May 31, 2007
News Roundup: TB Patient, Hariri Tribunal, Russia Missiles
Nation. The Georgia man with drug-resistant tuberculosis has been identified as Andrew Speaker, 31, a lawyer in Atlanta. CNN reports that medical and law enforcement sources -- not hospital officials -- released his name and photo.
World. Russian President Vladmir Putin today defended his country's missile tests and accused the United States of initiating a new arms race because of its plan to develop a defense shield in Europe.
Continue reading "News Roundup: TB Patient, Hariri Tribunal, Russia Missiles"
Posted at 5:11 PM
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Civil Unions OK'd In New Hampshire
Gov. John Lynch (D) signed legislation today legalizing civil unions in New Hampshire, making his state the first in the country to offer marriage rights to gay couples without a court order or the threat of one.
"I've listened and I've heard all the arguments. I do not believe that this bill threatens marriage. I believe that this is a matter of conscience and fairness," Lynch said.
The Granite State will become the fourth to perform legitimate civil unions, after Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey. In April, its newly elected Democratic state legislatuure -- the state's first in more than 100 years -- quickly passed civil union legislation, which Lynch had vowed to sign. A constitutional ban on the practice had been introduced just two years ago but was defeated.
New Hampshire's new law won't go as far as Massachusetts' ruling, however, which allows full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Posted at 4:49 PM
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Bush Announces New Global Strategy On Climate Change
UPDATED.
The White House has announced a new long-term, international strategy for combating climate change ahead of next week's Group of Eight summit in Germany. The plan, which President Bush unveiled in a speech today, calls for global economic powers to band together and set shared targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
"By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases," Bush declared in a speech on the U.S. international development agenda. "To help develop this goal," he added, "the United States will convene a series of meetings of nations that produce most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China."
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Posted at 12:33 PM
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McKinney For President?
The 2008 White House race has been seemingly riddled with rumors about who might wade into the already crowded pool of candidates (and at least one of those has already proven true).
The latest wild and crazy speculation? Former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney -- she of Capitol cop-punching fame -- is so disgruntled with the Democratic Party and its slate of contenders that she might seek the Green Party nomination.
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Posted at 12:23 PM
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AMT Overhaul Schedule Slips
House Democratic plans to move legislation to scale back the alternative minimum tax have slipped to July at the earliest, as Democratic sources said tax writers need more time to agree on the details and Democratic leaders need time to bring the Caucus up to speed on the effort.
Ways and Means Committee Democrats have decided on a partial repeal that leaves the AMT in place for only the wealthiest taxpayers, and one key issue that has yet to be nailed down is where to set the income threshold.
Continue reading "AMT Overhaul Schedule Slips"
Posted at 10:04 AM
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May 30, 2007
News Roundup: Taliban Attack, DOJ Probe, Stock Rally
Afghanistan. NATO reports that one of its helicopters was shot down over southern Afghanistan, killing five U.S. soldiers, in an attack for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility. But the Pentagon said Western forces have made progress in the region, putting the Taliban "on their heels."
Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said today that President Bush envisions a lengthy stay in Iraq similar to the troop presence the United States has had in South Korea for the past 50 years. The president also held a videoconference with Iraqi officials today, as the search for five kidnapped Britons in Iraq intensified.
Continue reading "News Roundup: Taliban Attack, DOJ Probe, Stock Rally"
Posted at 5:54 PM
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Cindy & Rosie: Exit Stage Left
It seems like old news by now, but let us stop and reflect upon the dual departures this week of vocal war critics Cindy Sheehan and Rosie O'Donnell.
Both women made dramatic exits from the national spotlight over the Memorial Day weekend after weathering what they felt were personal attacks based on their anti-war stances.
Continue reading "Cindy & Rosie: Exit Stage Left"
Posted at 4:30 PM
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CDC Addresses TB Scare
The Center for Disease Control renewed its investigative efforts in earnest today, trying to track down any air passengers who may have been contaminated with tuberculosis bacteria by a Georgia man on two transatlantic flights in May. Yesterday, the CDC declared an isolation order -- the United States' first in over 40 years -- to prevent the spread of the drug-resistant strain.
CDC official Dr. Martin Cetron said today that the patient from Georgia will be moved to National Jewish Hospital in Denver, which specializes in respiratory infections. (He is still in isolation, Cetron said, but not in quarantine.) After he flew back from Montreal on May 24, the Georgia man was isolated in New York City and then hospitalized in Atlanta.
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Posted at 3:20 PM
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Reviving The Right-To-Die Debate
It's been two years since Congress' involvement in the Terri Schiavo case thrust the right-to-die debate into the national spotlight. Now that former euthanasia doctor Jack Kevorkian is set to be released from prison on parole, the issue is once again poised to stir controversy.
Kevorkian's release Friday after about eight years in a Michigan state prison comes just as the California legislature is mulling whether to become the second state to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Oregon became the first and only state to do so in 1994, when it narrowly passed the Death With Dignity Act.
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Posted at 2:38 PM
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Bush Seeks Doubled AIDS Funding
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden this afternoon, President Bush asked Congress to approve an additional $30 million for AIDS prevention, treatment and support care for millions of people around the world. If met, his request would double the current level of U.S. funding through the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, which is set to expire in 2008. Bush asked Congress to renew that program for another five years after his departure from office.
Bush also announced that first lady Laura Bush will visit Zambia, Senegal, Mali and Mozambique next month to visit areas funded by the U.S. program.
In anticipation of Bush's speech, the Washington Post reported this morning that the announcement "comes in a week when he is highlighting his administration's commitment to international development and human rights protections -- both of which will be major items for discussion next week when he joins other world leaders at a Group of Eight summit meeting in Germany."
Posted at 1:13 PM
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Africa, Bush Administration, Health
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Gauging Gas Prices: A Summer Tradition
Memorial Day weekend kicked off the unofficial start of summer, and you know what that means: backyard barbecues, lemonade stands, trips to the beach... and soaring gas prices.
Pollsters, known for obsessive number-crunching and trend-watching, are paying about as much attention to the national average price of gasoline these days (it's currently about $3.21, by the way) as they are to the president's job approval rating. NationalJournal.com's Poll Track has covered several national surveys (subscription) in the past week showing concern over personal finances rising along with fuel costs.
Now those figures are taking a toll on the ABC News/Washington Post weekly consumer comfort index, which has just fallen to a new low for the year.
Despite the pain at the pump, most polls have suggested that Americans won't do much to change their driving habits to accommodate higher prices. But the declining buying climate may be prompting consumers to rein in their spending in other areas.
See today's Poll Track (subscription) for more numbers on gas prices and the economy.
Posted at 1:09 PM
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Iran: Diplomatic Deadlock
The international dispute over Iran's nuclear program appears to have hit another impasse, as AP reports that Iran's nuclear negotiator has dismissed any suspension of the country's uranium enrichment ahead of a meeting with European Union envoy Javier Solana.
According to Iranian state television, nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said earlier today that "suspension is not the right solution for solving Iran's nuclear issue," and "past experiences have shown that suspension is not acceptable, at all." Larijani's comments reportedly came as he was about to leave for a meeting with Solana in Spain to discuss whether there is any room for negotiation on the enrichment program.
The standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions is high on the agenda for today's meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers in Germany. In anticipation of the meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday urged the United Nations not to back down from its demand that Iran halt its enrichment program.
The G-8 ministers released a statement today following Larijani's comments: "If Iran continues to ignore demands of the Security Council we will support further appropriate measures as agreed in Resolution 1747."
Continue reading "Iran: Diplomatic Deadlock"
Posted at 12:35 PM
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The Boo Heard 'Round The World
So, the people in the Mexico City audience who gave Miss USA a hard time were really angry about... immigration reform?
News reports are claiming that when Rachel Smith was soundly booed during the interview round of this weekend's Miss Universe pageant, the crowd meant to express its anger toward the United States -- not Smith herself, who was already having a bad night after tripping in the evening gown part of the competition.
Pageant co-owner Donald Trump offered this analysis: "I don't think they are booing because of Rachel. They are booing because of the immigration policy."
Posted at 12:20 PM
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Fred Thompson, Making Conservatives Happy?
He's been teasing the Republican base for a while now with speeches here and appearances there, but actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is about to make it official: He's running for president.
According to the Politico, the Law & Order star's announcement will come near the Fourth of July. The New York Times "Caucus Blog" suggests that date might not be accurate, but that an announcement would likely come "sooner rather than later."
A number of Republicans haven't been shy about their distaste for the current field of candidates, and in the past several months, a couple of "draft Fred" sites have popped up on the Internet: www.fred08.com, draftfredthompson.com, etc. Some Tennessee powerhouse politicians have been high on the idea, too, including former Senate Majority Leader and one-time prospective candidate Bill Frist.
Continue reading "Fred Thompson, Making Conservatives Happy?"
Posted at 12:09 PM
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Campaigns, Fred Thompson, Republicans, WH 2008
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What The Zoellick Pick Means
A Washington Post story this morning sums up the conundrum facing Robert Zoellick, whom President Bush nominated today to succeed Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank:
"[T]he insider credentials that make Zoellick favored in the Bush White House, where loyalty carries enormous weight, could work against him at the bank as they did with his predecessor. Many European governments were dismayed by the appointment of Wolfowitz, who was a primary architect of the Iraq war while at the Pentagon."
Will the aspects of Wolfowitz that many at the World Bank had trouble swallowing when he was appointed -- and ultimately contributed to his downfall -- apply to Zoellick as well? And is the problem limited to the individuals chosen, or it really about the United States being the one to choose in the first place?
Continue reading "What The Zoellick Pick Means"
Posted at 11:25 AM
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Paul Wolfowitz, Robert Zoellick, World Bank
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May 29, 2007
News Roundup: Zoellick To Get World Bank Nod; Chavez Threatens Second Station
World Bank. President Bush plans to nominate former U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick as the new head of the World Bank, less than a week after former president Paul Wolfowitz resigned his post.
World. One day after thousands of Venezuelans protested when Hugo Chavez shut down a popular opposition-run TV station, the Venezuelan president is threatening to close a second station for allegedly inciting attempts on his life.
Continue reading "News Roundup: Zoellick To Get World Bank Nod; Chavez Threatens Second Station"
Posted at 6:00 PM
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May Becomes 2007's Deadliest Month For U.S. Troops
UPDATED.
