I wouldn’t want to be seen with him either

What’s that old saying? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend? It’s a saying that may have significance when considering Karl Rove’s recent political appearances — or in this case, lack thereof. Over the weekend, for example, the WaPo noted that Rove was scheduled to appear in Northern Virginia […]

A bungled vetting process

When John Roberts was under consideration for the Supreme Court, the White House subjected him to a rigorous vetting process. Roberts, like every other high court nominee of the last quarter century, met with nearly every possible White House official who would have input into selection. In his case, that meant lengthy discussions with Karl […]

Vote on stem-cell research put off until ’06

The last we heard from Congress on the bi-partisan legislation on federally-funded stem-cell research, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had flip-flopped his way into taking a firm stand against the White House policy. It was an indication that this popular bill was going to sail through the chamber, possibly with a veto-proof majority. Right up […]

It’s only a law license

Bruce Fein, with whom I rarely agree, recently said, “The tipping point in Washington is when you go from being a subject of caricature to the subject of laughter. [Harriet Miers is] in danger of becoming the subject of laughter.” Not only do I think this is true, I’m also wondering how much more it […]

Utah notwithstanding, the bottom is falling out for Bush

A new national SurveyUSA poll has Bush’s overall approval rating at 38%, making it the fifth national poll released in the last week or so showing Bush’s support below 40% (following along the same lines as Gallup, NBC, AP, and CBS). SurveyUSA, however, as it is wont to do, breaks down the numbers state-by-state. The […]

Reading the Plame tea leaves

Unlike the last few days, the major dailies were not filled with Plame-related updates today, but the New York Times offered an interesting item with a few interesting tidbits. For example, there’s been widespread discussion about a possible report from Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, summarizing his findings. The NYT said that’s not likely to happen — […]

Meet John Hannah

In February 2004, UPI identified two key suspects in the Plame scandal, both of whom work in Dick Cheney’s office. One of the names mentioned was Scooter Libby, the other was John Hannah. The UPI report quoted one federal law-enforcement officer as saying, “We believe that Hannah was the major player in this.” The same […]

The counter-attack won’t work

Marshall Wittmann predicted yesterday that Patrick Fitzgerald will soon be the subject of the scathing White House smear machine. I think that might be true, but I doubt it’ll be effective. We will soon learn the fate of Mr. Rove. But what we already know is what his reaction will be if he or anyone […]

Get ready for an annoying new talking point

Nico and Think Progress noted that conservatives, in particular Fox News, has come up with a new phrase to dismiss the Plame scandal: “the criminalization of politics.” In other words, they say, the outing of a covert CIA agent in a time of war to punish a whistleblower is just everyday “politics” — nothing out […]

The (in)significance of Rove’s garage

It seemed utterly ridiculous. The Associated Press’ national wire ran a 300-word piece on, literally, the contents of Karl Rove’s garage. He is “the architect” who steered George W. Bush to victory four times, twice as Texas governor and twice as president. But can Karl Rove organize his own garage? Can the master of Bush’s […]