Administration officials might have a tough time explaining this one. A luxury private jet leased by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in emergencies has been used instead primarily to shuttle Health and Human Services Secretary [tag]Mike Leavitt[/tag] to dozens of news conferences and meetings, a Journal-Constitution analysis of the aircraft’s flight […]
When it comes the [tag]Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee[/tag] ([tag]DSCC[/tag]), I don’t necessarily mind when it endorses candidates, even before a [tag]primary[/tag]. If party officials have a candidate they think has the best shot at winning, voters can take into consideration which Dem is the “[tag]establishment[/tag]” candidate. Of course, there’s an inherent understanding behind this: the […]
A few months ago, Jennifer Loven wrote a great item for the AP on the frequency with which [tag]Bush[/tag] relies on [tag]straw-men[/tag] arguments to gain the rhetorical upper hand. Today, in a Rose Garden press conference, the [tag]president[/tag] went to the same well repeatedly. * “…I fully understand how people might have made the decision […]
About a month ago, [tag]Bush[/tag] was in Florida and met with a group of senior citizens to talk about his Medicare plan. He greeted those who rose for his entrance, but greeted a man who remained sitting in a wheelchair with, “You look mighty comfortable.” It struck me as one of the more embarrassing moments […]
This article, from the Investor’s Business Daily, has the right all excited. I’m not sure if conservatives have really thought this one through. Aided by surging tax receipts, President Bush may make good on his pledge to cut the deficit in [tag]half[/tag] in 2006 — three years early. […] The 2006 deficit through May was […]
I’m fully aware of the game. Every Congress, the House approves a [tag]constitution[/tag]al [tag]amendment[/tag] to [tag]ban[/tag] [tag]flag burning[/tag], the Senate comes close, Republicans enjoy a little [tag]demagoguery[/tag], and the issue goes away. It’s happened every other year for 14 years now, and the whole charade has become rather predictable. There’s reason to worry, however, that […]
From time to time, it’s helpful to look back and see how the administration performs by its own standards. In February 2004, for example, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao was on CNN defending the Bush administration’s economic policies. When Judy Woodruff noted the president’s poor record on job creation, Chao suggested there’s only one number that […]
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 Montana, state Senate President [tag]Jon Tester[/tag], fresh off his Dem primary win, is apparently making the National Republican Senatorial Committee a little nervous. Sen. [tag]Conrad Burns[/tag] (R) is considered one of […]
Whether [tag]Karl Rove[/tag]’s conduct in the [tag]Plame[/tag] scandal was literally criminal is open to some debate — or, in Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, perhaps not — but the fact that Rove intentionally misled the public and reporters is not. To his credit, the Associated Press’ [tag]Pete Yost[/tag] is calling Rove on it publicly. The decision not […]
Tomorrow, lawmakers in the [tag]House[/tag] will get together for a lengthy [tag]debate[/tag] on the [tag]war[/tag] in [tag]Iraq[/tag], a discussion that Roll Call described as “one of [the House’s] most significant debates in several years.” Majority Leader [tag]John Boehner[/tag] (R-Ohio) told reporters that he would like to see the debate take on a “serious, dignified tone.” […]