The deaths of eight more soldiers in Iraq on Monday -- six in roadside bombings and two in a helicopter crash -- brings this month's death toll for U.S. troops to over 110. That's the highest recorded number for any month this year.
Reuters cites November 2004 as the conflict's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with 137 killed. The military's count [PDF] showed 3,450 casualties since the war began in March 2003.
In other Iraq news, five British citizens were kidnapped in Baghdad this morning when armed gunmen stormed a ministry building. News reports originally claimed that three Germans were abducted, but diplomatic sources now say that citizens of other nationalities weren't involved.
Continue reading "May Becomes 2007's Deadliest Month For U.S. Troops"
Posted at 5:52 PM
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Traveler Quarantined After TB Scare
A man afflicted with tuberculosis may have exposed fellow passengers on flights to and from the United States, and he has been quarantined by U.S. health officials in an effort to control the spread of the disease.
Reuters reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are notifying passengers from two flights -- Air France 385 from Atlanta to Paris on May 13 and Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal on May 24 -- about possible infections. Tuberculosis bacteria can be spread through coughing and sneezing.
Continue reading "Traveler Quarantined After TB Scare"
Posted at 4:51 PM
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Europe, Health
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Senate Panel Agrees To Disclose Earmarks In Defense Bill
The Senate Armed Services Committee has taken a hard line on earmarks, agreeing to fully disclose add-ons for pet projects tucked into annual defense authorization measures. Senate Armed Services ranking member John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sponsored disclosure language during a closed-door markup of the FY08 defense authorization bill last week.
Committee and conference reports on the bill must list the name of the sponsor and the intended location of the program for any projects not requested by the Bush administration in either annual or supplemental spending requests and not listed on the military services' unfunded requirements lists, according to a copy of the language posted on the Project on Government Oversight Web site and verified by Senate aides.
NationalJournal.com has the full story for free; see CongressDaily (subscription) for more news.
Posted at 3:40 PM
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Immigration: On The Road Again
In the dog days of the summer of 2006, Republican leaders in Congress hit the road to hold a number of field hearings on immigration reform close to the U.S.-Mexican border. Nearly a year later, lawmakers still haven't reached a "comprehensive" agreement on the issue and are once again moving the debate from Capitol Hill to the main streets of America.
The latest immigration deal is likely to be the focus of federal lawmakers' visits to their districts during this week's Memorial Day recess. And while the proposed bill has the support of President Bush and the so-called Gang of 12 Senate negotiators, it seems to have angered more than it has encouraged.
Continue reading "Immigration: On The Road Again"
Posted at 3:24 PM
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Bush Turns Up The Heat On Sudan
In an early morning address, President Bush announced three new steps his administration is taking, including economic sanctions and diplomatic efforts, to ratchet up the pressure on Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to end the violence in the Darfur region.
"For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder, and rape of innocent civilians," Bush began. "My administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to help put an end to it."
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Posted at 2:15 PM
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Founding CBC Member Dies At 85
Former Rep. Parren Mitchell (D), Maryland's first black congressman and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died in Baltimore yesterday. He was 85.
Mitchell received a purple heart for his military service in World War II and was elected to Congress in 1971. He ran for lieutenant governor in the 1980s, after his eighth term as a representative ended, but he and running mate Stephen Sachs were defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent Gov. William Donald Schaefer.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D), who now holds Mitchell's 7th District seat, told AP that Mitchell "was a true servant leader, never concerning himself about fame or fortune but, rather, devoting himself entirely to uplifting the people he represented."
Posted at 11:41 AM
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May 25, 2007
News Roundup: Iran, Lebanon, Ukraine, Nigeria
Iran. U.N. inspectors visited an Iranian nuclear facility today and were scheduled to visit another later in the day.
Terrorism. In a new video, a group calling itself al-Qaida's wing in the Levant threatened to attack buildings in Lebanon unless the army withdrew from an embattled Palestinian refugee camp.
Continue reading "News Roundup: Iran, Lebanon, Ukraine, Nigeria"
Posted at 12:53 PM
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May 24, 2007
House Passes War Funding Bill
The controversial $100 billion war funding bill made it through the House late this afternoon by a vote of 280 to 142. The Senate will vote on the bill tonight, and it is expected to pass; President Bush supports the measure and is expected to sign it when it arrives on his desk.
The bill does contain political benchmarks for the Iraqis, but it lacks the timeline that Democrats insisted on in earlier versions of the legislation.
A minimum-wage increase -- one of Democrats' long-standing legislative priorities -- was passed along with the bill, raising it to $7.25 an hour from its current rate of $5.15 over a period of two years. To offset the increased costs, tax breaks for small businesses were included in the bill.
Posted at 7:04 PM
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Gonzales' No-Confidence Vote Set For June
The Senate will wait until the middle of next month to hold a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York announced this afternoon.
Flanked by fellow Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dianne Feinstein of California, Schumer said a vote on the non-binding measure would take place after the end of debate over the immigration bill -- which, barring any major hang-ups, should be in the middle of June.
"We would have liked the attorney general to have stepped down on his own, but the rule of law has been trampled, confidence in the Department of Justice has been shattered and leadership is virtually non-existent," Schumer said.
Continue reading "Gonzales' No-Confidence Vote Set For June"
Posted at 5:32 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Bush Administration, Congress
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Corzine: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
TV viewers during election season are used to hearing, "I'm [fill in a politician's name], and I approved this message." They're not quite as used to...
"I'm Jon Corzine, and I should be dead."
That tagline is at the beginning of a new public service announcement from the governor of New Jersey, who was seriously injured in an April 12 car crash on the Garden State Parkway. Corzine wasn't wearing a seat belt at the time, which he publicly apologized for when he left the hospital after an 18-day stay to treat his broken sternum, leg, ribs and collarbone.
"It took a remarkable team of doctors and a series of miracles to save my life when all I needed was a seat belt," Corzine says in the ad.
AP has the script and video of the spot.
Posted at 4:32 PM
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Governors, Jon Corzine
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Ron vs. Rudy: The Battle Rages On
Is Ron Paul running in the wrong primary?
That was the question FOX News Channel's Chris Wallace asked the five-term Republican congressman from Texas in the May 15 GOP presidential debate in South Carolina, and the question still haunts Paul as his feud with front-runner Rudy Giuliani over foreign policy continues.
The latest chapter came this morning, when Paul teamed up with Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit, to "educate" Giuliani about terrorism and foreign policy. Reuters covered the event at the National Press Club, where Paul unveiled a reading list for the former mayor that included the 9/11 commission report and Scheuer's own book, "Imperial Hubris." In a press release, campaign chairman Kent Snyder added, "We have also included some Cliffs Notes in case Mr. Giuliani is too busy giving $100,000 speeches on national security."
Continue reading "Ron vs. Rudy: The Battle Rages On"
Posted at 3:43 PM
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Al-Qaida, Campaigns, Iraq, Middle East, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism, WH 2008
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It's A Boy Cheney!
The littlest member of the vice president's clan was born yesterday in Washington, D.C. At eight pounds, six ounces, Samuel David Cheney enters the world as a somewhat controversial figure -- the son of a high-profile lesbian who worked as her father's aide in 2004, advocating his re-election as the leader of a party that opposes same-sex marriage and other gay rights.
Some gay advocates have criticized Mary Cheney and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, for not stepping into the fray and trying to change the GOP from within.
Cheney's response? At a forum in New York City this January, she demurred -- "This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child" -- but then backpedaled a bit, saying research has demonstrated "no difference between children who are raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents."
Continue reading "It's A Boy Cheney!"
Posted at 3:08 PM
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Bush Administration, Dick Cheney
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Bush: Iraq Bill 'Reflects A Consensus' On Benchmarks
In anticipation of today's Iraq vote in the House, President Bush addressed the press for nearly an hour in the Rose Garden this morning.
He had praise for recent changes in the $120 billion war funding legislation: "We removed the arbitrary timetables for withdrawal," he said, and congratulated Congress for removing extra provisions "that some Democrats have insisted on" -- although an amendment on a minimum-wage hike is still attached to the bill and set to be debated tomorrow.
Bush praised the bill, saying it "reflects a consensus" that the Iraqis need to meet certain goals but admitting that "meeting these benchmarks will be difficult." He enumerated challenges that the nascent Iraqi government faces and warned that the country should expect more casualties during the wait for the September progress report from Gen. David Petraeus.
As for the surge plan, Bush said that troops will be in place by mid-June, and that "this summer is going to be a critical time for the new strategy." He later expressed frustration with a reporter who asked about pullout deadlines: "You're asking me how much longer. We have yet to even get all our troops in place."
Continue reading "Bush: Iraq Bill 'Reflects A Consensus' On Benchmarks"
Posted at 12:32 PM
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Bush Administration, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush
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McNulty Rebuts Testimony That He Lied To Senate Panel
Former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, countering the testimony of another senior Justice Department official, said yesterday he told the truth when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
"I testified truthfully at the Feb. 6, 2007, hearing based on what I knew at that time," McNulty said in a statement hours after former DOJ White House liaison Monica Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee that McNulty had not been "fully candid" in telling the Senate panel what he knew about the firings.
"Ms. Goodling's characterization of my testimony is wrong and not supported by the extensive record of documents and testimony already provided to Congress," McNulty said.
Continue reading "McNulty Rebuts Testimony That He Lied To Senate Panel"
Posted at 10:20 AM
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Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress
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Two September Votes On Iraq?
House Democrats were set to bring the $120 billion supplemental war spending bill to the floor today under a special rule that sets up two votes in September -- on legislation to bring troops home from Iraq and also to "de-authorize" the war.
September will be a key month because not only will lawmakers be debating another war-funding installment, but the Bush administration will report to Congress on the Iraqi government's progress in meeting political and security benchmarks. Gen. David Petraeus is expected to report that month on whether President Bush's "surge" plan is helping stabilize Iraq.
The maneuvering is aimed at bringing anti-war Democrats on board to support the rule, which is essentially a vote to approve nearly $95 billion for military operations without restrictions on Bush's conduct of the war.
See CongressDailyAM (subscription) for the full story.
Posted at 10:17 AM
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Congress, House, Iraq, Middle East
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May 23, 2007
News Roundup: Declassified Information, Iraq Plan, Iran Detentions
Administration. Material connecting Osama bin Laden to Iraqi insurgents that President Bush revealed in a speech at the Coast Guard Academy earlier today was declassified specifically for that purpose.
Iraq. A new "joint campaign plan redesign team," which includes Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, is working on a new diplomatic and military strategy for Iraq.
