Bob [tag]Novak[/tag]’s account of how he came to publish the name of undercover [tag]CIA[/tag] agent [tag]Valerie Plame[/tag] has never really held together. His explanation(s) have included odd denials and contradictions, such as his claim that his [tag]White House[/tag] sources thought Plame’s identity was “significant,” and “they gave me the name,” followed by Novak’s claim that […]
When [tag]Claude Allen[/tag] was forced to resign from the White House after getting caught in some unfortunate shoplifting incidents, the West Wing was temporarily without a chief domestic [tag]policy[/tag] advisor. It probably didn’t matter too much — the Bush gang shows about as much interest in policy as the president shows in sightseeing in France […]
The [tag]William Jefferson[/tag] controversy is clearly a mess, especially for Dems, but I think [tag]Nancy Pelosi[/tag] has handled it pretty well so far. Unlike GOP leaders who have rallied to the defense of Cunningham, DeLay, and others, Pelosi has had the good sense to distance herself and the party from Jefferson’s problems. In fact, yesterday, […]
The [tag]FBI[/tag] has probably never had to spend quite this much time on [tag]Capitol Hill[/tag], investigating lawmakers and dealing with congressional counsel. The tensions between [tag]Congress[/tag] as an institution and FBI officials went from bad to worse over the weekend when, for the first time in American history, FBI agents raided a lawmaker’s office (Rep. […]
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting item today on what the paper called the “cracks in [tag]Republican[/tag] [tag]unity[/tag].” As the article described it, Republicans saw the way Dems fought amongst themselves when they were in the majority, so the GOP has “ruled since with a remarkable discipline” — until now. They’re at each other’s […]
Even in a time of war, even when military recruiting is hurting, the [tag]Pentagon[/tag] is still discharging patriotic, physically-fit, well-trained volunteers from the armed forces — because they’re [tag]gay[/tag]. What’s worse, the discharge rate is going up, just when we need those soliders most. The number of military members [tag]discharge[/tag]d under the Pentagon’s “[tag]don’t ask, […]
I guess the president won’t be seeing his buddies from Enron for quite a while. Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling were, not suprisingly, found [tag]guilty[/tag] this afternoon. A federal jury today [tag]convicted[/tag] former [tag]Enron[/tag] Corp. top executives Jeffrey K. Skilling and Kenneth L. Lay of multiple fraud charges, writing a powerful coda to the government’s […]
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: * In the always-fascinating Florida Senate race, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Sen. [tag]Bill Nelson[/tag] (D) trouncing Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R), 58% to 25%. This is slightly better for Nelson than his 56% […]
It was discouraging enough for the [tag]New York Times[/tag] to run a 2,000-word, front-page article this week with salacious speculation about the [tag]Clintons[/tag]’ love life, but for the WaPo’s [tag]David Broder[/tag], the “dean” of the Washington press corps, to follow up on this nonsense is mystifying. The article, by [tag]Patrick Healy[/tag], was anything but unsympathetic. […]
Silly me, I always thought it was fairly obvious that [tag]Stephen Colbert[/tag] of Comedy Central’s [tag]Colbert Report[/tag] was an over-the-top parody. Apparently, [tag]Tom DeLay[/tag] isn’t in on the joke. [Yesterday] morning, DeLay’s legal defense fund sent out a mass email criticizing the movie “[tag]The Big Buy[/tag]: Tom DeLay’s Stolen Congress,” by “Outfoxed” creator [tag]Robert Greenwald[/tag]. […]