In Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Tony Snow emphasized the same point he and his colleagues have been pressing for weeks: when it comes to the future of Iraq policy, everyone should just shut up until September. “It’s important for members of Congress to get a fuller sense of how the surge is working, or […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The House isn’t buying the Bush gang’s latest executive privilege claim: “In a 7-3 ruling today, a House Judiciary subcommittee ruled that that the White House’s assertion of executive privilege to block the release of ‘documents sought in subpoenas issued to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and […]
This is most disappointing. A federal judge dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s lawsuit against members of the Bush administration Thursday, eliminating one of the last courtroom remnants of the leak scandal. Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in […]
Let’s see, over the last day or so, I’ve managed to bash the Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton, the Washington Post’s Shailagh Murray, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, the NYT’s David Brooks, the Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel, and the Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum. It wasn’t exactly my intention to go after reporters who drive me up a wall, […]
Over the past couple of months, most of the rhetoric from top Bush administration officials about the public debate over Iraq has been fairly encouraging. Sure, far-right activists have said dissent is treasonous. And sure, in February, when lawmakers were passing a non-binding resolution criticizing the escalation strategy, Tony Snow went so far as to […]
Washington Post congressional reporter Lyndsey Layton was online yesterday for a Q&A with readers. Atrios noted this jaw-dropping exchange. Crestwood, N.Y.: Lyndsey, I like this Harry Reid strategy of late night theater to break the filibuster, because it underlines how many of the GOP Senators are making touchy-feely speeches about opposing the war, but refusing […]
This morning, in passing, I suggested Gen. Petraeus’ credibility “suffered a serious blow this week when he appeared on far-right activist Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, and stuck closely to the White House script.” In response, Hewitt responded that I am an “anti-intellectual screamer,” which may very well be the strangest, projection-like insult I’ve ever received. […]
Apparently, the White House press secretary we all know and tolerate is making a habit of writing mini-op-eds for USA Today. Two weeks ago, Tony Snow penned a spectacularly wrong piece on the Scooter Libby commutation, and today, he’s back at it, with an item disputing the National Intelligence Estimate and arguing in support of […]
An AP report this morning notes that the White House is continuing to lobby lawmakers on Iraq policy, in part by offering access to top officials responsible for implementing war policy. The White House is pushing hard to buy time for its Iraq strategy, offering Congress unusual access to President Bush’s top military and diplomatic […]
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: * John McCain’s patience is apparently running thin: “A frustrated Sen. John McCain snapped Wednesday when asked by CNN about his troubled presidential campaign and vowed he would no longer answer questions on […]