Continue reading "News Roundup: Declassified Information, Iraq Plan, Iran Detentions"
Posted at 6:25 PM
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Goodling Offers Up Red Meat On The Stand
UPDATED.
Democrats on the Hill got some answers on the U.S. attorney firings this morning when Monica Goodling began her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Goodling, a former White House liaison in the Justice Department, resigned in early April and invoked her Fifth Amendment rights when asked to testify. The committee offered her immunity later that month.
As Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., pointed out today, Goodling didn't really offer big "gotcha moments," but she has provided a much more intimate and detailed look at the decision-making process in the Justice Department than had previously been revealed to congressional investigators.
She said that her role in the firings had been exaggerated and criticized Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty -- who resigned last week -- for "misleading" statements he made about Goodling's own involvement in the firings.
"He accused me of withholding information, and I felt like I had provided him with that information that he did not communicate," she said.
Continue reading "Goodling Offers Up Red Meat On The Stand"
Posted at 5:25 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, House
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Factional Fighting & Israeli Airstrikes Continue In Gaza
The conflict in Lebanon has eclipsed news from Gaza in recent days, and a tenuous cease-fire is still in place in the region, but tensions are still running high.
Leaders of the two Palestinian factions in the nascent unity government -- President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas -- met for the first time today since the conflict began. Abbas also met last night with Egyptian officials in Gaza City.
Continue reading "Factional Fighting & Israeli Airstrikes Continue In Gaza"
Posted at 4:08 PM
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Israel, Middle East, Palestinians
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Thousands Flee Lebanon Camp
A truce declared last night has held long enough for Palestinian refugees to evacuate the Nahr el-Bared camp in northern Lebanon today.
Camp residents with cars managed to escape to another nearby camp, which is provisioned by the United Nations and other relief agencies. National Public Radio reports that about 15,000 camp residents, about half the total population, left late last night and another 1,000 left today. A U.N. convoy trying to deliver supplies to the remaining people in the camp was attacked earlier in the day.
Continue reading "Thousands Flee Lebanon Camp"
Posted at 3:19 PM
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Lebanon, Middle East
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Bush Discusses Al-Qaida Threat At Coast Guard Commencement
Graduation is typically a time for congratulations, friendly advice and best wishes for a bright future. But today, President Bush used his commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., today to issue a dire warning to the graduates assembled and to the American people: "To strike our country, the terrorists only have to be right once; to protect our country, we have to be right 100 percent of the time."
Faced with the country's growing dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq and increasing pressure from Congress to change course, the president took another shot at drawing a connection between the war in Iraq and the larger war on terrorism in his address.
Continue reading "Bush Discusses Al-Qaida Threat At Coast Guard Commencement"
Posted at 2:59 PM
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Al-Qaida, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Terrorism
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Baroody Declines Nomination To Run Product Safety Commission
UPDATED.
President Bush's nominee to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission has withdrawn his name from consideration. Bush's choice for the job -- Michael Baroody -- drew criticism from lawmakers, including Sen. Barack Obama, who suggested that the executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers would be ill-equipped to lead the agency in charge of regulating the very products members of that trade group create.
The controversy surrounding Baroody grew stronger last week, when it was reported that NAM would award him $150,000 in severance pay were he to accept the job.
In a statement responding to Baroody's withdrawal, NAM President John Engler called it "a sad day for consumers and everyone who cares about good government" and slammed the "unprincipled smear campaign waged against Mike, aided and abetted by unethical release of his financial records."
AP reports that the White House "reluctantly" accepted Baroody's decision, but was "disappointed he will not have the opportunity to strengthen the CPSC's ability to protect American consumers."
Posted at 12:29 PM
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Barack Obama, Bush Administration
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Democrats Stifle Murtha Reprimand
House Democrats effectively killed a Republican effort yesterday to force a reprimand of Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., for allegedly violating the chamber's rules.
Lawmakers divided along party lines, 219-189, in a procedural vote to table the privileged resolution introduced Monday by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. Another 13 members -- including eight of the 10 members of the House Ethics Committee -- voted "present." The committee could be asked to take up the matter, although Rogers said he did not intend to take that step.
Rogers charged that Murtha heatedly threatened him on the House floor with never receiving another earmark in defense spending bills, apparently in retaliation for Rogers' attempt to remove one of Murtha's earmarks from the FY08 intelligence authorization legislation.
Continue reading "Democrats Stifle Murtha Reprimand"
Posted at 10:32 AM
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Senate Turns Back Effort To Strip Guest Worker Provision
The Senate yesterday turned back an amendment to an immigration bill that would have eliminated its proposed guest worker program, a move that members of the bipartisan coalition negotiating the bill said would have killed the entire package.
The 64-31 vote was a significant indicator determining the level of discomfort among Democrats about the guest worker program, which was inserted into the compromise bill at the request of Republicans.
In the end, 28 Democrats and one independent -- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont -- joined two Republicans -- Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and David Vitter of Louisiana -- to strike the guest worker program from the bill.
NationalJournal.com has the full story for free; see CongressDaily (subscription) for more coverage of Congress.
Posted at 10:28 AM
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Congress, Immigration, Senate
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May 22, 2007
Bush Dons Hat, Loses Belt Behind The Wheel
President Bush is famous for going casual -- very casual -- when he's back home on his Crawford, Texas, ranch. But there's one garment he should probably always wear, at least when that rascally press corps is around.
A seat belt.
White House reporters are simply agog that The Decider would drive about his ranch willy-nilly with nothing holding him back from the windshield -- and with a dignitary in the driver's seat, no less. YouTube has an ABC News clip of Bush waving to reporters from his truck as NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sat in white-knuckled terror beside him.
OK, we made that last part up.
Continue reading "Bush Dons Hat, Loses Belt Behind The Wheel"
Posted at 6:14 PM
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Bush Administration, Jon Corzine, President Bush
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Iraq Troop Level Could Top 200K
According to an analysis by Hearst Newspapers, the number of combat troops could double by the end of the year, to 98,000. And Democrats who envisioned they would be able to pull U.S. troops from Iraq following the takeover of Congress last fall are in for a rude awakening: the total number of troops in Iraq could surpass the 200,000 mark by the end of the year, Hearst reports.
Because Army deployments have been lengthened to 15 months while home rotations are capped at a year, there will be overlap as brigades move in and out. Moreover, troop levels are expected to go up this summer when the fifth and final brigade arrives to complete the Baghdad Security Plan.
But it is unclear that many Americans, particularly those who are pushing to see troop levels go down, are prepared to see that big an increase in U.S. forces there.
Continue reading "Iraq Troop Level Could Top 200K"
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Leahy & Specter Seek More Documents On Wiretap Program
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., again asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today for information about the justifications for the warrantless wiretapping program, saying his response so far has been "wholly inadequate."
The request followed testimony last week by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who revealed that the Justice Department had concerns about the legal basis for the program and refused to certify it for a period of time in 2004. Comey testified that Gonzales and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card had approached then-Attorney General John Ashcroft while he was hospitalized, seeking his approval to renew the program.
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Feasting After The Food Stamp Fast
It wasn't supposed to be a diet plan -- and he's not looking gaunt or anything -- but the Washington Post reported this morning that Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D) shed four pounds over the last week on a "steady" diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The point of the exercise, which began last week, was for fundraiser-feasting lawmakers to understand what it's like to live on $21 worth of provisions a week the way that food stamp recipients do. Reps. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo.; Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., joined Ryan in the experiment.
Given that only four of the 433 active members of the House participated, there might be a tacit acknowledgment that limiting consumption to $3 a day is just a tad tricky.
Continue reading "Feasting After The Food Stamp Fast"
Posted at 3:22 PM
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Turkish Capital Rocked By Blast
UPDATED.
At least five people were killed and 60 injured today after an explosion hit a busy shopping mall in Ankara, Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Erdogan also said the blast was clearly the result of a terrorist attack. CNN is reporting that anti-terror police on the scene have found traces of a type of explosive known to have been used by Kurdish separatist groups.
Video footage broadcast on CNN showed bodies laying among the rubble as emergency workers tended to the injured.
The explosion comes amid political unrest in Turkey. Parliamentary elections were moved up to this summer after secularists protested the presidential candidacy of Erdogan's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, who has since withdrawn from the race. Fearing a greater Islamic influence on their government, Turks have come out in droves to protest the current Islamic leadership.
Posted at 3:11 PM
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Senate Lunch Chatter: Inching Toward Compromise
With the Memorial Day recess looming and a dinner for Senate spouses planned at the Botanical Gardens tonight, the focus in the stakeout halls before today's policy luncheons was the agenda of divisive votes on immigration scheduled for this week.
Various Democrats said they opposed a temporary guest worker program, which Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Barbara Boxer of California will attempt to strike by amendment this afternoon. Last year, a similar amendment garnered fewer than 30 votes.
After the lunches, Republicans talked up the immigration bill. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said both parties were demonstrating the will to deal with the "dysfunctional" immigration system. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that a temporary worker program was needed because there is full employment in the country.
Continue reading "Senate Lunch Chatter: Inching Toward Compromise"
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Falwell Funeral Draws Thousands
Mourners continued to descend on Lynchburg, Va., today, as an overflow crowd remembered evangelist Jerry Falwell at Liberty University's 10,000-seat basketball arena and 20,000-seat football stadium. Not a single presidential candidate was in attendance, even though all the top GOP candidates -- Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney --made deliberate efforts to court the influential Moral Majority founder.
AP reports that the Bush administration sent "a midlevel aide." Falwell was credited with helping mobilize evangelical voters to elect President Bush in 2000 and 2004.
Bush's 2000 campaign put his then-rival, McCain, at odds with Falwell, after a particularly bruising primary contest in South Carolina. Republicans like McCain, who are open about their Christian faith but aren't necessarily comfortable campaigning on it, have maintained an uneasy relationship with Falwell and his ilk.
Though today's service is short on non-evangelical luminaries, CNN reports that one notable politician is in attendance: George Allen, former senator of Virginia.
Falwell died last week at 73 of complications related to a heart condition. WashingtonPost.com is streaming video of the service.
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U.S. Academic Held In Notorious Iranian Prison
The Iranian government has still not offered evidence behind its charges against Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, 67, even as Washington demands her release.
Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an independent Washington think tank, was arrested earlier this month by the Iranians after being trapped in the country for more than four months. Tehran accuses Esfandiari, who holds dual citizenship, of acting as an agent of the United States and trying to overthrow the government.
