For most of us, comparing Bill Clinton’s sins with George W. Bush’s is a pretty easy task. The prior had personal failings; the latter has presidential failings. The prior lied about his personal mistakes; the latter lies about matters of state. ABC News’ The Note, responding to Howard Dean’s comments last night that “it’s a […]
I know I’m not supposed to link to columns behind the NYT’s annoying pay wall, but I feel compelled to note Bob Herbert’s condemnation of President Bush, which ran today. His breathtaking arrogance is exceeded only by his incompetence. And that’s the real problem. That’s where you’ll find the mind-boggling destructiveness of this regime, in […]
Dan Froomin noted today that the president’s press conference “was a frustrating experience for journalists whose specific questions were largely answered with imprecise comments related to their general topic.” It’s an entirely fair description, particularly when it came to questions about Jack Abramoff’s connections to the White House. Q: Mr. President, you talked about Jack […]
The president’s surprise press conference this morning didn’t produce too much in the way of news and/or revelations, but Bush did offer an interesting response to a question about his administration’s policy on torture. Q: Could you call on your Texas straight talk and make a clear and unambiguous statement today that no American will […]
I realize that Rick Santorum is in a tough spot. Considering some of his more scandalous shenanigans, Santorum is understandably cautious about defending his record. But it’s just odd that Santorum thinks he can slip into a complete state of denial over his role in the K Street Project. Mr. Santorum flatly denied yesterday 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 New Jersey, competing polls are coming to different results when looking ahead to November’s Senate election. The latest Rasmussen poll shows State Senator Tom Kean Jr. (R) leading newly appointed Sen. […]
If someone could explain the logic of this to me, I’d sure appreciate it. Hundreds of officers and health care professionals have been discharged in the past 10 years under the Pentagon’s policy on gays, a loss that while relatively small in numbers involves troops who are expensive for the military to educate and train. […]
Yesterday, the New York Times noted that Senate Democrats hope to send a message to the White House with a narrow confirmation victory for Samuel Alito. “Democrats said a close vote would warn President Bush not to name such conservative judges,” the Times reported. I’m not quite sure if I understand the logic of this […]
I’m not one to buy into conspiracy theories, but the timing of this nomination is a little odd. President Bush on Wednesday nominated one of the Justice Department’s lead prosecutors in the Jack Abramoff corruption probe to a U.S. District Court seat in New Jersey. Noel Hillman, chief of the department’s public integrity section, was […]
Just to follow up on the last post, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the Bush administration’s defense against the charge that it rejects the same legal standard now that it embraced in 2002. …Justice Department officials disagreed, saying the standard the department opposed in 2002 is legally different from the one used by […]