Giving new meaning to ‘Miami Vice’

Having been born and raised in Miami, I look back at the area with some fascination. That’s rarely a complement. Indeed, long-time readers may recall my theory that all bad things that happen in this country have an almost direct connection to Florida. But in case South Florida wasn’t a scary enough place to live […]

If you have to make the argument…

The Wall Street Journal editorial page, among the most conservative pieces of media real estate in the nation, had an interesting editorial on Duke Cunningham’s corruption today. The piece generally says the right things, but there was one sentence that stood out: Mr. Cunningham’s graft doesn’t mean that all Republicans are corrupt, any more than […]

Cunningham’s cartoonish corruption

I suspect some Americans who don’t follow the political process closely are under the impression that political corruption in Washington is like an old movie — a shady lobbyist, in the middle of the night, meets a congressman in a clandestine location. Confident no one is looking, the lobbyist hands over a bag money (usually […]

‘I tried to tell him. And he couldn’t hear it’

By now, you’ve likely heard about Seymour Hersh’s devastating new piece on the war in the latest issue of the New Yorker. If you haven’t already read it, I strongly recommend it. There’s a lot to chew on here, but perhaps the most disconcerting elements of the article were accounts of the president’s inability to […]

Dan Bartlett, comedian

White House counselor Dan Bartlett told Ron Brownstein that the 2002 vote on Congress’ Iraq resolution was not about campaign politics. “The president, during the run-up to the war, went out of his way not to make it political,” Bartlett said. That Bartlett, he has quite a sense of humor, doesn’t he? It was probably […]

Cunningham to plead guilty

It can be a challenge keeping track of all the Republican office-holders who are under investigation and/or facing criminal charges, but important to remember Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). As you may recall, Cunningham sold his house to a military contractor with business before his committee for an inflated price, ultimately leading to a $700,000 […]

Sibel Edmonds’ case comes to a halt

It’s a shame Sibel Edmonds’ concerns never really generated the national attention they deserved, but it’s an even bigger shame that her lawsuit won’t be considered. As a quick refresher, Edmonds is a former FBI translator who was fired because she complained about inadequate translation procedures at the agency, which she believes contributed to the […]

Maybe McClellan is at an undisclosed location

An alert reader noticed last week that Scott McClellan hasn’t held a press briefing since Nov. 9, which is an unusually long time. It seemed, at least at first, there was a reasonable explanation for the delay. Now, I’m not so sure. For example, Bush went on a tour of Asia. Reporters still received briefings, […]

Monday’s political round-up

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: * Confirming earlier reports, saxophone player Steven Greenfield told the AP over the weekend that he will challenge Sen. Hillary Clinton in a Dem primary next year. Greenfield has been a member of […]

Credit where credit is not due

The president has an annoying habit of taking credit for ideas that he initially opposed, but if Bush really wants praise for a Dem’s withdrawal plan, he’ll have to hope no one is paying any attention to reality. On Saturday, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in which he became […]