Colleagues of Esfandiari, who specializes in women's issues in the Middle East, deny the accusations. Her employers at Woodrow Wilson also accused the Iranians of abusive interrogation techniques. "Repeatedly during the interrogation, Dr. Esfandiari was pressured to make a false confession or to falsely implicate the Wilson Center in activities in which it had no part," the center said in a statement on May 10.
Worryingly, Esfandiari is being imprisoned in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. In 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died there. An Iranian physician later said there were signs she had been brutally raped and tortured.
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Romney Was For Immigration Reform Before He... Etc. Etc.
The contest among the top three GOP candidates has so far been about who's the most like Ronald Reagan. But the latest hot-potato issue to hit Congress has given still-deciding Republican voters a little something to sink their teeth into -- that is, the makings of a real fist-fight between two of the candidates.
In a conference call with bloggers yesterday, John McCain whacked Mitt Romney three times over, starting with the former Massachusetts governor's opposition to the compromise immigration proposal introduced to the Senate last weekend. "Maybe I should wait a couple weeks and see if it changes," McCain said, in remarks reported by the New York Sun. "And maybe his solution will be to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his yard."
Ouch. But first, let's explain.
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Posted at 11:50 AM
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Lebanon Enters Third Day Of Fighting
Another day in Lebanon opened with heavy fire exchanged between the Lebanese army and a Palestinian militant group in a refugee camp in the northern part of the country, where clashes have been ongoing for a few days. But violence also spread to the south today, with new fighting at a refugee camp there and a bomb attack injuring six people in Beirut. More than 50 people have already been killed.
It's not clear whether the other incidents are linked to the continued fighting in the north, but a spokesman for Fatah al Islam threatened increased violence if the army didn't stop its efforts at the refugee camp.
Bloomberg News quotes analysts suggesting that the continued violence could be driven by Syria in an attempt to pressure Lebanon's government.
The two countries have a long history of tension, but new sparks have ignited in recent days over a proposal to put Syrian officials on trial for multiple assassinations in Lebanon, including the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The United States and France both support the tribunal proposal; Syria and its allies, including Hezbollah, oppose it.
The Gate has more background on the conflict.
Posted at 7:37 AM
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May 21, 2007
Critics Chafe At Immigration Timetable
UPDATED.
Several senators speaking on the floor today had a unified message for backers of an immigration proposal: Slow down.
Noting that they had only received the 326-page plan at around 2 in the morning on Saturday, lawmakers bristled at a vote to take up debate set for this evening and calls from the proposal's backers to pass legislation before the Memorial Day break this weekend.
The compromise proposal, crafted by White House and bipartisan Senate negotiators last week, would allow the 12 million or so illegal immigrants already in the country to register with the government in order to remain, and offer a renewable visa that could eventually allow them to become permanent residents.
To many immigration hardliners, such provisions amount to amnesty.
Continue reading "Critics Chafe At Immigration Timetable"
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House Dems Trying To Bottle Up Complaint About Murtha
House Democrats tonight are expected to try to quickly kill an attempt by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., to force a reprimand of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., but some rank-and-file Democrats want Murtha to step up first with an apology.
"It's the obvious thing to do and would take a lot of pressure off members," said one senior Democratic leadership aide, echoing Caucus sources who said their bosses would like to see Murtha apologize to head off any need to defend him on the House floor. Rogers charges that Murtha heatedly threatened last week on the House floor that Rogers would never get another earmark in defense spending bills, apparently in retaliation for Rogers trying to remove one of Murtha's earmarks from legislation.
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Violence In Lebanon: Breaking Down The Parts
The fighting that is raging in northern Lebanon is, by most accounts, an isolated incident involving a small band of militants. But in some ways, the two-day clashes are part of a larger battle for the soul of the Middle East.
The group at the center of the violence, Fatah al-Islam, is less than a year old, having splintered off from the Syrian-backed Fatah al-Intifada last November. Its leader, Shakir al-Abssi, is a Palestinian who was sentenced to death in absentia by a Jordanian court for the 2002 assassination of an American diplomat. While not formally affiliated with al-Qaida, al-Abssi has expressed solidarity with the terror network's calls for jihad against the West, and has dedicated his group's efforts to sowing calls for jihad among the tens of thousands of impoverished Palestinian refugees living in camps in Lebanon.
The New York Times profiled al-Abssi in March. "The only way to achieve our rights is by force," he said in an interview. "This is the way America deals with us. So when the Americans feel that their lives and their economy are threatened, they will know that they should leave."
Continue reading "Violence In Lebanon: Breaking Down The Parts"
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Carter Steps Back From Bush Criticism
It sounded like the start of a battle between a former president and a current one -- enough so that one newspaper led its story by saying that no two commanders in chief had feuded "quite so publicly -- and angrily" since FDR and Herbert Hoover.
But Jimmy Carter was the first to blink this morning, saying on NBC's "Today" that his statement was "careless or misinterpreted" when he called the Bush administration "the worst in history" on foreign affairs.
Continue reading "Carter Steps Back From Bush Criticism"
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Commencement Roundup: Two Heads Are Better Than One
While Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush were busy butting heads over the weekend, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were making nice (again). The two appeared together at the University of New Hampshire's class of 2007 commencement, talking about their "common humanity" and the benefits of "transcending politics." Now if only Jimmy and Dubya could get along so well...
The former presidents at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.: "All you have to do is care, roll up your sleeves and claim one of society's problems as your own." -- Bush. "Thank you Madam President Newman. I like the sound of that. I've decided that women should run everything, and George and I can play more golf." -- Clinton.
ABC News' Bob Woodruff with his wife, Lee, at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.: "I wish I could protect all of you from the ups and downs of life, from the bends in the road to come. At your age I think I believed that life traveled pretty much in a straight line. If I was a decent person, and worked hard, I would be rewarded. But life wouldn't be life if it didn't have some curve balls in store."
Continue reading "Commencement Roundup: Two Heads Are Better Than One"
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May 18, 2007
News Roundup: Gaza Violence, India Attack, Dow Record
Mideast. Israel continues airstrikes targeting Hamas as the group hints it will retaliate with suicide bombers.
Washington. Groups on both sides express unhappiness with the immigration compromise. Meanwhile, the White House dismisses the no-confidence vote on Alberto Gonzales as a "stunt."
Continue reading "News Roundup: Gaza Violence, India Attack, Dow Record"
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Pentagon IDs Fourth Soldier Killed In Ambush
DOD announced this afternoon that it had identified the fourth soldier killed last weekend in an ambush south of Baghdad. Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, 23, of Reno, Nev., had been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown along with three other soldiers who were missing after the attack. An al-Qaida-linked group claims to be holding the soldiers; U.S. and Iraqi forces have undertaken a massive hunt for them.
The condition of Schober's badly burned body following the assault delayed his identification. The three soldiers still missing are Specialist Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.
Posted at 4:32 PM
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Iraq: Why September Could Be A Mirage
Republicans are warning President Bush that he could lose their support on the Iraq war if they don't see results by September, but as the New York Times noted earlier this week, no one is really defining what they mean by progress. Meanwhile, the White House made clear again today that it will not accept a timeline for withdrawal as top Democrats said they would not budge on pulling out the troops.
Bush's standoff with Congress has less to do with what progress might look like than with whether it's even still possible. Both Bush and his commander on the ground, Gen. David Petraeus, have said that quelling the sectarian strife in Iraq is feasible. But it is useful at this point to look back to when Bush announced the Baghdad Security Plan, on which the future of this war and Republicans' support for the president hinge.
Continue reading "Iraq: Why September Could Be A Mirage"
Posted at 2:44 PM
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Wolfowitz Taint Will Limit Bush's Choices For Successor
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz's resignation yesterday brings an ugly chapter in the Bush administration to a close, while also making George W. Bush's efforts to salvage his presidency in the eyes of the world even more difficult.
Wolfowitz, whom Bush tapped to head the Bank two years ago, created a firestorm after he arranged for a promotion and raise for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, then a PR contact at the World Bank. Wolfowitz requested a recusal from administration decisions involving Riza, but after the Bank's ethics panel declined, Riza was moved to the State Department, and at a higher salary than the top boss there, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Members of the World Bank, particularly Europeans, resisted Wolfowitz's leadership from the beginning. The former second-in-command at the Pentagon was widely seen as an awkward fit at the institution, which is devoted to resolving global poverty. And Wolfowitz's branding as a foreign policy hawk and one of the architects of the Iraq war did not earn him any favors with the Europeans, either.
Earlier this month, Wolfowitz, backed by high-octane Washington attorney Robert Bennett, vowed to the Bank's executive board that if he went down, he would take the Bank with him. Bennett told Newsweek on May 3 that Wolfowitz would release the salaries and perks of Bank officials if the board investigating the Riza affair concluded he acted unethically.
In the end, Wolfowitz decided to save himself. He agreed to step down yesterday after the Bank's executive board offered to release a neutral statement on the scandal: "He assured us that he acted ethically and in good faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution, and we accept that." The board also thanked Wolfowitz for his service, while noting that "a number of mistakes were made."
Continue reading "Wolfowitz Taint Will Limit Bush's Choices For Successor"
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FY08 Budget Plan Passes, Previews Tough Choices On Spending
The House and Senate approved a $2.9 trillion budget blueprint for the coming fiscal year yesterday, after partisan debate that reflects the difficulties Democrats will have later this year pushing through education, children's health and other domestic budget increases.
Democrats said their budget would balance in five years by imposing tough rules preventing new tax cuts or expansions of entitlement programs unless they are offset.
On a 214-209 vote with 13 Democrats defecting, the House approved the budget and used procedural rules to approve an $850 billion increase in the statutory debt ceiling. That is one more than voted against the initial version, with Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., joining the original 12.
NationalJournal.com has the full story for free; see CongressDaily (subscription) for more from today's issue.
Posted at 9:25 AM
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May 17, 2007
Wolfowitz To Resign
The World Bank announced this afternoon that President Paul Wolfowitz has agreed to resign effective at the end of June. Wolfowitz had been dogged for months by conflict-of-interest charges stemming from his relationship with former Bank employee Shaha Riza.
AP has more on the story.
Posted at 7:15 PM
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Deal Struck On Immigration Reform
UPDATED.
Congress and the White House have reached a compromise on new immigration legislation, nearly two years after President Bush made that divisive issue a central tenet of his second-term agenda.
