Today’s edition of quick hits. * I’ll have a thorough report tomorrow about what we learned from Kyle Sampson today, but what was up with the GOP-led interruption this afternoon? Apparently, Republican lawmakers objected under Senate rules to the continuation of the hearing. It’s unclear whose bright idea it was, but Republicans quickly said there […]
Today’s press briefing included a real gem from spokesperson Dana Perino on the looming standoff over how best to fund the troops in Iraq. A reporter, who I believe was NBC’s David Gregory, noted that there’s clearly a chasm between the congressional spending bill (with a withdrawal timeline) and the White House’s demands for a […]
Several pundits have declared the point so obvious that it became instant conventional wisdom: Democrats on the Hill want to hold the administration accountable through oversight, but the public doesn’t care. David Broder said there’s no political upside to the prosecutor purge scandal, so Dems should focus attention elsewhere. John Harwood and Brian Williams said […]
Update: It looks like Senate Republicans have shut down this afternoon’s hearing. More soon. Second Update: The GOP’s complaint has been withdrawn and the hearing is back on. So far, much of Kyle Sampson testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee seems focused on debunking comments from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrongly […]
About a year ago, the New York Times ran a 2,000-word, front-page article with salacious speculation about Bill and Hillary Clinton’s marriage. Two days later, David Broder devoted a column to the Clintons’ marriage, describing it as “a hot topic.” Since then, the media seems to have let their interest in the Clintons’ relationship die […]
On Tuesday, the Senate rejected a measure that would have removed withdrawal timelines from the spending measure that would fund the war in Iraq. Today, despite the president’s veto threat, the Senate passed the whole package. Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops […]
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: * The Politico reported today that the Rev. Jesse Jackson will support Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. (The Politico piece appears to be about a month late.) * The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) […]
If true, this is a story that John McCain’s GOP critics will use to seriously undermine his presidential campaign. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were […]
In a speech to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association yesterday, the president added a new point to his standard remarks about the war in Iraq. Hoping to prove that Iraqis are beginning to see “positive changes,” Bush said, “I want to share with you how two Iraqi bloggers — they have bloggers in Baghdad, just […]
Before things heat up at today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, let’s consider some of the other purge-related revelations from the last half-day. * In the latest document dump (how many are we up to now? four?), there’s a key White House email. Kyle Sampson prepared a letter to Congress in February, telling lawmakers that Karl […]