In his speech yesterday to the Associated General Contractors of America, the president seemed almost desperate to generate support for the war in Iraq. But with no coherent talking points left to defend the U.S. presence in Iraq, Bush played the only card he had left. Over the course of the hour-long event, the president […]
Yesterday was one of the busiest and most productive days for the prosecutor purge scandal in weeks, with a flurry of developments. Let’s sort ’em out. First, good ol’ Monica Goodling is now facing a Justice Department investigation for her role in screening career attorneys for party affiliation. The Justice Department has launched an internal […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * In a vote that surprised no one, the House came far short of overriding the president’s veto of war funding this afternoon. The final vote was 222 to 203, not even close to the necessary two-thirds majority. * Speaker Pelosi did have a memorable line shortly before the vote. […]
I try to read the transcript of every presidential speech, but they tend to get monotonous and repetitious. The real fun ones, however, are those rare occasions when Bush opens the floor to questions. When the president is reading a prepared text, I know what to expect. When Bush responds to a question, he’s more […]
Let’s look back to Jan. 11, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat at the witness table in Hearing Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building explaining why “those who talk about engagement with Syria and Iran” are all wet. “That’s not diplomacy — that’s extortion,” she said. Three months later, when House Speaker […]
After the president’s veto of the war-funding bill yesterday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle took turns most of the morning delivering speeches on how right they are. Some were excellent. Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) told his colleagues, “Yesterday the President vetoed only the second bill that has ever come to his desk. He […]
Apparently, the FDA is no longer functioning when it comes to food safety, but don’t worry, we now have a new “czar.” The Bush administration appointed a new “food safety czar” yesterday and directed him to develop a plan for addressing shortcomings exposed by recent scares in the human food supply. Dr. David W.K. Acheson, […]
They don’t get the attention they deserve, but there’s a thriving community of military blogs (milbloggers) led in part by active-duty troops who update their sites from Iraq and Afghanistan, sometimes literally from the front lines. But as Noah Shachtman noted today, these blogs may soon be a thing of the past. The U.S. Army […]
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 surprise turn-around, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama announced yesterday that they will attend a CNN/Union Leader debate in New Hampshire in June. Despite early statements that they would work […]
It was too good to be true. In mid January, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales apparently backed down from a year of wrangling over warrantless domestic searches. After arguing incessantly that the surveillance program was absolutely necessary, had to be kept separate from FISA, and could not be altered under any circumstances, Gonzales told the Senate […]