AP reports that the proposal contains measures to tighten up the borders while also offering a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. There is plenty here for advocates on both sides of the issue to criticize, but the compromise itself signals a willingness among partisans in Congress to let go of some demands.
For instance, those who wish to legally immigrate may be allowed to do so through a temporary worker program. But as for obtaining a green card to establish residency, education and skills will be prioritized over the applicant's family connections in the United States, according to AP.
Continue reading "Deal Struck On Immigration Reform"
Posted at 5:08 PM
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Dems Plan No-Confidence Vote On Gonzales
The tipping point in the attorneys firing scandal may be near, as Senate Democrats this afternoon announced they would be holding a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
"Whoever is the attorney general of the United States is the chief law enforcement officer for the people of the United States," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, appearing in a joint press conference with Sen. Charles Schumer. "I have lost confidence in the independence of Attorney General Gonzales from the White House."
This week has been a particularly bad week for Gonzales and the White House on the prosecutor firings. On Tuesday, lawmakers heard new details of a 2004 encounter Gonzales, then White House counsel, had with his predecessor, Attorney General John Ashcroft. Gonzales, along with the chief of staff at the time, Andrew Card, arrived at the hospital in which Ashcroft was recovering from gall bladder surgery and acute pancreatitis on President Bush's orders, in order to pressure the ailing attorney general to sign off on a domestic surveillance program the Justice Department opposed.
Only, Ashcroft wasn't the attorney general at the time -- then Deputy Attorney General James Comey was acting in his place.
Continue reading "Dems Plan No-Confidence Vote On Gonzales"
Posted at 2:26 PM
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Israeli Airstrike Hits Gaza; Abbas Cancels Trip
Israel stepped into the bloody conflict between the rival Palestinian factions today, launching three airstrikes at Gaza City. According to Hamas, explosions hit an administrative building, a car carrying commanders and a trailer of security guards.
Violence abated temporarily this morning, when both sides seemed to observe a cease-fire called last night. But three people had been killed by mid-afternoon, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas abruptly called off his planned visit.
Continue reading "Israeli Airstrike Hits Gaza; Abbas Cancels Trip"
Posted at 2:17 PM
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Bush And Blair's Long Kiss Goodnight
The sight of President Bush and Tony Blair defiantly defending their relationship at the White House today will probably inspire snickers from the "Daily Show" set, but the palpable solidarity the two men share will be one of the most defining legacies of the Iraq war.
In his final visit to Washington as Britain's prime minister, Blair gave a joint press conference with Bush in the Rose Garden following private briefings on Iraq. Blair will step down after 10 years in office next month, and he leaves under heavy criticism back home. More specifically, he leaves under the widespread British taunt that he'd become Bush's "poodle," following the American leader blindly into a war that seems to many unwinnable.
But both men disputed that characterization today, and Bush quickly lost patience with some particularly pointed questions from members of the British press.
"You're tap dancing on his political grave, aren't you?" Bush retorted, after a reporter repeated earlier questions about whether Washington should even be speaking with Blair considering his departure date and the coronation of his successor, Gordon Brown, by the British press.
"He happens to be your prime minister," Bush pointedly told the reporter. "And more importantly, he is a respected man in the international community. People admire him, even if they don't agree with him 100 percent. He's effective."
Continue reading "Bush And Blair's Long Kiss Goodnight"
Posted at 2:15 PM
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DOJ Offers Up E-Mail Tied To Rove
The Justice Department provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with a single e-mail Wednesday in response to a subpoena for the e-mails of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove related to the firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys.
The e-mail was sent Feb. 28, 2007, by J. Scott Jennings, an aide in Rove's White House shop, to what appears to be a Rove e-mail account linked to the Republican National Committee. It describes a telephone call Jennings received that day from Steve Bell, chief of staff to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in which Jennings says Bell flagged a news conference to be given the same day by former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.
NationalJournal.com has the full story for free; see today's CongressDaily (subscription) for more.
Posted at 10:33 AM
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DOJ Considered Firing 26 U.S. Attorneys
The list started with eight federal prosecutors dismissed by the Justice Department. Last week, that number grew amid new revelations that another attorney had been asked to leave before the round of firings already in the spotlight.
Today, the Washington Post reports that one in four U.S. attorneys were up for dismissal during Alberto Gonzales' tenure -- contradicting the statements from the attorney general and others before Congress last week that only the names already mentioned had been targeted.
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Posted at 7:42 AM
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May 16, 2007
Rockin' Out With Snowbird & The Schieff
We haven't been able to post about this until now, due to more significant news events (Falwell, the Republican debate), but the photos are too good not to share.
For anyone who hasn't already seen the footage (CNN is still running it, two days after the fact), White House press secretary Tony Snow and CBS newsman Bob Schieffer faced each other (get it?) Monday night in a battle of the bands. It was all in good fun, and proceeds went to the National Press Club's Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library.
Those familiar with Schieffer on "Face The Nation" know that he often ends that program with a stern commentary about congressional waste or White House obfuscation or media frivolity. But that's just one side of the widely respected 70-year-old news veteran.
Continue reading "Rockin' Out With Snowbird & The Schieff"
Posted at 6:40 PM
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Lawmakers Go Hungry To Make A Point
What do Reps. Jo Ann Emerson, Jim McGovern, Tim Ryan and Jan Schakowsky have in common with Eminem? They all know that food stamps don't buy diapers.
The four lawmakers, three Democrats and one Republican (Emerson), this week gave themselves a food budget of $21, "the amount the average food stamp recipient receives in federal assistance," the Washington Post reports.
"At yesterday's weekly lunch meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, McGovern was mesmerized by an attractive roast beef sandwich with cheese. He noted the potato chips came in two flavors: sour cream and plain. But his own lunch consisted of some lentils he cooked for himself and brought to work in a plastic container."
That's a little sad, until one realizes that they can also go back to eating as usual after the week is up, unlike millions of Americans who really must rely on food stamps. The lawmakers are pushing for a bill that adds $4 billion to the annual federal food stamp budget. See McGovern's and Ryan's blogs to read about their experiences.
Posted at 3:44 PM
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Senate Rejects Iraq Funding Cutoff Bill
The Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Washington Post have details.
And from CongressDaily:
The Senate this morning invoked cloture only on an amendment from Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., expressing the sense of the Senate that an Iraq war supplemental should be passed by May 28. It widely defeated the amendment proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., to start a phased redeployment within 120 days of enactment.
Senators more narrowly voted down an amendment proposed by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., to reduce U.S. aid to Iraq if the government there did not meet certain benchmarks. A fourth amendment offered by Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., was withdrawn.
Check CongressDailyPM (subscription) this afternoon for more details.
Posted at 3:20 PM
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Fresh Violence In Gaza
UPDATED.
Are the Palestinians headed for a civil war?
Just today, multiple acts of violence -- gun battles, mortar and rocket rounds, a Jeep ambush and an attack on a security chief's house -- have resulted in an escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip between the two leading Palestinian factions: Hamas, the Islamic ruling party that the United States deems a terrorist group, and President Mahmoud Abbas' more secular Fatah party.
Multiple buildings came under fire today in Gaza, including one that serves as a home base for foreign journalists covering the region. Ynetnews, an Israeli English-language Web site, reports that journalists are trapped in the building indefinitely, "with Fatah operatives on the roof of the building and Hamas operatives trying to break down the doors."
AP has a first-person account from one reporter, who writes, "I have seen a lot in my years as a journalist in Gaza, but this is the worst it's been." Two Palestinians working for a daily newspaper were already killed in violence on Sunday.
Continue reading "Fresh Violence In Gaza"
Posted at 2:40 PM
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2nd GOP Debate: That's More Like It
Now that The Gate has almost fully recovered from last night's Republican debate (9 p.m. start time? Thanks, FOX), it's time to assess the post-mortems of the action. All the usual suspects have weighed in by now, and there are more thumbs-up than not to the feistiness of the 10-candidate face-off.
(For recaps of the fun, see last night's liveblog of the debate.)
There's lots of buzz around the Republican slate's own Mike Gravel, the libertarian Texas Rep. Ron Paul. They're both long-shot candidates who were thrust into headline status following their debate performances. But unlike Gravel, Paul is taking negative hits for his newsmaking moment, in which he argued that America's footprint in the Middle East was inciting terrorism and got shot down in a big way by The 9/11 Mayor himself, Rudy Giuliani.
There are two things to take away from that moment. One, Giuliani's campaign ought to hire Paul. New Yorkers know better than anyone that the anger on their former mayor's face during that exchange was the real deal. And when it comes to fighting terrorism, a little scariness from politicians is actually a good thing. Giuliani's campaign is betting that his platform on terrorism will trump unhappiness with his social views, and his performance last night was reason to throw a little money Paul's way.
Continue reading "2nd GOP Debate: That's More Like It"
Posted at 2:20 PM
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Peacekeepers Killed Near Mogadishu
A roadside bomb struck a convoy of African Union soldiers north of the Somalian capital today, killing four and injuring five. Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, spokesman for Somalia's interim president, blamed the attack on al-Qaida.
Earlier in the day, four people were killed and 20 were injured in an attack on a movie theater south of Mogadishu. The violence comes a day after Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, discussed the peacekeeping mission.
BBC News notes that today's bombing is the worst attack on the peacekeeping force since 1,600 Ugandan soldiers entered the country in March. A force of 8,000 will eventually take over security responsibilities from the Ethiopian army; yesterday, both the United States and the African Union warned Ethiopia not to pull its troops out before the new peacekeeping force could arrive over the course of several months.
Posted at 2:15 PM
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Prince Harry Not Going To Iraq
UPDATED.
Prince Harry will not be deployed to Iraq as planned because it has been determined that he would be "a magnet for jihadists" there.
A statement issued by Prince Charles' office today said Harry is "very disappointed" that he will not be deployed, but that he "fully understands and accepts" the decision.
The decision to keep the prince at home while his fellow officers in the Blues and Royals are shipped off to that war zone was first reported by Britain's Sky News. It comes a little more than two weeks after the Defense Ministry announced the 22-year-old would do his tour just like everyone else in his regiment. Prince Harry, who is third in line for the throne, had resisted calls to keep him out of Iraq.
Continue reading "Prince Harry Not Going To Iraq"
Posted at 2:13 PM
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Reid Postpones Immigration Cloture Vote Until Monday
Senators negotiating a broad immigration bill caught a break Tuesday evening when Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed to postpone a cloture vote scheduled for today until Monday.
