Today’s edition of quick hits. * This may prove to be the only thing that makes matters in Iraq worse than they are now: “Turkey has voted itself the right to launch cross-border military attacks on Kurdish separatist fighters holed up in Northern Iraq, but it has not yet decided to exercise that right. The […]
Bush warns of ‘World War III’
Much of the president’s press conference today was devoted to discussion of the administration’s policy towards Iran, which was not at all encouraging. Q: But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon? BUSH: I think so long — until they suspend and/or make it clear that they — that their statements aren’t […]
Going off-message can be dangerous to your career
It doesn’t happen often, but whenever a Bush administration official is quoted anywhere, saying anything that undermines the White House line on important policy matters, many of us stop and think, “That guy just put his job on the line.” After all, administration officials are supposed to be “loyal Bushies,” not objective professionals. With that […]
Avoiding an honest debate on S-CHIP
With Congress poised to vote tomorrow on an effort to override the president’s veto on healthcare for low-income children, the president used part of his White House press conference today to explain why he rejected the bipartisan measure. “Six or seven — in six or seven states they spend more money on adults than children. […]
Bush defends his ‘relevance’ at press conference
In April 1995, President Clinton hosted a primetime press conference in the midst of a difficult time. Republicans had just taken the majorities of the House and Senate, and House Speaker Newt Gingrich had taken to thinking he was some kind of Prime Minister, setting the national political agenda. A reporter asked the president if […]
Bush torn on al Qaeda in Iraq
There were a few interesting exchanges at this morning’s White House press conference, which the president apparently called to chastise Congress for not following his orders, but I was struck by a question about Iraq, which Bush didn’t quite know how to answer. A reporter noted that al Qaeda in Iraq is apparently losing strength, […]
Exploiting public confusion for partisan gain
The NYT’s Janet Elder notes today that much of the public is still, even now, confused about questions such as Iraq’s involvement in 9/11. Elder suggests this creates an environment in which war supporters try to exploit this confusion to advance their agenda. One of the most striking poll findings is the number of people […]
Mukasey rejects Bybee memo, compares U.S. torture to Nazi tactics
Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey’s confirmation hearings got underway this morning, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) explored Mukasey’s position on administration torture policies. His response was surprising. Not only did Michael Mukasey repudiate the so-called 2002 “torture memo” signed by Office of Legal Counsel chief Jay Bybee — which appears to have […]
Wednesday’s political round-up
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: * In a special election in Massachusetts’ fifth congressional district, Nikki Tsongas, wife of the late Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas, narrowly defeated Republican Jim Ogonowski, 51% to 45%. Why was the race so […]
House Dems looking out for themselves?
We’ve seen the pattern play out a more than a few times this year. House Dems take up a bill, pass it, and send it to the Senate. Senate Dems take up the bill, Republicans block the vote, and the bill goes away. Republicans then complain that congressional Dems aren’t doing enough to pass bills. […]