A month ago, we learned that military planners in the Bush administration have given up on the whole they-stand-up, we-stand-down idea. Officials grudgingly came to realize that the strategy hasn’t worked — about more than four years of fighting, there are only 6,000 Iraqi troops who can operate independently — and that U.S. forces would […]
Jonah Goldberg devoted the first 700 words of his 800-word column this week to marveling at the rehabilitation of John Ashcroft’s public image in light of James Comey’s recent testimony. (For what it’s worth, I think much of the Ashcroft praise is misplaced for reasons that I explained over the weekend.) The column basically just […]
By now, everyone has heard all about the 2004 showdown in John Ashcroft’s hospital room. What we haven’t heard much of, however, is any kind of explanation from the Bush gang as to what transpired that night. Press Secretary Tony Snow brushed it off last week, suggesting that Ashcroft really wasn’t that sick, and that […]
Almost immediately after it became obvious that Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and other Bush confidants needed to testify in the prosecutor purge investigation, there was a standoff. Congressional Dems wanted Rove & Co. to appear before the Judiciary Committee(s), to answer questions. The White House wanted them to be “interviewed,” in private, with no transcript […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Congressional Dems will meet tonight to discuss exactly what their latest Iraq war spending bill is going to include (or not include). * If the AP is right — and rumors about Dem plans often aren’t — the bill is going to be pretty ugly. “In grudging concessions to […]
I know I noted this over the weekend over at TPM, but a) a lot of folks don’t read on weekends; b) I think it’s an important point; and c) TPM doesn’t have comments and I like to give you guys a chance to weigh in. The AP had an interesting item Saturday, highlighting Attorney […]
When it came to pushing a “voter fraud” scandal that didn’t exist, the administration worked diligently to politicize federal law enforcement. But it wasn’t entirely alone — outside the government, the Bush gang also received support from the American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR), which was established, ostensibly to root out election fraud. At least […]
On Friday, during a back-room discussion on the new immigration-reform package, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) started shouting at Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who dared to disagree with him on the legislation. Apparently, McCain accused Cornyn of raising petty objections, and Cornyn accused McCain of having dropped in without taking part in the negotiations. “F**k you! […]
By any reasonable measure, the walls are collapsing around Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He’s been exposed as an incompetent liar, turning his job as the nation’s top law-enforcement officer into little more than a cog in Karl Rove’s political machine. In the Senate, 10 members of the president’s own party agree that it’s time for […]
That former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) is moving forward with a presidential bid is hardly open to question anymore. Today, he hired a campaign manager (a former top aide to H.W. Bush), which is usually a reliable precursor to an announcement. With this in mind, we can now expect the onslaught of little-red-truck stories. A […]