"The bipartisan negotiations are showing progress and this gives them a chance to continue," said a Democratic aide.
The bill being discussed includes a new point system for green card applicants, a path to citizenship for current undocumented workers and a guest worker program that would require the vast majority of future foreign workers to leave the country when their visas expire.
NationalJournal.com has the full story for free; see CongressDaily (subscription) for more from today's edition.
Posted at 9:46 AM
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May 15, 2007
Liveblogging The 2nd GOP Debate
UPDATED.
End note. Tonight's debate felt more substantive than the last meeting of the Republican 10. Candidates got the same 30 seconds or so to answer questions, but there were fewer questions this time, which made the pacing seem more orderly. The questions themselves were also all serious, more or less -- no one got lobbed with an out-of-left-field query (unlike last time around).
Quite a few of the candidates seem to have learned something from McCain. There were more follow-them-to-the-gates-of-hell type responses on terrorism tonight. But no one capped it with a weird, triumphant smile. In fact, we didn't detect any gaffes at all. (If you think Ron Paul's performance qualifies as a gaffe -- you just don't know Ron Paul.)
Overall, the field feels more set in stone than it did before. Of the lower-tier contenders, Gilmore, Huckabee and Tancredo asserted themselves the most, but probably not in a way that will set their campaigns on fire. Thompson was oddly quiet tonight, as was Brownback.
Mercifully, the next debate, this time among the Democrats, is nearly three weeks away. And, most everyone in Washington hopes, a wartime appropriations bill will make it out of Congress and past the president's desk by then. In the time since the debate began tonight, the Pentagon announced the deaths of two more soldiers, one in Iraq and one in Pakistan. Clocks are ticking all around. And no one on that stage knows this more than the guys not named Giuliani or McCain.
FOXNews.com is streaming its debate analysis. See Captain's Quarters, The Caucus, The Corner and The Fix for their takes on the debate.
10:34. And it's over. Hunter had just gotten a chance to sound the alarm on China, his other pet issue after immigration. The center of gravity in the 2008 election will likely remain the Iraq war, and there's little he and other candidates can do about that. But how much longer can the front-runners campaign on Iraq and fiscal policy alone? Shouldn't they have to give serious thought to, say, China's growing economic influence and military growth as well?
Continue reading "Liveblogging The 2nd GOP Debate"
Posted at 8:37 PM
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Campaigns, Chuck Hagel, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, WH 2008
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Fred Thompson Hits The Nets!
No, not to announce he's running for president. So calm down.
But National Review's Jim Geraghty notes that Thompson's video response to liberal filmmaker Michael Moore's debate challenge has racked up 156,069 views in less than eight hours.
Details on why Thompson and Moore are going at each other can be found here and here. In a nutshell, the dust-up has to do with Moore's new documentary about health care and whether Thompson or Moore love Fidel Castro most (both say the other).
The beef between the two men is probably real, but political bloggers maybe can't help but wonder if the video is Thompson's way of dipping his pinky toe in the waters, as it were.
Posted at 8:35 PM
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Campaigns, Fred Thompson, Republicans, WH 2008
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GOP Debate Preview: Take Two
Tonight's FOX News-sponsored debate of the Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina comes less than two weeks after their first nationally televised debate in California. And not one of the hopefuls has reason to complain that their second meeting has come so quickly. (The Gate will be liveblogging the action at 8:45 p.m. EDT.)
The rapid-fire pace of questions at the previous forum, sponsored by MSNBC and the Politico, did not allow time for thoughtful responses, much less clarification of the occasional fumbled answer. Just ask former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who seemed to support businesses that fire employees for being gay, and has been explaining the gaffe (a busted hearing aid, a bulging bladder) ever since.
Also see: Rudy Giuliani. The pro-choice former mayor of New York told moderator Chris Matthews that he would be just fine with Roe v. Wade being overturned, just so long as it was done based on "strict constructionist" principles. Constitutional lawyers everywhere scratched their heads, and Giuliani's rivals smelled the blood of a flip-flopper in the water. The Gate spoke with Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella the Monday following the May 3 meet-up. After some prodding, she said that Giuliani shares a fairly widespread belief (in legal academia, anyway) that Roe was poorly decided, and that a Federalist approach may have been preferable.
Continue reading "GOP Debate Preview: Take Two"
Posted at 7:31 PM
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Campaigns, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, WH 2008
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Reports: Army General Tapped As 'War Czar'
Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, a three-star general currently posted at the Pentagon, has been chosen to oversee coordination among federal agencies in Washington and commanders on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, news agencies are reporting.
According to Army Times, the 30-year veteran "served much of his early career in Germany during the Cold War," and also served in the first Gulf War and in Kosovo. Should he pass scrutiny in the Senate, Lute will assume the title of "Special Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Policy and Implementation."
AP and Bloomberg have more on Lute.
Posted at 7:25 PM
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Afghanistan, Bush Administration, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush
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Comey: Gonzales Pressured Ashcroft On Surveillance
UPDATED.
The White House bypassed a resistant Justice Department on its controversial domestic surveillance program three years ago, according to a former No. 2 at the department.
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who was the top aide to then-AG John Ashcroft, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today that White House officials also sought to go over his head and appeal to a hospitalized Ashcroft -- even though Ashcroft's condition made Comey the acting attorney general at the time.
Comey described a late-night visit to Ashcroft's hospital room by Andrew Card, then the White House chief of staff, and Alberto Gonzales, then the White House counsel. Alerted by Ashcroft's wife, Comey and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller raced to the hospital, anticipating that Card and Gonzales would try to coax Ashcroft into approving the surveillance program.
Continue reading "Comey: Gonzales Pressured Ashcroft On Surveillance"
Posted at 6:37 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, James Comey
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Jerry Falwell Dies At 73
UPDATED.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University this morning. He was taken to a hospital in Lynchburg, Va., around 11:30 a.m. and pronounced dead about an hour later.
Dr. Carl Moore, Falwell's regular cardiologist, said at a news conference that the televangelist was brought in without a pulse, and therefore could not be revived despite "aggressive efforts" made at the emergency room. Sudden cardiac death is the likely diagnosis, although Moore would not confirm a heart attack specifically. Falwell had a history of heart problems.
Continue reading "Jerry Falwell Dies At 73"
Posted at 2:50 PM
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Senate Lunch Chatter: The I's Have It
Immigration and Iraq once again dominated the chatter in the halls outside the Senate's party policy luncheons today.
On immigration, lead Democratic negotiator Edward Kennedy said that tomorrow would be "D-Day" for those hoping to strike a compromise. "We're still not there," Kennedy said. Several senators pointed to a 3 p.m. meeting this afternoon as crucial to a potential deal. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said the big sticking points were on family reunification, temporary workers and due-process considerations.
Continue reading "Senate Lunch Chatter: The I's Have It"
Posted at 2:45 PM
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Immigration, Iraq, Middle East, Senate
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Speak Softly... For Now
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week warned that any U.S. attack on his country over its nuclear program would provoke "severe" retaliation from Iran. His combative words came just as U.S. and Iranian officials planned direct talks on stabilizing Iraq for the first time since the war began.
A new survey in In today's Poll Track (subscription) suggests Americans are more amenable to diplomatic relations with Iran than they are to military engagement, but they aren't ready to rule out the "big stick" entirely.
Sixty-three percent of respondents to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said they would oppose military action against Iran. And in a Public Agenda poll last month, a 44-percent plurality suggested that diplomacy was the best way for the United States to deal with Iran; only 5 percent favored threatening military action and 8 percent preferred actually taking military action.
Posted at 1:00 PM
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Iran, Middle East
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Reuters Agrees To Takeover Bid
Thomson Corp., a Toronto- and Connecticut-based news conglomerate, made a bid to purchase Reuters Group. The companies said two weeks ago that talks were beginning; Reuters endorsed the merger today.
Now, the deal has to clear regulatory hurdles in the United States and the U.K. before it can be finalized -- and those hurdles may be substantial. Thomson already owns Westlaw (a legal research database), MedStat (a health care information firm) and TradeWeb (a bond-trading network). A successful purchase of Reuters would create the world's biggest financial data company.
If the deal goes through, London-based Reuters will cost Thomson 8.7 billion pounds, or $17.2 billion dollars. Reuters currently has 2,400 journalists in 131 countries.
Continue reading "Reuters Agrees To Takeover Bid"
Posted at 10:34 AM
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Media
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Earlybird Roundup: McNulty, Detainees, War Funding, SCOTUS
U.S. attorney firings. In an interview with the Washington Post, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said the scandal over the firings of federal prosecutors didn't play a role in his decision to resign yesterday.
Gitmo detainees. The Pentagon released the names of six former detainees held at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, saying they went back to fighting the United States in Afghanistan after their release.
Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposed two options for new war funding bills yesterday.
Continue reading "Earlybird Roundup: McNulty, Detainees, War Funding, SCOTUS"
Posted at 8:13 AM
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Deadly Blast Hits Restaurant In Pakistan
Twenty-five people were killed and 32 were wounded today at popular restaurant in Peshawar, Pakistan. Police suspect the attack was a suicide bombing.
Customers were eating lunch at Marhaba restaurant when the explosion occurred. It is Pakistan's second attack in three weeks; riots also broke out in Karachi a few days ago.
Bloomberg News reports that the government blames the recent violence on rivalries between Sunni and Shiites, as well as Islamic militants protesting President Pervez Musharraf's support for U.S. actions against terrorism.
Posted at 7:48 AM
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Asia, Pakistan
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May 14, 2007
The Evolving Case Against Jose Padilla
The terrorism trial of Jose Padilla began today, and it was a far cry from what anyone had imagined following his arrest at O'Hare International Airport in May of 2002.
Since then, Padilla's status in the eyes of the government has evolved from "dirty bomber" to "enemy combatant" to suspected al-Qaida operative, the latest definition of the Chicago native. The 36-year-old spent more than three years in a Navy brig, despite being an American citizen. Just as the U.S. Supreme Court was about to weigh in on whether it was constitutional to hold Padilla indefinitely without charge, the Bush administration moved to have him declassified as an enemy combatant and transferred to a civilian facility.
Much of the air has been taken out of the government's case against Padilla, a former member of a Puerto Rican gang who converted to Islam shortly after being released from jail in his early 20s. There will be no mention of a radioactive dirty bomb at this trial -- at least, not from the prosecution. Instead, Padilla is accused of applying to be an al-Qaida operative and volunteering to carry out violent assaults against targets abroad. Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi have been charged as his co-defendants.
