White House Press Secretary Tony Snow made a comment yesterday — a series of comments, actually — that spoke volumes about how the Bush gang approach discourse on the war. Oddly enough, I’m thrilled to hear him make the remarks, because they help clarify the broader dynamic. The context came in response to a question […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Guess which annual blog awards are now accepting nominations? * A whole lot of people spent a whole lot of time trying to track down a picture of George W. Bush and Jack Abramoff together. One finally came out. As CREW put it, “The White House did not want […]
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) gave a tremendous speech today in Washington, highlighting his new legislation that would require the president to get congressional authority before escalating the war in Iraq. He also offered a few White House quotes that bear repeating. Here’s a good one: “It became clear that if we were prepared to stay […]
Last week we learned that the White House issued another one of its infamous “signing statements,” this time asserting the power to open postal mail without a warrant or court approval. There hasn’t been too much response on the Hill just yet — though hearings hardly seem out of the question — but I was […]
In addition to the confusion about congressional powers mentioned earlier, there seems to be a general idea that Congress simply does not interfere with presidential war authority. For lawmakers to use the power of the purse to intercede on military operations is so unusual, the theory goes, that the very idea is to be considered […]
Newsweek’s Tom Curry speculates about an idea for a presidential ticket that’s almost too scary for words. Will McCain, now a leading contender for the 2008 GOP nomination, borrow Kerry’s idea and offer the vice presidency to Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut’s self-styled “independent Democrat”? The McCain-Lieberman duo showed a warm camaraderie Friday during their joint […]
I have a very hard time understanding why in the world former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) is running for president. Jim Gilmore, Virginia’s former tax-slashing Republican governor, on Tuesday took the first step in a long-shot bid for the presidency. Gilmore filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in Washington to form the Jim […]
Considering how very little work Congress did in 2005 and 2006, I was a little surprised to see so many people raise a fuss about the House not working yesterday. The official reason the chamber was in recess was that freshman lawmakers needed more time to return from an orientation retreat. The real reason was […]
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 Tampa Tribune, citing “GOP insiders,” reports that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has sought to recruit former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) as his running mate, in part because of […]
There seems to be some lingering confusion at the White House about public opinion, so for Tony Snow’s benefit, let’s take a moment to consider the extent to which Bush has lost the public. President Bush will outline his “new way forward” in Iraq on Wednesday to a nation that overwhelmingly opposes sending more U.S. […]