Tuesday’s Mini-Report

May 15, 2007

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* The big question in the Senate is how the Democratic presidential hopefuls — particularly Clinton and Obama — will vote on the Feingold-Reid measure to cut off funding for the war. Today, Obama announced he will vote for it. Shortly thereafter, Clinton followed suit.

* The search for a “war czar” is apparently over: “ABC News has learned that President Bush has chosen the Pentagon’s director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, for the role. In the newly created position of assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan policy and implementation, Lute would have the power to direct the Pentagon, State Department and other agencies involved in the two conflicts. Lute would report directly to the president and to National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.”

* For the first time, the White House hedged on supporting World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. A senior White House official tells ABC News that “all options are on the table” regarding Paul Wolfowitz’s future and that “it is an open question” whether he should remain as president of the World Bank. “If you don’t have board support and you don’t have staff support, it is hard to get anything done,” the official told ABC News.

* Politico: “Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said today he will investigate the Pentagon’s decision to cut off troop access to MySpace, YouTube and more than a dozen other websites. ‘Believe me, I am going to jump on that like a June bug right now,’ said Warner, a member of the Armed Services Committee.”

* Noah Shachtman offers a little perspective on news reports about Iran’s progress in advancing its nuclear program. “Is Iran dangerous as hell? You bet it is. Do we need to do something soon about this? You bet we do. Is this sky falling this second? No, it’s not.”

* MoveOn.org is coming to Gen. John Batiste’s defense after CBS fired him. Also, the network can’t keep its story straight to explain why he needed to be sacked.

* The party is like a jukebox that only plays one song: “For months, top Republicans running for president have been striking the same three notes: They champion small government, a strong military and, in most cases, traditional values. That formula has propelled GOP victories for a generation. But increasingly, scholars and political strategists are casting doubt on its value in the 2008 race for the White House. ‘It looks pretty much like the tattered playbook they’ve used in the past, and the idea of a bold new direction, I haven’t seen any sign of it,’ said Lawrence Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.”

* XM has suspended the “Opie and Anthony” show for 30 days, following their comments last week about raping Condoleezza Rice. They deserved more than just a suspension.

* When Fox News runs a segment about alleged illegal voting, they show images of black people voting. What a surprise.

* Bill O’Reilly can explain why Katie Couric’s ratings are so low: “I think it’s a woman thing,” O’Reilly said. “It’s an authority position. Most middle Americans who watch news feel comfortable with men in that position. That’s what’s going on.”

* Tony Snow acknowledged that White House officials badgered John Ashcroft in his hospital room in 2004, but justified the intrusion, insisting that Ashcroft’s condition wasn’t that bad.

* Media Matters: “During the May 11 edition of the Post Politics Hour online discussion at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post White House correspondent Jonathan Weisman replied to a question — ‘How is Washington handling the news that almost 40 percent of Americans support impeachment of [President] Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney?’ — by stating: ‘We’re not. I haven’t seen the polling that you are referring to, and until I do, I won’t quite believe it.’ A recent InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll, however, found that 39 percent of Americans favor the impeachment by Congress of Bush and Cheney.”

* And for the second year in a row, the city where I was born and grew up won a distinct honor: “Rude Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday…. South Miami resident Erik Pinto told the Associated Press that he has probably seen every bad driving habit on Miami’s roads. ‘You don’t want to know what I’ve seen,’ Pinto said. ‘I’ve seen everything. I’m from L.A., and we don’t see the crazy drivers that you see here.'”

Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

‘Believe me, I am going to jump on that like a June bug right now,’ said Warner…

May Bug?

  • The “war czar” thing continues to make me furious. Heaven knows Lute probably can do the job better than Bush, but Bush has outsourced every responsibility a president has. I don’t think he needs to be impeached. I think he needs to be fired.

  • Rumsfeld’s resignation letter is top secret for some reason.

    The reason being offered? There’s no other copies available. I guess the whitehouse copier is broken?

    The Pentagon says it does not have a copy, and the White House office likely to hold the letter is not subject to the law that allows the public to seek release of government documents, the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA .

    A defense official, who declined to be identified publicly, on Tuesday chalked up the close hold on Rumsfeld’s letter to the existence of few copies.

    “I suspect there’s only one copy of that and it went to the president,” the official said.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070515/pl_nm/usa_rumsfeld_letter_dc_1

  • Most middle Americans who watch news feel comfortable with men in that position.

    Which means O’Lielly is in deep trouble when people discover he is really a skin suit occupied by rabid mustelids.

