The WaPo hasn’t offered too much in the way of behind-the-scenes insights regarding [tag]Mary McCarthy[/tag], [tag]Porter Goss[/tag], and the [tag]CIA[/tag], but the paper did the right thing today by highlighting the odd priorities of the director of central intelligence. [Goss] has taken no disciplinary action against CIA personnel identified by his inspector general as having […]
Nearly two years ago, an [tag]FDA[/tag] advisory panel voted 23 to 4 to approve over-the-counter access to Plan B [tag]emergency contraception[/tag]. One FDA panel member called it the “safest drug that we have seen brought before us.” The scientific evidence was overwhelming and access to [tag]Plan B[/tag] would curtail abortion and unwanted pregnancies. This was […]
News reports made it clear this was going to happen this morning, and now it’s official. Bush introduced Fox News’ Tony Snow as Scott McClellan’s replacement just moments ago. After Snow thanked the president for the honor, Bush and Snow left the podium without taking questions. (NBC’s David Gregory shouted, “Mr. Preisdent, what do you […]
Reading over the coverage of the [tag]White House[/tag]’s new-found interest in [tag]gas prices[/tag], one thing seems clear: no one actually thinks Bush’s measures will do anything to make gas cheaper. Yesterday, the president emphasized that “every little bit helps,” but I don’t think [tag]Bush[/tag] appreciates the nuances of this political game. Amid growing Republican unrest […]
Republicans must have done some internal polling and found gas prices to be their biggest vulnerability this year, because the moves to do something about it have been fast and furious. Yesterday, it was Hastert and Frist. Today, it’s Bush. President Bush, faced with rising public discontent over high fuel prices, today directed his administration […]
There’s no real point in highlighting every new [tag]poll[/tag] that’s released showing [tag]Bush[/tag]’s awful [tag]approval ratings[/tag] — his unpopularity has more or less reached dog-bites-man territory — so I’ll make everyone a deal: I’ll only mention new national polls about the president when a) the results show a new all-time low; or b) when the […]
If there’s any political wisdom in this, I can’t find it. For emotional wallop, there are few rivals to the windswept, grassy field outside of Shanksville, Pa., where United Airlines [tag]Flight 93[/tag] crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. But for three years, that field has made do with a makeshift monument while one member of Congress, […]
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: * Eight months after ruling out a Senate primary against Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R), Florida House Speaker [tag]Allan Bense[/tag] “may reconsider” his decision. Bense has been encouraged by state and national GOP leaders, […]
As you may have heard, an [tag]eighth[/tag] [tag]retired[/tag] [tag]general[/tag] announced yesterday that Defense Secretary Donald [tag]Rumsfeld[/tag] should [tag]resign[/tag]. This one, though, has an even more compelling back-story than some of his colleagues. Fox News is reporting an eighth general has called for Rumsfeld’s resignation. Ret. Marine General [tag]Paul Van Riper[/tag] said he constantly talks with […]
Less than 48 hours ago, [tag]Tyler Drumheller[/tag], the former highest ranking [tag]CIA[/tag] officer in Europe, explained that intelligence officials told the White House that Iraq had no WMD and had the kind of blockbuster, inside-source imaginable to confirm this. The [tag]Bush[/tag] gang blew him off and went to war. At the same time, lawmakers like […]