Let’s see, Bush has been caught leaking classified information, Republicans can’t pass a budget, Tom DeLay has resigned, and they’re fighting amongst themselves over immigration. What could make the day a little better? How about the latest [tag]poll[/tag]ing data? President Bush’s [tag]approval ratings[/tag] hit a series of new [tag]low[/tag]s in an [tag]AP-Ipsos[/tag] poll that also […]
I know [tag]Bush[/tag] and his supporters will try to spin a substantive difference between [tag]fee[/tag] increases and [tag]tax[/tag] increases, but this sounds like the latter. If President Bush has his way, airline passengers soon will be charged more for security screenings, some veterans will pay more for health care and meatpackers will fork over more […]
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: * Tom DeLay supporters disrupted a campaign event for Democratic candidate [tag]Nick Lampson[/tag] (D) yesterday, eventually pushing and shoving Lampson’s backers. “I got pushed. I got hit. I got a sign wadded up […]
I’m fully aware this is a lost cause, but I can’t help but wonder what it would take for congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag] to hold an oversight hearing regarding the Bush [tag]White House[/tag] and [tag]leaks[/tag] of [tag]classified[/tag] information. After six years in which the [tag]GOP[/tag] [tag]Congress[/tag] would launch a congressional investigation every time Drudge would run an […]
I don’t expect too much from [tag]Bob Novak[/tag] when it comes to even-handed political analysis, but his send-off for [tag]Tom DeLay[/tag] this week was over-the-top, even by [tag]Novak[/tag] standards. For example, Novak praises [tag]DeLay[/tag] as an historic leader for our times. He must be ranked with the [tag]great[/tag] legislative leaders of all time, such as […]
For months, the president and top [tag]administration[/tag] officials have vigorously defended Bush’s [tag]warrant[/tag]less-search program by emphasizing that their only interest is in international communications. Asked why they don’t just expand their power to purely domestic phone [tag]calls[/tag], everyone — from [tag]Bush[/tag] to [tag]Alberto Gonzales[/tag] to [tag]Michael Hayden[/tag] — said the administration had the [tag]authority[/tag] to […]
In the last post, I talked about the practical problems of the White House argument that Bush can leak [tag]classified[/tag] information because, as [tag]president[/tag], he can declassify anything he wants. In this post, let’s look at the political problems associated with this defense. Even if the practice is legal, and it very well may be, […]
The papers are filled this morning with analysis from legal experts on the [tag]president[/tag]’s apparent decision to authorize [tag]Scooter Libby[/tag] to leak portions of the classified National Intelligence Estimate to the New York Times. The consensus seems to be that, as a legal matter, [tag]Bush[/tag] can [tag]declassify[/tag] whatever he wants, whenever he wants. In other […]
This is exactly why the [tag]president[/tag] doesn’t like to leave his [tag]bubble[/tag]. Q: You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me […]
As I understand it, reporters and political observers who were watching Watergate unfold in the early ’70s would frequently grow frustrated by the ebb and flow of the scandal. There would be a few weeks in which the story was front-page news every day, followed by a few more weeks of nothing. It would then […]