When an intelligence breakdown occurs — say, I don’t know, someone leaks the name of an undercover agent, for example — the CIA conducts a thorough damage assessment to determine just how much damage the incident has done to national security. When Aldrich Ames was caught spying for the Soviet Union, the CIA prepared an […]
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: * In South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford (R) appears to be well-positioned for re-election next year. A new Rasmussen poll shows Sanford with 20-point leads over his most likely Dem challengers, Florence Mayor […]
It was safe to assume the Republican base wouldn’t be thrilled with John Roberts’ work on behalf of gay rights activists in Romer v. Evans. The next step would be to gauge exactly how upset they are. So far, it seems the right is disappointed, but not to the point that Roberts is in real […]
My friends at That’s Another Fine Mess found a funny one from Sports Illustrated’s Pete McEntegart yesterday. Congress will investigate whether Rafael Palmeiro perjured himself when he told a House committee in March that he had never used steroids. In other political news, President Bush took advantage of the Senate’s recess to appoint Palmeiro to […]
You know the president’s remarks about teaching kids about intelligent-design creationism are wildly off-base when Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum distances himself from the comments. A leading Republican senator allied with the religious right differed on Thursday with President Bush’s support for teaching an alternative to the theory of evolution known as “intelligent design.” Republican […]
If Bush was hoping that last week’s flurry of legislative activity would boost his public standing a bit, he’s sorely disappointed today. Americans’ approval of President Bush’s handling of Iraq is at its lowest level yet, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that also found fewer than half now think he’s honest. A solid majority still […]
Clearly, Bob Novak’s temper-tantrum was one of the more bizarre spectacles we’ve seen on CNN in a while, but as my friend Phil noted this morning, it wasn’t the only odd thing Novak said yesterday. Host Ed Henry: [Rep. Katherine] Harris is blaming unnamed newspapers for tarnishing her image by doctoring her makeup with Photoshop. […]
In the highly unlikely event that you’ve been shielded from all media over the last 16 hours, I thought I’d mention that Bob Novak had a stunning on-air meltdown on CNN yesterday. Robert D. Novak, the syndicated columnist whose unmasking of a C.I.A. operative touched off an investigation about a possible leak, stalked off a […]
It seems like ancient history, but the 2004 presidential election wasn’t that long ago. It was even recent enough for me to remember some of the things voters were told. For example, Bush-Cheney ’04 told us that we couldn’t vote for Kerry or we’d see an increase in government spending. As it turns out… Having […]
USA Today’s Susan Page had a fascinating, must-read item yesterday, primarily about an initiative called the “Ohio Restoration Project,” which is a network of extremely conservative, vaguely theocratic, right-wing “Patriot Pastors” who hope to take over the state politically. Pastor Russell Johnson paces across the broad stage as he decries the “secular jihadists” who have […]