If media coverage is any indication, Rudy Giuliani scored big in this week’s GOP debate when he took Ron Paul to task for suggesting U.S. policies in the Middle East helped cause 9/11. But Greg Sargent caught an even more striking Giuliani comment shortly after the debate, when the former NYC mayor appeared on Fox […]
Somehow, this scandal manages to keep getting worse, while Alberto Gonzales’ lies manage to become even more troubling. The Justice Department considered dismissing many more U.S. attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to sources familiar with documents withheld from the […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * It looks like Paul Wolfowitz’s resignation from the World Bank is imminent: “Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is negotiating an agreement to resign, according to an official familiar with the talks. His departure would include an acknowledgment from the bank that he doesn’t bear sole responsibility for the […]
Unprompted, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow responded this afternoon to Sen. Feingold’s measure to cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31, 2008. I’ve seen just about every press briefing Snow has done, and this has to rank right up there among the craziest arguments he’s made. Q: On the war […]
At the risk of writing too much about the incident James Comey described yesterday, regarding events in John Ashcroft’s hospital room in 2004, there’s one angle to this that’s been bugging me all day. Mr. Comey said that when a top aide to Mr. Ashcroft alerted him about the pending visit [from Card and Gonzales], […]
The White House has finally found its “war czar” — Bush reportedly offered Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute the job, which Lute accepted. As a matter of policy, it’s not at all clear what the “czar” is going to do — or even be able to do — especially given that Lute appears to disagree with […]
In early 2003, literally just a few weeks before the president would launch a war with Iraq, Bush met with TV preacher Pat Robertson to discuss the conflict. The president reportedly told the televangelist that he believed there’d be minimal casualties, and soon after, began the invasion. With this background in mind, I was not […]
Long-time readers know that I have an odd sort of fascination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It’s just one of those unsung agencies that does important work for the public — which Bush has undermined through cronyism and hackery. When Clinton was president, he appointed Ann Brown to chair the CPSC, which is responsible […]
I’m not entirely surprised the measure lost, but the margin was disappointing. The Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation that would cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31, 2008. The vote was a loss for Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and other Democrats who want to end the war. But the effort picked […]
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 a move intended to help Barack Obama, and improve Illinois’ standing on the presidential campaign calendar, the Illinois state Senate “gave final approval Tuesday to legislation that advances the state’s 2008 […]