Today’s edition of quick hits. * As of this minute, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has not yet resigned. * A couple of hours ago, the Idaho Statesman reported, “Republican officials say Gov. Butch Otter will name Lt. Gov. Jim Risch to the Senate if Sen. Larry Craig resigns. But Otter’s spokesman Jon Hanian said the […]
Sen. John Warner of Virginia, one of the last remaining respectable Republican senators, announced today that he’s calling it quits after five terms. Warner said he still feels spry enough for the rigors of the Senate, but he did not want to push it for another six years. “I want to be fair to this […]
A few months ago, the NYT reported on the breathtaking questions job applicants at the Justice Department were asked at the behest of Monica Goodling, the DoJ’s liaison to the White House. Goodling wouldn’t just isolate registered Democrats as inherently untrustworthy, she would also quiz applicants for civil service jobs with questions that several U.S. […]
To be absolutely clear, there is nothing funny about attacks on Americans. Ever. That said, this has a certain gallows-humor quality to it. First the set-up… A military cargo plane carrying four members of Congress took evasive action and dispatched flares to avoid ground fire Thursday night after taking off from Baghdad. The lawmakers said […]
I suspect everyone, no matter what he or she thinks of the war in Iraq, can pretty much guess how the next funding debate is going to go. Dems will include a withdrawal timeline in the spending bill, and Republicans will filibuster. Unable to break the filibuster, Dems will grudgingly give Bush what he wants. […]
The front-page WaPo piece that included startling revelations about opposition-research on lawmakers being distributed in Iraq, also included a couple of other gems worth considering. This one, for example, would be funny if it weren’t so ridiculous: But even such tight control could not always filter out the bizarre world inside the [Green Zone] barricades. […]
Tony Snow acknowledged a couple of weeks ago that his service to the White House would wrap up fairly soon, and sure enough, he made it official today. White House press secretary Tony Snow, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, will step down from his post September 14 and be replaced by deputy press secretary […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: career Bush administration officials had an idea that would benefit the public; affected corporations balked and hired lobbyists, political appointees (“loyal Bushies”) scrapped the idea. In the latest instance, it was a public-service campaign on breast-feeding scuttled by the infant-formula industry. In an attempt to raise the nation’s […]
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: * Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) has scheduled a 2pm event today to announce whether he’ll seek re-election again. The 80-year-old incumbent has kept his plans close to his vest, but rumor has it […]
More than two dozen federal lawmakers have taken advantage of the August recess to travel to Iraq, hoping to see for themselves what conditions are like on the ground. But before they arrive, military officials are apparently letting the troops know in advance whether the lawmakers support the administration’s policy or not. Jonathan Weisman explained […]