The WaPo’s E. J. Dionne Jr. noted the other day that the White House is telegraphing its punches for the 2006 cycle. Dionne said that the midterm message, in a nutshell, is, “If you don’t want to get blown up, vote Republican.” We talked about how best to respond to the attacks, but The New […]
The Washington Post editorial board has been pretty consistent in its support of Bush when it comes to terrorism and Iraq, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the WaPo run a much-needed editorial taking the White House to task for its absurd partisan attacks stemming from the controversy on warrantless searches. The Bush administration’s […]
Pollsters have been busy the past few days, pulling together data on the electorate’s views in advance of the president’s State of the Union address. Here’s a summary of what the various news outlets found: * New York Times/CBS poll — Bush was viewed favorably by 42% of the respondents, statistically the same as in […]
The very funny people at Fafblog put together a helpful Q & A with “Our Omnipotent President” that satirically makes several key points. Q. How does a War Bill become a War Law? A. It all begins with the president, who submits a bill to the president. If a majority of both the president and […]
With Samuel Alito’s confirmation all-but inevitable, there are two facts that appear clear: 1) Alito would be a dangerously conservative justice; and 2) there aren’t enough votes to support a filibuster that would block the nomination. Yesterday, John Kerry said he’s launching one anyway. Good for him. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts could not attend […]
I didn’t see the interview, but Howard Dean was on NBC’s Today Show this morning and was asked to describe what the Dem Party stands for in 30 seconds. I’d say he has a pretty damn good response. “One: American jobs that will stay in America, using energy independence to generate those jobs. Two: a […]
For most of us, comparing Bill Clinton’s sins with George W. Bush’s is a pretty easy task. The prior had personal failings; the latter has presidential failings. The prior lied about his personal mistakes; the latter lies about matters of state. ABC News’ The Note, responding to Howard Dean’s comments last night that “it’s a […]
I know I’m not supposed to link to columns behind the NYT’s annoying pay wall, but I feel compelled to note Bob Herbert’s condemnation of President Bush, which ran today. His breathtaking arrogance is exceeded only by his incompetence. And that’s the real problem. That’s where you’ll find the mind-boggling destructiveness of this regime, in […]
Dan Froomin noted today that the president’s press conference “was a frustrating experience for journalists whose specific questions were largely answered with imprecise comments related to their general topic.” It’s an entirely fair description, particularly when it came to questions about Jack Abramoff’s connections to the White House. Q: Mr. President, you talked about Jack […]
The president’s surprise press conference this morning didn’t produce too much in the way of news and/or revelations, but Bush did offer an interesting response to a question about his administration’s policy on torture. Q: Could you call on your Texas straight talk and make a clear and unambiguous statement today that no American will […]