In its continuing quest to debate the president’s warrantless-search program without actually addressing the substance of the controversy, the White House released another campaign-style “Setting the Record Straight” document yesterday. This time, the issue was “domestic spying” — not the policy, mind you, but the wording. This comes directly from the talking points, with emphasis […]
Late last week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales published a white paper for Congress, detailing his legal defense of Bush’s warrantless-search program. Predictably, it emphasized the president’s broad authority over national security matters. As it happens, however, it may have helped to further highlight just how expansive a view the administration is taking. A footnote in […]
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: * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) may not be as popular as he once was, but he remains competitive looking ahead to his re-election campaign. A new Rasmussen poll shows Schwarzenegger leading State Treasurer […]
It sounds as if the Washington Post editorial board is officially sick of Stonewall Scottie. Here are some things we know about Jack Abramoff and the White House: The disgraced lobbyist raised at least $100,000 for President Bush’s reelection campaign. He had long-standing ties to Karl Rove, a key presidential adviser. He had extensive dealings […]
I’d seen a few initial reports last year on the breathtaking fraud and mismanagement with Iraqi reconstruction funds, but I honestly can’t wait to hear the vaunted Bush political operation try and spin results like these. A new audit of American financial practices in Iraq has uncovered irregularities including millions of reconstruction dollars stuffed casually […]
After Congress created an investigatory committee to review what went wrong in response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the White House pledged cooperation. But like so many Bush promises, the assurances were meaningless. The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents […]
I’ve never been able to relate to Rick Santorum’s values or worldview, but I never expected him to equate supporting his Senate campaign with serving in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan. [Santorum] literally said that putting one of his bumper stickers on your vehicle was a way “to step up and serve your country.” […]
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the frontrunner to replace Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader, has a successful political action committee that complements his own “K Street” operation. And who are the top donors to Blunt’s Rely On Your Beliefs PAC? According to a report in subscription-only Roll Call, it’s a funny story. Seeing as he’s […]
A few things of interest… * Think Progress put together a really good web video in advance of Bush’s upcoming State of the Union address (Tuesday, Jan. 31). Think Progress, not surprisingly, found that “a review of his previous State of the Union addresses demonstrates that Bush often includes lofty, promising rhetoric but falls short […]
Last week, Salon’s Walter Shapiro spoke with several Dem insiders who lamented the fact that the party was going after Bush on his warrantless-search program, fearing that it would keep the political debate exactly where the White House wants it — with an emphasis on national security, Bush’s alleged strength. The WaPo’s E. J. Dionne […]