When the White House announced shortly after last year’s election that privatizing Social Security would be the president’s top domestic priority, Bush aides really weren’t kidding. “[White House spokesman Trent] Duffy asserted that the vast spending that would be required to address the hurricane’s impact adds to the need to change Social Security, which threatens […]
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: * Stephen Laffey, the outspoken mayor of Rhode Island’s second-largest city, made it official yesterday, announcing that he will challenge fellow Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a Republican Senate primary next year. * […]
It was offensive from the outset when Rumsfeld’s Defense Department created the “America Supports You Freedom Walk” to exploit 9/11. It added insult to injury when those who wished to participate in the government-sponsored “Freedom Walk” on public property were told they had to endure Pentagon “screening.” On a fundamental level, it doesn’t make sense […]
The 2003 vote on $87 billion for the war in Iraq was probably the most talked-about vote of Bush’s first term. The fact that John Kerry and John Edwards voted against giving the White House another blank check for the war became an albatross around their respective necks — and fodder for countless Bush-Cheney speeches, […]
Paul Krugman makes a compelling case this morning that the administration’s failures with Katrina are reminiscent of another, equally tragic failure in Iraq. I think he might have missed one. In Iraq, the administration displayed a combination of paralysis and denial after the fall of Baghdad, as uncontrolled looting destroyed much of Iraq’s infrastructure. The […]
At first blush, the idea that lawmakers would be restricted in offering amendments to yesterday’s $52 billion supplemental spending bill for Katrina relief and rebuilding efforts is not necessarily awful. In general, amendments can serve to make a bill better, but in this case, a reasonable argument could be made that no one wanted to […]
With all that’s been going on, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the Bush White House is still under a criminal investigation for the trivial matter of leaking the identity of an undercover CIA agent in order to help cover up its lies about the war in Iraq. Reuters is reporting, however, that the investigation […]
The revelations about FEMA Director Mike Brown’s background in yesterday’s New Republic were, alas, not the end of the story. Since Hurricane Katrina, the FEMA director has come under heavy criticism for his performance and scrutiny of his background. Now, an investigation by Time has found discrepancies in his online legal profile and official bio, […]
Yes, FEMA’s Mike Brown is under fire and yes, it’s tempting to stop piling on, but this isn’t just some random person filling a low-level job on the third floor of the OEOB. As recent events have shown all too well, the nation needs and depends on a skilled and capable FEMA chief — and […]
After investigating the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Tom Kean, Lee Hamilton, and their fellow commissioners highlighted system problems within the federal bureaucracy that prevent the government from responding efficiently in the event of a crisis. Unfortunately, many of their recommendations were ignored or put off — and now Kean and Lee Hamilton are saying “We […]