    [Snow] justified the intrusion, insisting that Ashcroft’s condition wasn’t that bad.

    More reasons I felt zero sympathy when Snowjob got sick. What a prick. Pancreatitis means you have pancreatic enzymes leaking all over your insides. Pancreatic enzymes are more caustic than stomach acids and will happily eat away at your internal organs. House matey got it after he had surgery. He lost 35 lbs because he couldn’t eat for a month. He had to go on TPN which involves a big scary catheter inserted into an artery near your collar bone. Spend too much time on an all TPN diet and your liver starts to crap out. I could go on but suffice it to say there is no such thing as pancreatitis that isn’t that bad, just as there is no thing as a BushBot who is any good.

  • I guess Jonathan Weisman can say he still “hasn’t seen the polling”. Of course the reason he hasn’t seen it would be because he doesn’t want to see it.

    Which would make him more of a douchebag than a journalist.

    Here’s some polling data if the Washington Post ever decides that the douchebag needs to do his job:

    http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-poll-1

    and

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/

    Q: Do you believe President Bush’s actions justify impeachment?

    88% (377,983 respondents) said: Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.

  • Tell ya what, Bill. If Gwen Ifill was the host of the CBS evening news, instead of that piece of fluff, I’d be giving it a try.

  • * Bill O’Reilly can explain why Katie Couric’s ratings are so low: “I think it’s a woman thing,” O’Reilly said. “It’s an authority position. Most middle Americans who watch news feel comfortable with men in that position. That’s what’s going on.”

    Hmmpph. Perhaps its just because I live in Northern California and am a progressive, but I don’t think its her sex, Bill. Its the fact that I expect an anchor person to be a first and foremost a reporter not a celebrity interviewer. Journalists are supposed to challenge their interviewees, ask hard questions with harder follow-ups. Not gush all over them. When Ms. Couric starts acting like a journalist, her ratings will rise.

  • Jessica Flowers,

    Shall we start addressing Lt Gen Lute as President Lute?

    I think Commander-in-Chief Lute would be reasonable.

  • “The search for a war czar is over …”

    How about we call this Plan Z?

  • Now that Bush has his war “czar” he will attack Iran. This is why he wanted a war czar, to focus on the military action abroad. Now he can focus on military action at home if needed via Blackwater. Yes, it’s far fetched. Has only been attempted once in our history by the “robber barons”. Still, its feasible. Bush has been without a war czar for Iraq and Afghanistan for 5yrs. and now suddenly feels he needs one. Iran is the reason. Ships, troops, positioned and now the czar. The warnings are there for congress and Pelosi and yet they are still willing to gamble with the future of our country. The only way to stop this man is to impeach him and remove him from office. This would stop his war plans and his domestic terror. Why else would he create the position of “war czar” now…when we are near to bringing our troops home…if not because he plans to attack Iran. Stop him now…Impeach Bush/Cheney.

  • Idea for a “Sunday Discussion”:

    How is the corruption and ineptitude of the Bush Administration influencing your sense of self and well-being?

    I am quite serious.

    A government that is so ceaselessly corrupt has to take a toll on the public on which it is founded.

    Let me put it another way:

    We’ve got a rogue and recalcitrant president who continues to endorse a lying Attorney General and an immoral World Bank leader. It is by Bush’s authority alone that these crooks and liars continue on in their positions.

    Somewhere something has got to give…
    It ain’t healthy.

  • bjobotts: don’t worry about a war with Iran, it will be one of many such wars by the USA to keep oil and gas flowing to our shores. The draft will be coming after the next election cycle, it doesn’t matter if a R or D wins.
    Iran will be just like Iraq and just like Vietnam and just like all the others.

  • Grand Moff Lute’s philosophy?
    “Fear will keep the local systems in line…”

    So iIs there a list for dumbest drivers?

    If so, I would like to nominate as #1:

    Omaha, Nebraska

  • The War Czar thing reminds me of this Onion article:

    “CNN Renews This Week At War For Next Eight Seasons”

    Well, maybe now that Democrats finally have balls taken a look at polls, maybe the Czar won’t have too much to do. Na… I don’t think so either.

  • My theory on the war czar is that the hardliners (viz Cheney) are terrified that Rice and Gates are becoming too reasonable, and sacking either (let alone both of) them would be a political embarrassment. Hadley is a weak nonentity, worse even than Rice was as NSA. So rather than replace them, they create a new post, to keep decision-making unstable and Cheney in the saddle.

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