In recent months, approval ratings for Congress have dipped to surprising lows. Indeed, in some polls, Congress’ popularity is lower than the president’s, and while historically that’s not unusual, considering Bush’s abysmal public standing, it’s hardly reassuring for folks on the Hill. The typical rejoinder from our friends on the right is that Congress’ falling […]
Sometimes, I can’t help but marvel at the sheer audacity of the president’s mendacity. It’s almost impressive how some can be so willfully dishonest about policies that matter. Take this morning, for example, during a brief Bush speech in the Rose Garden. “The House and Senate are now scheduled to leave for their August recess […]
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: * Mitt Romney went after Barack Obama aggressively yesterday for his support for science-based sexual education in public schools. The attack backfired — Obama shrugged off the criticisms, while noting that Romney supported […]
Rudy Giuliani recently told a supportive audience, “It’s something that I think I know, I think I know as well as anybody else who’s running for president, probably better than a lot.” Last week, he went on to argue that he has more knowledge of the world than anyone else running for President. If that’s […]
As if FEMA hadn’t done enough to Hurricane Katrina’s victims when the storm hit, the agency knowingly put families in trailers despite evidence that they would get sick. The Federal Emergency Management Agency since early 2006 has suppressed warnings from its own field workers about health problems experienced by hurricane victims living in government-provided trailers […]
I’ve written and re-written the start of this post a couple of times, trying to find the words to describe how truly radical the Bush White House has become with regards to the rule of law and the U.S. system of justice. Thoughts drift towards hyperbole — phrases like “constitutional crisis” come to mind — […]
In Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Tony Snow emphasized the same point he and his colleagues have been pressing for weeks: when it comes to the future of Iraq policy, everyone should just shut up until September. “It’s important for members of Congress to get a fuller sense of how the surge is working, or […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The House isn’t buying the Bush gang’s latest executive privilege claim: “In a 7-3 ruling today, a House Judiciary subcommittee ruled that that the White House’s assertion of executive privilege to block the release of ‘documents sought in subpoenas issued to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and […]
This is most disappointing. A federal judge dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s lawsuit against members of the Bush administration Thursday, eliminating one of the last courtroom remnants of the leak scandal. Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in […]
Let’s see, over the last day or so, I’ve managed to bash the Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton, the Washington Post’s Shailagh Murray, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, the NYT’s David Brooks, the Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel, and the Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum. It wasn’t exactly my intention to go after reporters who drive me up a wall, […]