The possible role of alcohol in the Cheney shooting has been widely discussed — just below the surface. Media outlets have reported that the Texas sheriff’s office concluded that “there was no alcohol or misconduct involved in the incident,” which seemed to resolve the questions that many reporters had, but few were willing to touch. […]
It sounded sincere in December when a handful of Republican senators said they wanted an investigation into the president’s warrantless-search program. Senators of both parties on [12/20] demanded a congressional investigation into President Bush’s domestic-surveillance program, even as Vice President Dick Cheney warned that the president’s critics could face political repercussions. Five members of the […]
ABC News’ The Note conveniently laid out Dick Cheney’s options today, including keeping quiet, hosting a press conference, or sitting down for “an exclusive interview with one groveling, well-chosen interviewer.” As it turns out, Cheney actually chose one of these. Take a wild guess which one. Vice President Dick Cheney planned to break his silence […]
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: * Everyone’s favorite theocrat, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, is not exactly rallying much support on the campaign trail. A new Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll shows Gov. Bob […]
For those keeping score at home, the current issue of Insight magazine has run its fourth article critical of the Bush administration in just the last couple of months. For an off-shoot of Sun Myung Moon’s far-right Washington Times, this remains an inexplicable development. This week, it’s a report on “the largest crackdown in decades […]
In Texas’ 22nd District, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) routinely faces token opposition in Republican primaries. The challengers are never taken seriously; DeLay never deigns to even pretend they exist; and local Republican voters always dispatch the primary opposition at the polls easily. But this year’s different. DeLay’s constituents may be conservative, but […]
I’ve hesitated to get too bogged down in the details of the president’s latest budget proposal because I know it’s not going anywhere. Congress has its own priorities and agendas, and many lawmakers from both parties have already made it quite clear that Bush’s budget is a no-go. As Stanley Collender, a federal budget analyst […]
According to Scott McClellan’s press briefing on Monday, the president was not exactly inquisitive about the details when notified that the Vice President had been involved in a shooting accident. As McClellan explained it, two hours after the incident, WH Chief of Staff Andy Card told Bush that an accident had occurred, but there was […]
The latest developments… * The story appears to be rattling the Republican establishment. The Washington Post reported that “several prominent” party leaders have expressed concern that Cheney’s “slow and unapologetic public response” is turning the controversy into “a political liability for the Bush administration.” The Wall Street Journal reported similar concern, and quoted a veteran […]
There’s a fascinating point in the trajectory of every presidential scandal — and there sure have been a lot of them — in which Scott McClellan decides he just doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s like the scene in Monty Python’s Holy Grail in which King Arthur argues with a French guard. After […]