This was a flip-flop that was almost inevitable. The president who claims to mean what he says is suddenly finding that his opposition to a federal tobacco buyout may not be “operative” for a successful campaign. Bush’s hostility for the buyout sounded unambiguous about a month ago. In Ohio, Bush received a question about the […]
One of the White House corruption scandals that’s been simmering just below the surface deals with a very suspicious contract the administration struck with Boeing. The Air Force negotiated a contract to lease refueling aircraft from Boeing Co. that could cost hundreds of millions to several billions of dollars more than it should, and followed […]
The Washington Post’s Mike Allen has a good follow-up item today about Bush “meeting” with an attorney as part of the Plame Game scandal. As Allen hints, there are quite a few unanswered questions. President Bush said yesterday that he plans to personally cooperate with the investigation into the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s […]
Forgive me for a quick non-political story, but I can’t resist this one. The Television Critics Association announced its nominees yesterday for the best programs of the past year. There was one category, however, that jumped out at me. In the category of outstanding achievement in news and information, the nominees are ABC’s “Nightline,” CBS’s […]
I thought John Kerry captured the problem with the Bush administration’s stop-loss orders perfectly this week. Democrat John Kerry on Thursday accused President Bush of creating a “backdoor draft” by requiring thousands of soldiers to remain in the military if their tours of duty extend to Iraq or Afghanistan. A day after the Army delivered […]
Funny what a couple of years and an international debacle will do to one’s political perspective. In 2002, the White House told Republicans to make the war in Iraq the centerpiece of congressional campaigns everywhere. In 2004, Republicans in Congress don’t want anything to do with the war and are hinting that Bush is on […]
The idea of converting America’s churches into a giant GOP political machine is not a new idea. In fact, it’s been the centerpiece of TV preacher Pat Robertson’s agenda for years. In 1997, Robertson admitted as much in a closed-door session with Christian Coalition leaders, comparing his religious right group to the notorious political machines […]
At a Bush campaign news conference, former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh made one of the worst arguments I’ve ever heard. Ever. “I read somewhere that Sen. Kerry said that he supports 95 percent of the USA Patriot Act — that’s similar to saying you’re 95% not pregnant.” This is breathtakingly stupid, even for the […]
Let’s face it; the Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t had a good spring. Since late-April, the agency has averaged about one scandalous embarrassment a week. The last week in April, the EPA thought it would be a good idea to meet with oil-industry officials
It’s going to be tough for the White House to reap the political rewards of its discount drug card plan if no one actually wants the darn things. As of Tuesday, the first day beneficiaries could use a card, 2.8 million were enrolled in the program, but all but about 400,000 of those had been […]