Last fall, after a series of questions emerged about Bush administration policies violating Americans’ privacy rights, White House officials insisted there was nothing to worry about. After all, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has been keeping a close eye on all of the administration’s decisions, the Bush gang said. If there was anything […]
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who testifies before the House Judiciary Committee today, believes he has “weathered the storm.” He was caught in the midst of a massive scandal he still can’t explain, his Justice Department is divided and dysfunctional, and he’s lost the trust of pretty much everyone who has objectively considered the facts, but […]
Rudy Giuliani’s handling of abortion-related questions the past couple of months has varied between awkward and embarrassing. He’s annoying both sides of the divide and making himself appear foolish in the process. Giuliani has apparently decided to stop playing games and admit the truth. After months of conflicting signals on abortion, Rudolph W. Giuliani is […]
Indicative of the growing unrest among congressional Republicans on the president’s war policy, multiple news reports note that 11 House Republicans met with Bush and his senior aides in the White House on Tuesday for an “unvarnished” conversation. House Republican moderates, in a remarkably blunt White House meeting, warned President Bush this week that his […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today that when Congress returns in September, “there will be a reassessment” on how well the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is working, and whether it’s time to consider “Plan B.” He didn’t say what “Plan B” might include. * Dick […]
When it came time for Congress to vote on a spending bill for the war in Iraq with a timeline for withdrawal, four Republicans stood with the Dems — two in the House, two in the Senate. Of the four, Maryland Republican Wayne Gilchrest is perhaps the least well known. What motivated him to buck […]
I hate to do this (again), but periodically, it’s worth remembering that national 2008 presidential polls are almost completely useless right now. We all want to know who’s up, who’s down, who’s the frontrunner, who’s fading, who’s struggling, etc. But national polling just doesn’t have much predictive value at this point. I’m reminded to write […]
When it comes to the prosecutor purge scandal, we’ve known for months about what some refer to as the Gonzales Eight — seven U.S. Attorneys who were fired on Dec. 7, 2006, and one who was fired shortly beforehand. But noted purge-ologists have long suspected that there were others who “resigned,” but were actually forced […]
When it comes to credibility on war policy and strategy, it’s tough to beat this kind of lineup. In an act of defiance perhaps not seen since President Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur, today the anti-war veterans group VoteVets.org, which has been influential with Capitol Hill Democrats, is launching a half-million-dollar TV ad campaign featuring […]
After the president vetoed the last congressionally-backed war-funding bill, there was widespread speculation about what Democratic lawmakers would try next. Yesterday, House Dems appeared to rally behind a new plan, which would give Bush all the funding he wants, with no withdrawal timeline — in kind of a down-payment plan. A House Democratic proposal introduced […]