, but offering the president some advice on setting things straight — “Renovate the West Wing.” “This Administration has been excellent at politics and spin,” [an unnamed Republican Senator] told me. “It hasn’t been very good at governance. Perhaps […]
When one thinks of Bush’s problems with recruiting, it’s usually about the ongoing difficulties military recruiters are having in finding volunteers for the armed forces. Closer to home, Bush isn’t having much success finding a few good men and women to take on political service either. Republican politicians in multiple states have recently decided not […]
The conventional wisdom for the last week, which I’ve largely bought into, is that Bush nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court out of weakness. With his political support in freefall, the argument goes, Bush didn’t want a massive political fight over a well-known right-winger right now, so he picked a nominee who could generate […]
How worried is the White House about Plame-related indictments? They’ve resorted to calling the special prosecutor names. As top Bush aide Karl Rove prepares for his fourth grand-jury appearance, the federal probe into who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity to the media is believed to be wrapping up. But the investigation has taken a […]
In last month’s edition of Celebrity-worship gone awry, I marveled at the fact that Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, would rely on “expert” testimony from a novelist when shaping federal environmental policies. This month, it’s the Bush administration rewarding an actor with a prestigious diplomatic post. On […]
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: * With independent voters starting to shift a bit, Sen. Jon Corzine’s (D) lead over Doug Forrester (R) shrunk in the latest Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll. The survey shows Corzine up seven points, 44% to […]
After humiliating himself and becoming an international punch-line in August, TV preacher Pat Robertson probably should have taken it easy for a while and steered clear of the national media. It turns out, the guy just can’t help himself. Pat was on CNN’s Late Edition yesterday, primarily to discuss his support for Harriet Miers. But […]