Continue reading "The Evolving Case Against Jose Padilla"
Posted at 6:53 PM
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Al-Qaida, Jose Padilla, Terrorism
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DOJ Second-In-Command Resigns
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty today became the latest Justice official to step down in the wake of criticism of the firings of eight federal prosecutors late last year. His letter of resignation to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales cited family and financial concerns as the reasons for his exit, but ABC News is reporting that "anger" at being linked to the ongoing scandal over the firings may have been a significant factor in McNulty's decision.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February, McNulty insisted that "in this administration U.S. attorneys are never -- repeat, never -- removed, or asked or encouraged to resign, in an effort to retaliate against them, or interfere with, or inappropriately influence a particular investigation, criminal prosecution, or civil case." But according to U.S. News & World Report, Gonzales was unhappy with McNulty's testimony on the firing of U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins of Arkansas.
Today, Gonzales released a statement praising McNulty for more than two years of service as his deputy and more than eight years with the department.
Posted at 6:10 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration
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WH 2008: Careful, Folks...
Remember that old saw about people in glass houses?
Last week, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama hit Detroit automakers where they lived -- literally -- which, as Newsweek's Keith Naughton noted, didn't exactly endear the home of the Big Three to the presidential hopeful. Now, it seems, Obama forgot one minor detail before he went up in front of the Detroit Economic Club to talk about reducing fuel emissions.
Start driving a hybrid car.
Continue reading "WH 2008: Careful, Folks..."
Posted at 4:47 PM
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Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Fred Thompson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Republicans, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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Pols Don Their Caps & Gowns
It's that time of year again, and with Washington entangled in the ongoing battle over Iraq and presidential candidates eyeing next year's increasingly early primaries, politicians are scrambling for that sweetest of spring gigs: the college commencement address.
Here's a snapshot of some of the speeches graduates were treated to over the weekend:
President Bush at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.: "Be the face that brings a smile to the hurt and forgotten. Lead lives of purpose and character -- make a difference in someone else's life. And if you do, you will lead richer lives, you will build a more hopeful nation, and you'll never be disappointed."
Nancy Pelosi at Webster University in St. Louis, Mo.: "At a time when some world leaders question the value of constructive dialogue with our adversaries, young people are engaged in their own international dialogue, on campuses and through e-mail, instant messaging and blogs. They are talking about their hopes for a brighter future -- of their desire for peace and prosperity."
Continue reading "Pols Don Their Caps & Gowns"
Posted at 2:27 PM
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, House, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Tony Snow
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Padilla Trial Begins
Both sides made their opening statements today at the long-awaited trial of accused al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla. At a federal courthouse in Miami, prosecutors charged that Padilla provided material support to terrorists.
Two other co-defendants are on trial simultaneously. Padilla was arrested at a Chicago airport in 2002, accused of plotting a dirty bomb attack; he became a defendant in this case after an effort by his attorneys to challenge his detention.
Check The Gate later this afternoon for more on the trial.
Posted at 2:25 PM
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Terrorism
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Ahmadinejad Issues Warning After Cheney Visit
Vice President Dick Cheney blew through the Middle East on his weeklong tour, meeting with heads of state in Egypt, Jordan and Dubai. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose influence Cheney had been trying to curb during his visit, dogged the vice president after his stop in the United Arab Emirates.
Ahmadinejad headed up an anti-American rally the day after Cheney's visit. AP reports that the crowd responded enthusiastically to Ahmadinejad's comments, including this one: "Every time your name is mentioned, hatred builds up.... Go fix yourself. This is Iran's advice to you. Leave the region."
Continue reading "Ahmadinejad Issues Warning After Cheney Visit"
Posted at 9:20 AM
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Iran, Middle East
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The Conductor In Chief
"He's the president, he can do what he wants," begins a story in the Virginian-Pilot. And what President Bush wanted to do yesterday, during a ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, was to lead a symphony orchestra.
During a rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever," the president hopped up to the conductor's spot and took the baton from JoAnn Falletta, musical director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
The 400-piece orchestra played on -- "without a hitch," according to the article -- and finished out the remaining two minutes of the song.
"He was very musical," Falletta said. "He was cueing the brass; he was cueing the percussion. He kept the tempo going."
Posted at 7:53 AM
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President Bush
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May 11, 2007
News Roundup: Cheney Trip, Fort Dix, Summer Predictions
Breaking. An armed man has taken hostages at the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica.
White House. Vice President Dick Cheney issues warnings to Iran while aboard U.S. aircraft carrier 150 miles off that country's coast. President Bush greeted with protests over Iraq war at Catholic college run by former administration official.
Continue reading "News Roundup: Cheney Trip, Fort Dix, Summer Predictions"
Posted at 6:00 PM
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Bittersweet Day For Va. Tech Grads
Virginia Tech is livestreaming today's graduation ceremony, and it is something to watch those young men and women beaming, diplomas in hand, as loved ones in attendance whistle and cheer for them.
About 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students are donning caps and gowns today, in a ceremony that both literally and symbolically marks the Virginia Tech community's effort to move forward after last month's tragic shootings, which claimed 33 lives.
Continue reading "Bittersweet Day For Va. Tech Grads"
Posted at 5:34 PM
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Crime
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Iraqis To U.S.: Don't Go
The Iraqi government sent officials to Washington this week for one-on-one talks with key lawmakers, in an effort to persuade them to keep American troops in their country. Specifically, several Republicans facing tough re-election fights because of anti-war sentiment in their states were targeted, namely, Sens. Norm Coleman, Saxby Chambliss and John Sununu, AP reports.
But some lawmakers, including presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, seized the opportunity to grill the Iraqis on the lack of progress in unifying their government.
Continue reading "Iraqis To U.S.: Don't Go"
Posted at 4:00 PM
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Bush Administration, Congress, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush
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Report: Terrorist Plot Targets U.S. Interests In Germany
ABC News is reporting that U.S. officials have been working to prevent a terrorist plot on American military and diplomatic interests in Germany.
U.S. officials alerted the German government last month that intelligence indicated a possible attack in the works, according to ABC. Security has quietly been beefed up at the U.S. Embassy there, along with other diplomatic and consular offices.
ABC also reports that "U.S. air marshals have been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the United States."
U.S. targets are plentiful in Germany, which houses America's largest military hub outside of its own borders.
Posted at 1:01 PM
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Terrorism
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President Bush: Rock Star!
With each new poll confirming the last, it's easy to forget that there might be some Americans who aren't related to the president but actually like him anyway.
The crowd at last evening's RNC Presidential Gala proved an instructive reminder. In anticipation of President Bush's arrival, guests who paid $1,500 or more to bask in his company jealously lined up along the stage for a front-row view of The Decider.
When asked why he was standing against the stage when there was little competition for his spot (more on that later), one guest declared with feeling, "I love him!"
Continue reading "President Bush: Rock Star!"
Posted at 12:31 PM
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President Bush, Republicans, WH 2008
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U.S. General: I Need More Troops
UPDATED.
In a live video briefing from Iraq this morning, Maj. Army Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon spoke frankly about the need for more troops in the restive Diyala province.
"I do not have enough soldiers right now in Diyala province to get that security operation moving," he said. The briefing was broadcast at the Pentagon this morning.
Diyala province, located northeast of Baghdad, has seen some of the most intense sectarian fighting in Iraq, attributed in part to the presence of Al-Qaida In Iraq terrorists. The Iraqi government said yesterday that 11,200 people had been killed in Diyala since 2004. Nearly 17,000 of the province's children have been orphaned, a parliamentary committee report said.
The Pentagon today announced that one soldier was killed and nine others wounded in an explosion yesterday in Diyala. Officials have not yet responded to Mixon's remarks.
DOD's Web site has a transcript.
Posted at 12:28 PM
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Iraq, Military
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Taliban Frees French Hostage
Eric Damfreville, a French aid worker kidnapped by Taliban fighters over a month ago, was released today to tribal elders in Kandahar. The Red Cross confirmed Damfreville's release and said its workers have him in their custody.
The Taliban credited the action to recent comments from France's new president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, who said on April 26 -- before his election -- that he would consider pulling his country's troops out of the NATO force in Afghanistan and that France could not remain in Afghanistan indefinitely.
Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters that the Taliban's leadership council "decided to free him for the newly elected French president" who "had said in his utterances that France will deliberate over withdrawing French troops from Afghanistan."
Continue reading "Taliban Frees French Hostage"
Posted at 12:24 PM
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Afghanistan, Asia, Europe, France, Terrorism
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Leaks From The Top
The Army is cracking down on soldiers' blogs, fearing they'll breach "Operational Security" by spilling battlefield secrets onto the Internet. But the worst OPSEC violators are Pentagon officials, says Dorlon Elliott, a former Navy intelligence specialist who uses headquarters' press releases to track the location of U.S. infantry units in Iraq on the popular Web site billroggio.com.
"The Pentagon acts as if it is not at war, and the leaks emanating from Arlington are enormous," he wrote recently. For example, the Pentagon routinely announces the movement of U.S. brigades from Kuwait's staging areas into Iraq, he told National Journal. Other violators are the northern Iraq headquarters and the central and Baghdad headquarters, he said. Compared with them, military bloggers are as closed-mouthed as Special Forces, he said.
Maj. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to respond to Elliot's comments, but said, "We obviously take OPSEC very seriously and make every effort to make sure the information we're providing corresponds to our policy on operational security."
-Neil Munro, National Journal
Posted at 12:02 PM
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Military
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Cox To FOX: Why Not Go To 11?
In the crowded 2008 GOP primary field, it's one thing to be considered the long-shot or dark-horse candidate. It's quite another to be the invisible man. But after his second exclusion from a nationally televised primary debate, John Cox is taking matters into his own hands.
Taking a page out of Ralph Nader's playbook, the Illinois businessman lodged a formal complaint yesterday against FOX News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party, sponsors of next week's "first-in-the-South" GOP debate. Like last week's event hosted by MSNBC in California, the stage at next week's GOP debate in South Carolina will be filled with 10 presidential hopefuls, but not Cox, the first Republican to actually declare his candidacy in the '08 race (he filed with the FEC in February 2006) and the only one on the South Carolina ballot who won't be there.
The suit aimed to force the debate sponsors to either include Cox or cancel the event. But this morning, AP reports that U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson denied Cox's plea, ruling that state law allows party leaders to choose who gets to participate in political debates.
