Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was on PBS’ Newshour last night for a pretty substantive discussion. In particular, Jim Lehrer pressed Rumsfeld on the idea that support for the war has fallen because the electorate was set up with a different set of expectations, none of which came to fruition. Rumsfeld disagreed, saying the administration was […]
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: * New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine (D) is expected to formally announce that Rep. Bob Menendez (D) will replace him in the U.S. Senate at a 2:00 pm press conference today at the […]
About a month ago, on route to a stint through Asia, Bush delivered a speech in Alaska at Elmendorf Air Force Base. It was the unofficial kick-off of the new White House offensive on Iraq, meant to put the president’s critics on the defensive. There were two predictable facets to the presidential address: a) it […]
The WaPo had a good editorial today hammering the Small Business Administration for its ridiculous performance, particularly in response to disaster loans. There was just one thing the Post missed. At a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Hector Barreto, Bush’s hand-picked man to head the SBA, didn’t reassure lawmakers […]
A congressional probe into what happened before and after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast has been hampered by a variety of obstacles, most notably the difficulty lawmakers have had in getting the Bush White House to produce relevant documents. One lawmaker said the “lack of [White House] compliance is hindering the investigation.” It’s reached […]
There’s a widespread belief among congressional Republicans that their caucus’ legal and ethical scandals are of limited significance to voters. When they hold town hall forums, few ask about corruption, leading many to assume that this is a “inside the beltway” uproar that is yet to strike a chord with “real people.” If the GOP […]
It’s one thing for stores to wish shoppers a “happy holidays.” It’s another when the White House Christmas card doesn’t mention Christmas. But when politically-correct secularists successfully started closing down churches at Christmas, it was a clear sign that the war on the holiday had gone too far. Oh wait, that wasn’t the secularists; it […]
I noted last week that Congress’ interest in sports seemed to be moving in an unhealthy direction. The House Government Reform Committee won’t hold hearings on issues pertaining to government reform, but it will devote time and attention to steroids and baseball. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee won’t hold hearings on a White […]
Substantive details are a little hard to come by, but I feel compelled to offer a round-up of the latest Plame-related news before someone comes and takes away my “Liberal Bloggers ‘R Us” card. * The WaPo reported today, “The CIA leak investigation returned to a more active stage yesterday as a special prosecutor presented […]
The WaPo’s Dan Froomkin noted earlier this week that the highly respected Council on Foreign Relations agreed to host the president’s speech on Iraq yesterday, but the august organization had to break with its traditions in order to accommodate the White House’s demands — Bush would give his speech, but he would not respond to […]