Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Good news from the House floor: “The House approved the first increase in federal automobile fuel efficiency requirements in three decades Thursday as part of an energy bill that also repeals billions of dollars oil company tax breaks and encourages use of renewable fuels. The bill, passed by a vote of 235-181, faces a certain filibuster in the Senate and a veto threat from the White House…. ‘We will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not the Middle East,’ countered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, referring to the bill’s emphasis on promoting renewable energy sources, especially ethanol, which would see a sevenfold increase by 2022 to 36 billion gallons a year.”
* Bad news from a congressional conference committee: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday postponed a vote on contempt resolutions against former White House adviser Karl Rove and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten after Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) objected to language in the measures. Committee rules allow for a one-week delay, so the vote will likely take place next Thursday. Committee approval of the resolution would trigger a full Senate vote on the resolutions early next year.”
* Bush unveiled his mortgage-rate-freeze plan today, as part of the administration’s effort to respond to the mortgage crisis. Among those who won’t get any help from the policy at all are low-income borrowers, those who’ve missed a mortgage payment, and/or those whose homes cost less than their mortgage. In other words, if you’re not wealthy, you’re screwed.
* Very good point: “The Administration’s most persistent spin of the new Iran NIE is that it vindicates their position because it shows that Iran did in fact have an active nuclear weapons program in 2003. That’s quite some vindication. What it really means is that faced with two neighbors in the spring of 2003 who both harbored nuclear ambitions, we invaded the country without an active WMD program while ignoring the one that did. I’m not suggesting we should have invaded Iran instead, but by the Administration’s own reckoning, we should have.”
* I’ve respected and admired plenty of political leaders over the years, but it’s never even occurred to me to be as shamelessly sycophantic as Hugh Hewitt: “Mitt Romney’s ‘Faith in America’ speech was simply magnificent, and anyone who denies it is not to be trusted as an analyst. On every level it was a masterpiece.” Watch out for that drool there, Hugh.
* Joe Klein’s reputation has taken a tumble in the blogosphere lately, and these comments on MSNBC this morning, about Bush and the NIE, will only make matters worse: “The Bush reaction to this — he didn’t try to block it. He didn’t try to postpone it. He didn’t spend weeks, he didn’t ask the intelligence community ‘give me a couple of weeks, let’s see if we can figure out some kind of negotiating initiative or some way to respond to this.’ He didn’t try to spin it to our advantage. This is an amazing moment of candor by the United States.” Sweet Jeebus, that’s wrong.
* CNN was slated to run a speculative documentary called, “We Were Warned — Iran Goes Nuclear” in less than a week. It was set to feature “a what-if scenario as former government officials — playing fictional cabinet members — debate how to deal with the Iranian threat.” Today, CNN announced it will not run the special. Good move.
* Did Bush send Kim Jung-Il a personal note? It seems unlikely, but that’s what North Korea claims.
* Glenn Beck doesn’t believe the media should ask politicians about their religious beliefs — unless they’re Muslims, in which case it’s an important issue.
* Fred Thompson’s take on the NIE doesn’t make a lot of sense.
* The Philadelphia council of the Boy Scouts of America wanted the city to give it valuable real estate for almost nothing and wanted the city to overlook its discriminatory policies towards gays. The city gave the Boy Scouts a choice: give up the sweetheart real-estate deal, or give up on discrimination. The Scouts decided discrimination was more important. How very odd.
* It’s inside pool, but in case anyone was curious, “By an overwhelming 2-1 margin, Republican Senators voted Thursday to install Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) as their next Conference chairman.”
* The Washington Post’s conservative editorial line-up was remarkably one-sided yesterday, and then just as bad today. And yet, you’ll still hear some complain that it’s a liberal paper.
* And finally, the president unveiled a toll-free hotline for homeowners with questions in the midst of the mortgage crisis. The only problem: he gave out the wrong phone number. Just to set the record straight, the correct number is 1-888-995-HOPE.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.