Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* The good news is the House passed<\/a> a measure today to let Medicare negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors. The bad news is, it passed 255 to 170, which is short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto (which is likely).<\/p>\n * Olbermann. Special Comment. Go<\/a>. (Favorite line: This is “a presidency of Cliff Notes.”)<\/p>\n * Remember when the White House used to pretend that U.S. troops were part of a broad “coalition of the willing” in Iraq? We don’t hear the Bush gang saying that much anymore. There’s a good reason<\/a>: “The Italians have left, and the Slovaks are about to. Britons want to start getting out, and so do Danes and South Koreans. President Bush’s plan to send 21,500 more troops into Iraq has not inspired America’s coalition partners to follow suit. Washington’s top war partners — London and Seoul — are looking to draw down their forces, and they are not alone.”<\/p>\n * When the typical American says “I’m no expert on Iraq,” and adds that they’re also not an “expert on military matters,” I completely understand. When the Secretary of Defense<\/a> says it, I appreciate his candor, but it’s kind of disconcerting.<\/p>\n * The burdens on our national guard and reserves are already painful and are getting worse<\/a>: “The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq. The day after President Bush announced his plan for a deeper U.S. military commitment in Iraq, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the change in reserve policy would have been made anyway because active-duty troops already were getting too little time between their combat tours.”<\/p>\n * A whopping 75% of Americans believe the president should have to get congressional approval<\/a> before he escalates the war in Iraq. Sounds like a good idea.<\/p>\n * Joe Lieberman has decided to give Bush a pass on Katrina — and some lawmakers from Louisiana are not at all pleased<\/a> with Lieberman’s cowardice. * Ari Berman has a good item<\/a> about Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.) offering “a preview of how he plans to rein in the Bush Administration, from the perch of his chairmanship of the Defense Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee,” during a hearing convened by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.<\/p>\n * Scooter Libby’s criminal trial begins next week<\/a>. It’s the first high-profile legal case for which bloggers have received media credentials, and it should be a fascinating trial to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n * Jay Leno<\/a>: “It was nothing but reruns on TV last night. But enough about President Bush’s speech…. Actually, the good news last night, President Bush finally admitted he made some mistakes in Iraq. The bad news, he’s planning on making the same mistakes again.”<\/p>\n * For reasons that no one understands, the White House “broke with tradition Wednesday night and refused to let photojournalists shoot still pictures of the president at the podium after his prime-time address on the Iraq war.” Photo-journalists are livid<\/a>. Dennis Brack, president of the White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA), calls the limited access “unacceptable” and says it is very unusual for a presidential address to be closed to photographers. “It’s not the first time I’m sure, but it’s very infrequent, and I’ve been around since LBJ’s time,” Brack says. “The speech was a very historic speech of news value, and they elected to manage it as a public relations function.”<\/p>\n * And finally, newly elected Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) was the subject of a series of Rove-orchestrated smears during the campaign, in which Republicans labeled him “Dr. Multimillionaire.” The story sounds entirely apocryphal, but Kagan claims to have cornered Rove at a recent White House reception, telling him<\/a>, “You recognize me? My name’s Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass.”<\/p>\n If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today’s edition of quick hits. * The good news is the House passed a measure today to let Medicare negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors. The bad news is, it passed 255 to 170, which is short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto (which is likely). * Olbermann. Special Comment. 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\n* Following up on an item from yesterday, the Senate voted today<\/a> to make it impossible for felon ex-lawmakers to receive their congressional pensions. Good move.<\/p>\n