Bush’s feeble poll position

The bad news is, Josh Bolten appears to be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The good news is they [tag]Bush[/tag] gang, at this point, has nowhere to go but up. President Bush’s job-approval rating slipped for the third consecutive month and remains near the lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new […]

At least one construction project is going well in Iraq

Earlier this month, we learned that the U.S. effort to reconstruct health centers across [tag]Iraq[/tag] has not only failed; it’s run out of money. After two years and roughly $200 million, we’re on track to finish no more than 20 of the 142 [tag]clinics[/tag] we planned to build. At the same time, we learned that […]

If Rumsfeld quits, Bush may breathe a ‘titanic sigh of relief’

President [tag]Bush[/tag] can’t say enough about how much he supports Defense Secretary [tag]Donald Rumsfeld[/tag]. Rumsfeld is “doing a fine job,” Bush says. He’s “transforming the military” and “helping us fight a war on terror.” Just yesterday, the president concluded, “I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld.” But the New York Daily News’ Thomas DeFrank, whose […]

Wednesday’s political round-up

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: * Florida’s gubernatorial race appeared to be leaning the GOP’s way, but the latest Quinnipiac poll shows it’s still anybody’s race. In the Dem primary, Rep. [tag]Jim Davis[/tag] leads state Sen. [tag]Rod Smith[/tag], […]

If Bush were serious about science being ‘cool’…

Yesterday, [tag]Bush[/tag] spoke at a magnet middle school in Maryland to talk up his “[tag]American Competitiveness Initiative[/tag],” and he emphasized how important it is for students to think of [tag]science[/tag] as being “[tag]cool[/tag].” “We saw two [tag]scientists[/tag] who are here from NASA. These are good, hard-working folks who said, ‘I kind of want to lend […]

Karl Rove loses some of his WH responsibilities

ABC News reported this morning: “[tag]Karl Rove[/tag] Loses Domestic Policy [tag]Duties[/tag].” The headline doesn’t use the word “[tag]demotion[/tag],” but that’s pretty much what happened. [A] senior administration official revealed another move in the ongoing shakeup of Bush’s staff, saying that longtime confidant and adviser Karl [tag]Rove[/tag] is giving up oversight of policy development to focus […]

So long, Stonewall Scottie

It’s official. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday he is resigning, continuing a shakeup in President Bush’s administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff and could lead to a change in the Cabinet. Appearing with Bush on the White House South Lawn just before the president boarded a helicopter at […]

NCLB scheme lets states omit minorities’ test scores

The centerpiece of Bush’s No Child Left Behind program is testing at the state level, which the administration believes is critical in evaluating school performance. The Associated Press, however, did an interesting analysis this week and found that states — with the Bush administration’s permission — are evading NCLB penalties by not counting test scores […]

Merging WH communications with Fox News

Anyone who’s seen the [tag]Fox News Channel[/tag] realizes that the conservative network already operates as a mouthpiece for the Bush administration. CNN reported yesterday, however, that the [tag]White House[/tag] has considered making the arrangement a little more official. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House Correspondent: On Monday, his first full day, [new WH Chief of Staff […]

Bennett wants NYT Pulitzer winners behind bars

It came as very little surprise yesterday when the [tag]New York Times[/tag] won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Bush’s warrantless-search program. [tag]James Risen[/tag] and [tag]Eric Lichtblau[/tag] of the New York Times won the national reporting prize for their articles on the administration’s domestic [tag]surveillance[/tag] program, and the Times drew criticism from the left […]