When the Bush White House decided it would no longer seek warrants for its surveillance efforts, the president and his top staffers wanted approval from some lawyers. Any lawyers. Ashcroft and the DoJ balked; the administration bypassed the National Security Council’s “lawyers’ group,” which review top-secret intelligence programs; and the decision ultimately went to Alberto […]
The White House is subtly suggesting that Bush is prepared to turn over a new leaf — by embracing the same phony, cynical masquerade used in the 2000 campaign. Climbing his way out of low public ratings and facing a bruising battle to maintain Republican control of Congress, President Bush is seeking to resurrect his […]
Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination raises any number of compelling angles (will Dems filibuster? will GOP centrists bolt?), but the one that seems to be on the minds of many Republicans has less to do with Alito and more to do with political timing. Republican officials say they are so worried about the Abramoff problem […]
For a guy who treasures loyalty as a person’s most important trait, Bush has no qualms about throwing friends overboard when they face an unspinnable problem. Ken “Kenny Boy” Lay was Bush’s close pal, until the president no longer knew who he was. Katherine Harris was the nice lady who helped him steal a presidential […]
Last week, several members of the White House press corps followed up on the Jack Abramoff plea deal by asking some fairly pertinent questions: has Bush met Abramoff, the lobbyist who raised at least $100,000 for the president’s 2004 campaign? How often has Abramoff been to the White House? Any pictures of the two together? […]
Last week, Bush issued a “signing statement” explaining how he interprets new anti-torture measures passed by Congress. In short, the president believes he can ignore the law when he believes he should. Friday, Bush signed the annual Defense authorization bill for the fiscal year. True to form, it came with another “signing statement.” There’s a […]
On Dec. 28, Rasmussen Reports released a poll on the controversy of the day: Bush’s warrantless-search program. It was, unfortunately, largely useless, since it failed to ask respondents about the most controversial aspects of the domestic spying program. Of course, that didn’t stop the White House and its allies from touting the poll as proof […]
The writing was all over the wall, but Tom DeLay insisted that he’d fight until he regained his post as House Major Leader. That was yesterday. Today, he gave up. Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay on Saturday abandoned his bid to remain as House majority leader, clearing the way for leadership elections among Republicans eager to […]
It’s horrifying to think about, but the Pentagon has determined that troop deaths in Iraq could have been prevented with body armor that was already available but not purchased. A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper […]
In the 2000 presidential race, John McCain saw the South Carolina primary as a key contest, following his big win over Bush in New Hampshire. To help boost his standing, McCain shamelessly abandoned his opposition to the Confederate battle flag and agreed with GOP primary voters that the flag was merely about honoring Southern heritage, […]