Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, confirmed by the Senate in June to serve as the president’s war advisor (aka, the “war czar”), has kept a remarkably low profile. NSA Stephen Hadley told reporters a while back that Lute would be “up close to the president” to work “full time, 24/7” on implementing Bush’s war policy, but […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Wall Street was not for the faint of heart today: “Stocks trimmed losses, but still ended lower for the second session in a row as investors mulled news that the Federal Reserve has pumped $38 billion into the banking system amid ongoing worries about tightening credit and the subprime […]
Michael Crowley notes an unremarkable human-interest story out of Joplin, Mo., about a middle-aged man who has a home, but prefers to live in his car. Apparently, the man, Steven Graham, is annoying his neighbors quite a bit “disturbing the peace with loud music and obscenity-laced tirades.” A neighbor said, “Every day he’s out there. […]
There’s just something amusing about the president’s penchant for vacations. As governor of Texas, Bush enjoyed an inordinate amount of “down time,” and he brought that style to the White House. When he’s at “work,” Bush leaves plenty of time for exercise and likes to knock off early. More importantly, he likes to get away […]
Frequently, the difference between a campaign controversy that does permanent damage and a campaign controversy that causes a mild stir is one thing: video. If we saw a print account that George Allen called someone “macaca,” it’s nauseating, but when that is captured on video, it goes into heavy rotation. I mentioned earlier reports that […]
Hillary Clinton is out to impress Democratic primary voters, not conservative pundits, but as Bruce Bartlett noted today, Clinton “is rapidly becoming not merely acceptable to many right-wingers but possibly even their candidate of choice.” Listen to Kathryn Lopez, editor of National Review Online, who was blogging live during the AFL-CIO Democratic debate Tuesday in […]
When it comes to aides, staffers, and high-ranking officials, the president has had a reverse Midas touch. People who had good reputations go to work for Bush, and then leave humiliated. Those with stature going into Bush White House, leave with none. It’s as if the president’s inner circle is some kind of credibility-sapping black […]
In 2001, the president gave an interesting speech about what Americans should expect from their government. “We must always ask ourselves not only what is legal, but what is right,” Bush said. “There is no goal of government worth accomplishing if it cannot be accomplished with integrity.” I kept thinking about that speech when I […]
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 Ames Straw Poll is scheduled for tomorrow in Iowa, but the event will almost certainly be a mismatch. With Giuliani and McCain sidestepping the event, Romney is poised to win easily, […]
The Philadelphia Daily News’ Stu Bykofsky, one of the city’s most widely-read columnists, devoted his latest column to a provocative idea: he wants another 9/11-style attack to “help” America. As Bykofsky sees it, “we have forgotten who the enemy is,” and the murder of thousands of Americans would help us get back on track. Because […]