The media has gone after Democratic presidential candidates for some pretty silly things. John Edwards’ haircuts have drawn more attention than any other campaign-related story this year, and the coverage of his home sale was truly ridiculous. Barack Obama received unwarranted scrutiny on some harmless investments. A story about Hillary Clinton’s charitable family foundation sparked […]
Following up on an item from Monday, the president is going out of his way to aggressively state his opposition to expand healthcare access to 4 million kids through the popular, decade-old State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). Bush made his opinion clear during at event in Landover, Maryland, yesterday. “I believe government cannot provide […]
We recently learned that the pro-choice National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. reportedly hired Thompson to lobby the H.W. Bush White House in 1991. Specifically, the group paid Thompson quite a bit of money to push the White House to ease restrictions that barred abortion counseling at clinics that received federal money. The Thompson […]
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, reporters peppered Tony Snow with questions about al Qaeda’s resurgence. Asked specifically about our vulnerabilities six years ago compared today, Snow said, “There’s no way to quantify, but we are significantly less vulnerable.” Asked how, Snow explained that the U.S. “didn’t have surveillance programs” before 9/11. Now, on its […]
I was pleased to see Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pull the Defense appropriations bill yesterday, after the latest in a seemingly endless stream of Republican filibusters. Reid was fed up with the obstructionism, and effectively told the GOP, “We can vote on appropriations when you let us vote on amendments.” Good for him. There […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * In light of all the many, many Justice Department scandals, rumor has it Alberto Gonzales has struggled to fill several top positions, because no one wants to tarnish their reputation by working with him. Nevertheless, filling one of the many empty positions left vacant by the U.S. Attorney scandal, […]
We’ve heard quite a lot of stupidity about Iraq lately, but this is a jaw-dropper. On the July 18 edition of MSNBC Live, during a discussion of Senate Republicans’ move blocking an up or down vote on a Democratic amendment aimed at withdrawing troops from Iraq, Washington Post staff writer Shailagh Murray asserted that “most […]
Well, this might raise a few eyebrows on the Hill (via Atrios): LARRY KING: Does that mean you have phone numbers that you’re following up? LARRY FLYNT: Not just phone numbers. KING: Names? FLYNT: We’ve got good leads. We’ve got over 300 initially. And they’re down to about 30 now which is solid. KING: When […]
Homeland Security Advisor Frances Fragos Townsend was able to bamboozle reporters yesterday with bogus arguments, but today on NPR, Steve Inskeep challenged Townsend with reasonable questions — which she wasn’t able to answer. INSKEEP: Well, you know that one of the intelligence officials that helped to draft this report has been briefing reporters, and has […]
It took six years, but the WaPo finally got its hands on the heretofore secret meetings Dick Cheney held as part of his energy task-force in 2001. In news that will surprise absolutely no one, it turns out the VP listened to the energy industry when shaping the administration’s policy. One of the first visitors, […]