Gen. Michael Hayden, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, delivered remarks in DC yesterday in defense of Bush’s warrantless-search program, as part of a week-long political offensive to rally support for the White House initiative. To follow up on yesterday’s item about Hayden’s description of the scope of the program, it’s also worth noting […]
Why did the White House avoid oversight and warrants when implementing its warrantless-search program? One possible answer came by way of the New York Times in late-December, when the paper explained that the administration worked with telecommunications companies to trace and analyze large volumes of telephone and Internet communications, without warrants, after 9/11. It suggested […]
Scott McClellan, when answering questions about Jack Abramoff’s White House access, has been unusually evasive and non-committal for weeks, but today he got careless. McClellan routinely slices the truth pretty thin, but in response to questions about Bush-Abramoff pictures, McClellan either didn’t know what he was talking about or he was intentionally deceiving reporters. At […]
The dreadful news about job losses and plant closings from Ford is the latest in a series of discouraging developments for the nation’s auto manufacturers. Reports today note that Ford will close 14 plants in North America and cut as many as 30,000 jobs over the next six years. During this morning’s gaggle, a reporter […]
Here’s a story in which the headline speaks volumes: “Bush to Take Unscripted Audience Questions.” Seriously, I didn’t write that; it’s the actual headline on a major AP national story. The lede, too, is unintentionally hilarious. Move over, Oprah. President Bush is making himself into television’s newest talk show host by making audience participation a […]
I’ve seen the ads in which Halliburton boasts of its support for the military. Somehow, the commercials just don’t seem to reflect a company that exposes troops to contaminated water. Troops and civilians at a U.S. military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last year, and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton Co., […]
In October, national polls showed Bush’s approval rating tanking, reaching the mid- to high-30s, before rebounding a bit in December, crawling back above the 40% threshold. According to the latest American Research Group poll, however, Bush has slipped back to where he was a few months ago. (thanks to my friend Darrell for the tip) […]
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: * The latest poll out of Pennsylvania shows the same thing all recent polls have made clear: Rick Santorum is losing. The latest Rasmussen poll shows Santorum trailing state Treasurer Bob Casey (D), […]
There are, to be sure, a lot of balls in the air right now. For Dems hoping to highlight the president’s foibles, it’s a challenge to narrow the list down. Too many outrages, too little time. But Jonathan Chait makes a very compelling case that the administration’s handling of the expanded Medicare program has to […]
At some point in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be able to look back at the Jack Abramoff scandal and see whose career was ruined most by their Abramoff ties. Tom DeLay and Bob Ney are clearly the early favorites, but let’s not forget our friend down in Georgia, former Christian Coalition director and current Lt. […]