I’m shocked — shocked! — to learn that [tag]Republicans[/tag] on the Hill would emphasize [tag]tax cuts[/tag] for the richest Americans over benefits for the middle class. Republican lawmakers, facing the prospect that their power to cut taxes may soon be curbed, plan to extend breaks that mostly benefit the wealthy and Wall Street at the […]
I can appreciate the fact that the [tag]war[/tag] in [tag]Iraq[/tag] has become a national security and public relations nightmare for the [tag]White House[/tag], so it stands to reason that the [tag]Bush[/tag] gang would want administration officials to put as positive a spin as possible on war developments. That said, this is just embarrassing. Career appointees […]
The [tag]Wall Street Journal[/tag]’s Jackie Calmes has what I believe is the first confirmation to date that [tag]Al Gore[/tag] is considering the [tag]2008[/tag] [tag]president[/tag]ial race. The demurrals aren’t persuasive to some Democrats, including former Clinton-Gore White House insiders. “I do know that he’s thinking about it. I know for a fact,” a former adviser says. […]
I’m glad the president has hit it off with German Chancellor [tag]Angela Merkel[/tag], but I really wish [tag]Bush[/tag] knew well enough to avoid describing others’ souls. President George W. Bush said on Sunday he gained a glimpse into German Chancellor Angela [tag]Merkel[/tag]’s soul when they met in Washington last week. Bush told ARD television that […]
Let’s see, who believes it’s a bad idea for Air Force Gen. [tag]Michael Hayden[/tag] to replace [tag]Porter Goss[/tag] as the [tag]CIA[/tag] director? Well, there are congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag]… “I do believe he is the wrong person, the wrong place, at the wrong time,” Representative [tag]Peter Hoekstra[/tag], a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, […]
When asked before the 2004 election about his biggest mistake, [tag]Bush[/tag] couldn’t think of anything. Asked over the weekend about his [tag]best moment[/tag] in office, the [tag]president[/tag] seemed to have trouble again. During his more than five years in office, Bush has traveled the world’s most impressive cities, met with world leaders and entertained celebrities. […]
Just to let readers know, a couple of Carpetbagger regulars have informed me of some of recent successes that I thought I’d pass on. First, Russ Krauss, whom many of you know as “hark” from the comments section, had a terrific short story published in the current issue of Peridot Books. Be sure to take […]
Are we near the tipping point on the Republicans’ “culture of corruption” story? Have we passed it? * CIA Director Porter Goss resigned suddenly Friday, a move than may have been driven, in part, by his connection to Kyle “Dusty” Foggo (who is now facing a criminal investigation of his own) and the Brent Wilkes/Duke […]
So, why did [tag]Porter Goss[/tag] resign yesterday? As of this morning… * The NYT said [tag]Goss[/tag]’ departure “was hastened because a recent inquiry by the [tag]President[/tag]’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board had found that current and former agency officers were sharply critical of Mr. Goss’s leadership.” It added that the resignation “occurs amid an investigation into […]
By any reasonable standard, Porter Goss was an awful, almost embarrassing, choice to be the director of the CIA. His limited tenure was, as Spencer Ackerman noted, marred by the near-total collapse of the agency, as Goss helped turn it into little more than an appendage of the White House. Worse, Goss drove the CIA’s […]