The way I look at Congress, there are, broadly, lawmakers who I agree with (most Dems), and lawmakers I disagree with (most Republicans). But more specifically, I have an informal hierarchy for those with whom I disagree. The largest group is “generic conservatives,” who think the way one expects them to think. Then there are […]
John S. Koppel started working for the Justice Department as a civil appellate attorney in the Reagan administration. Now, 26 years later, Koppel is so disgusted by the actions of the Bush administration, that he felt compelled to write a devastating op-ed in the Denver Post on why the president’s sense of justice is “a […]
Following up on the news that the White House is once again thumbing its nose at Congress, it’s also worth taking a moment to note some of the details of Fred Fielding’s letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees this morning. Specifically, I’m fascinated by Fielding’s concerns about etiquette. Let me begin by conveying […]
The NYT ran a major scoop this morning, explaining that White House officials are starting to see the anti-war writing on the wall, which is leading to considerably debate within the administration about whether Bush can begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops from the war. Much of the Bush gang reportedly hoped to push […]
On his exploratory website, Fred Thompson boasts that he “gained national attention” as the “hard-charging counsel” who took the “lead” in revealing the audio-taping system in Nixon’s Oval Office. In effect, to hear the actor/lobbyist/lawyer tell it, the Watergate scandal turned on the clever work of a young Fred Thompson. It all sounds quite impressive […]
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. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) was surprisingly cagey about his future plans, including a possible presidential campaign, on Meet the Press yesterday. Hagel said he doesn’t “intend” to leave the GOP to run […]
Well, I can’t imagine anyone is surprised by this stonewalling. President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from two former aides in connection with the firings of federal prosecutors. The White House, however, did offer again to make former counsel Harriet Miers and one-time political director Sara Taylor available […]
Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria recently noted that the United States has to deal with far fewer instances of domestic terrorism in part because American Muslims “are generally middle class, moderate and well assimilated. They believe in America and the American Dream.” McClatchy’s Matthew Schofield followed up on this point with a terrific piece exploring why the […]
Karl Rove gave a predictably unapologetic presentation at the Aspen Ideas Festival at the Aspen Institute over the weekend, but given that Rove is rarely confronted with these questions, his responses were nevertheless noteworthy. For example, Aspen Institute CEO Walter Isaacson, who interviewed Rove, asked about Iraq, “Who is the enemy?” [Rove] said that 80 […]
The NYT has an intriguing item on the front page today about a Bush administration that appears to be slowly realizing that its current war policy is unsustainable. GOP lawmakers are scared out of their minds, troop deployments effectively run out in April, the electorate is outraged, and there appears to be a growing sense […]