Continue reading "Cox To FOX: Why Not Go To 11?"
Posted at 11:13 AM
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John Cox
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Democrats & Administration Strike Trade Deal
Congressional Democrats and top Bush administration officials stood elbow to elbow yesterday to announce they have agreed to require in the text of trade agreements that countries adhere to International Labor Organization core standards.
They said the compromise on labor applies to four pending bilateral agreements and all free trade deals going forward, but in the short term it is likely to pave the way only for congressional approval of pacts with Peru and Panama.
Continue reading "Democrats & Administration Strike Trade Deal"
Posted at 7:44 AM
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Congress
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May 10, 2007
News Roundup: Iraq War Funding, Mideast Violence, Trade Deficit
Iraq war funding. House Democrats today passed legislation that would fund Iraq military operations on an "installment plan." President Bush has already threatened to veto such a measure.
Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq, an organization linked to al-Qaida, uploaded a video on its Web site today claiming to show "the execution-style killings of nine Iraqi security officers who were lined up blindfolded with their hands bound behind them and shot in the back of the head."
Continue reading "News Roundup: Iraq War Funding, Mideast Violence, Trade Deficit"
Posted at 6:12 PM
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Bush Eyes Middle Ground On Iraq Funding Bill
Another week, another veto? Maybe not.
Less than 24 hours after declaring his intent to veto a second war funding proposal being worked up by House Democrats, President Bush offered to meet lawmakers halfway by warming to the idea of including benchmarks for the Iraqi government in the legislation.
"One message I have heard from people from both parties is that the idea of benchmarks makes sense. And I agree," Bush said, during a briefing at the Pentagon. "I've empowered Josh Bolten to find common ground on benchmarks, and he will continue to have dialogue with both Republicans and Democrats."
Bush's apparent concession also came two days after a group of Republican lawmakers told him that their support for the war had a timeline. The House is set to vote on the bill tonight.
Continue reading "Bush Eyes Middle Ground On Iraq Funding Bill"
Posted at 5:15 PM
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Congress, Iraq, President Bush
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Gonzales Gets Less Hostile Treatment From House Panel
With President Bush firmly behind him, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had a far smoother ride today in his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee than he did three weeks ago before a Senate panel. He received generally friendly questions from Republicans and provided skeptical Democrats little new information about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.
While Senate Judiciary ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had scathingly appraised Gonzales' performance and another GOP senator had called for his resignation, House Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said today it was nearly time to "wrap up the U.S. attorneys' controversy."
GOP lawmakers often asked either supportive leading questions or addressed other subjects. Even some Democrats brought up parochial concerns.
Continue reading "Gonzales Gets Less Hostile Treatment From House Panel"
Posted at 4:30 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, Congress
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Bye-Bye, Blair
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will leave office June 27, leaving President Bush bereft of his most steadfast foreign ally. His resignation announcement today may have offered a preview of what Americans will be in for when Bush's departure in early 2009 nears.
Blair cast his lot with Bush following 9/11 and the decision to go to war with Iraq. It was the biggest gamble of the Labour Party leader's career, and, perhaps, his costliest. Blair's sinking approval ratings have dovetailed with Bush's.
And yet, as Blair noted in his farewell speech, it could have been otherwise.
Continue reading "Bye-Bye, Blair"
Posted at 3:15 PM
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Europe, Iraq, President Bush, Tony Blair, U.K.
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Administration Withheld E-Mails About Rove's Role In Firings
The Bush administration has withheld a series of e-mails from Congress showing that senior White House and Justice Department officials worked together to conceal the role of Karl Rove in installing Timothy Griffin, a protégé of Rove's, as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The withheld records show that D. Kyle Sampson, who was then-chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, consulted with White House officials in drafting two letters to Congress that appear to have misrepresented the circumstances of Griffin's appointment as U.S. attorney and of Rove's role in supporting Griffin.
In one of the letters that Sampson drafted, dated February 23, 2007, the Justice Department told four Senate Democrats it was not aware of any role played by senior White House adviser Rove in attempting to name Griffin to the U.S. attorney post. A month later, the Justice Department apologized in writing to the Senate Democrats for the earlier letter, saying it had been inaccurate in denying that Rove had played a role.
Click here for Murray Waas' full report.
(Photo credit: Paul Morse)
Posted at 12:55 PM
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Attorney Scandal, Karl Rove
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WH '08 Ads: Take A Look At Us Now
In the long race for the White House this cycle, candidates who will be in it for the long haul -- i.e., those at the top -- are squirreling away the voluminous amounts of cash they're raising for when the contests go down to the wire. Those not polling well, however, don't have the luxury of time, and must spend more freely in order to grab and hold voters' attention.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson boasts a longer resume than the three Democratic front-runners -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards -- and he's not afraid to use it against them. Doing his part to protest the "American Idol"-ization of the 2008 White House race, he's launched two spots that feature him and an inept Human Resources executive.
Meanwhile, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is up yet again, with his third TV ad of the cycle. His financial filings show that he burned through more than half of what he hauled in last quarter, indicating that the third- (sometimes fourth-) place contender is more than willing to throw money at the problem.
For more details, and to view these ads, see today's Ad Spotlight (subscription).
Posted at 12:50 PM
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Democrats, Mitt Romney, Republicans, WH 2008
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Freshman Class: Casey At The Bat
Bob Casey Jr. knows there are two primary issues that helped him win over rural and conservative voters in the 2006 midterm elections: guns and abortion. The Pennsylvania Democrat's pro-gun, pro-life stance helped him defeat the Senate's third highest-ranking Republican, Rick Santorum, by nearly 20 points last November.
But despite renewed debates over Roe v. Wade and the Second Amendment, the new senator has other pressing issues on his mind. In an interview (subscription) with NationalJournal.com, Casey talked about health care, immigration and his working relationship with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Casey's interview is the last in a series (subscription) of conversations with the 110th Senate's freshman class.
Posted at 11:29 AM
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Congress
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Dems Offer Immediate Iraq Withdrawal Vote
House Democratic leaders plan to bring up legislation today that would begin redeployment of U.S. forces and contractors from Iraq not later than 90 days after enactment and to be completed within 180 days.
The bill was introduced Wednesday night by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., a prominent member of the Out of Iraq Caucus, after discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The House will vote on the measure before it moves to consider the new Iraq war supplemental introduced Tuesday by Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis.
The vote on the McGovern bill is a concession to anti-war members of the caucus who were concerned that the Obey bill would not permit until July an up-or-down vote on removing troops from combat zones.
Continue reading "Dems Offer Immediate Iraq Withdrawal Vote"
Posted at 11:09 AM
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Congress, Iraq
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Gonzales Heads Back To The Hill With New Obstacles
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today amid new allegations from another U.S. attorney -- one who left his job several months before the now-famous eight prosecutors were fired.
Todd Graves stepped into the spotlight yesterday when he announced that a senior Justice Department official had asked him to leave his post as U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., in January 2006. The Washington Post reports that Graves was told to resign to "give another person a chance." Graves complied, but his request to stay at his job long enough to prosecute a particular high-profile case was denied.
Check back later today for another story on Gonzales from National Journal's Murray Waas.
Posted at 7:51 AM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal
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May 09, 2007
Terrorism Across The Border
A joint investigation by NBC News and Telemundo, its Spanish-language corporate sibling, has unearthed a "well-financed" Hezbollah base in South America.
"From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated mainly from Lebanon in two waves, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and after the 1985 Lebanese civil war," NBC News reports on its Web site.
Washington has long suspected Islamic terrorists may be setting up camp in South America, but the new NBC-Telemundo report indicates Hezbollah is running a flush and healthy operation just a few porous borders away from American soil.
In February, Newsweek reported on South and Central American governments' reluctance to respond to evidence of terrorist money-laundering in their countries, and CBS News sounded the alarm last year.
Posted at 7:00 PM
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Hezbollah, Terrorism
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Bush Threatens To Veto Next Iraq Bill
White House spokesman Tony Snow today said President Bush would veto a proposal House Democrats are hammering out on funding for the Iraq war. The threat comes little more than a week after Bush used the second veto of his administration to kill a war supplemental that included a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq.
"The bill that was at least being whipped yesterday contains elements of the bill the president vetoed already, and if it were to come to his desk, it would be vetoed," Snow told reporters aboard Air Force One. The aircraft was en route to Kansas, where Bush toured a town devasted by a tornado last weekend.
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Posted at 6:05 PM
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Congress, Iraq, Military, President Bush
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Mickey Mouse Clone Preaches Jihad In Gaza
UPDATED.
Meet Farfour: He's big. He's furry. He looks a lot like Mickey Mouse. And he's bringing a message to the children of the Gaza Strip: "You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists."
AP reported yesterday that a children's show airing on a Hamas-run television station in Gaza featured a giant, tuxedo-clad mouse who speaks in high-pitched tones about returning "the Islamic community to its former greatness" and liberating "all the countries of the Muslims" -- Palestine and Iraq, to name a few -- "invaded by the murderers."
Today, Hamas pulled the program from the air.
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Posted at 3:53 PM
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Middle East
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Letter From Baghdad: Send $$
Speaking at a press conference in the heavily fortified Green Zone, Vice President Dick Cheney, Amb. Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus sent a message to Congress: Send money now.
"Our people need the tools to get the job done, and the tools in this case are money," Crocker, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said. "We need to get the money out here so we can start making a difference on the streets."
The vice president, accompanied by Crocker, landed in Baghdad today unannounced, as is the norm for administration officials who visit the country. Cheney is there to pressure rival factions in the Iraqi government to hammer out a political compromise in the coming months. Republicans in Congress have said that they will rethink their support for the war if marked progress is not seen by the fall.
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Posted at 12:34 PM
Posted to:
David Petraeus, Dick Cheney, Iraq, Military
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Betting On Benchmarks
House Democrats unveiled a new compromise on the Iraq war funding bill yesterday that would approve half of the money President Bush has requested now and require a second vote on the other half of the funds in July. In order for Congress to release the rest of the money, the Iraqi government would have to show that it had reached certain political goals the president has outlined as necessary for the success of the military effort.
Two new public opinion surveys in today's Poll Track (subscription) suggest this "benchmark" plan is a popular alternative to the previous bill setting a specific date for withdrawal from Iraq. Then again, that bill also had about 60 percent of Americans behind it, but it still failed to pass the White House or a congressional veto override.
Posted at 11:53 AM
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