Via Atrios, Editor & Publisher takes a look at a recent CBS poll and tells us that the public thinks the Valerie Plame scandal is more important than any scandal in the past 30 years. Here are the numbers: Plamegate: 86% important 12% not important Clinton-Lewinsky: 62% important, 37% not important Whitewater: 49% important, 45% not important Iran-Contra: 81% important, … Read More
North Carolina Turning Blue
Raleigh News & Record: President Bush’s approval rating in North Carolina continues to decline, according to a poll released Friday by Elon University. The poll found that 41 percent of those questioned approve of Bush’s handling of the job of president. That is down from 45 percent in a poll Elon did in April and 52 percent from a poll … Read More
Even William F Buckley Gets It
Bill Buckley: The importance of the law against revealing the true professional identity of an agent is advertised by the draconian punishment, under the federal code, for violating it. In the swirl of the Libby affair, one loses sight of the real offense, and it becomes almost inapprehensible what it is that Cheney/Libby/Rove got themselves into. But the sacredness of … Read More
Bay of Morons
White House Ducks Prewar Intel Questions WASHINGTON – The White House sought to deflect politically charged questions Wednesday about President Bush’s use of prewar intelligence in Iraq, saying Democrats, too, had concluded Saddam Hussein was a threat. "If Democrats want to talk about the threat that Saddam Hussein posed and the intelligence, they might want to start with looking at … Read More
Mr. 35%
How low can Bush’s approval rating go? The CBS lede paragraph says it all: Bush’s low job approval is far below that of some of his two-term predecessors at this point in their second terms. In November 1985, President Reagan had a 65 percent approval rating, and Bill Clinton’s job approval in November 1997 was 57 percent. Bush’s rating is … Read More
Operation Rage
We all remember Frist’s embarrassing diagnosis of Terri Schiavo without examining her (a diagnosis that turned out to be 100% wrong). Now he’s revealing his skills as a surgeon: Frist was now sputtering. "This is an affront to me personally. It’s an affront to our leadership. It’s an affront to the United States of America!" Turning sorrowful, he vowed that … Read More
Fighting Dems
The Fighting Dems series is meant to highlight men and women who have worn the uniform and have chosen to run on the Democratic ticket. Turns out — contrary to what you might think — there’s a heck of a lot more on our side than theirs. Check it out here — they are currently featuring Iraq War vets running … Read More
Faux Outrage And Real Hypocrisy
The Carpetbagger (via Kevin Drum) points to the hypocrisy of the Republican "outrage" over Senator Reid’s "stunt" yesterday. He explains why: It’s more than a little amusing to hear congressional Republicans worrying about such niceties. Which party likes to hold open five-minute votes indefinitely until the get the results they want? Which party prevents the minority from offering amendments (.pdf) … Read More
Smearing Wilson
I honestly don’t give a crap about Joe Wilson. What he did or didn’t do is irrelevant. It’s certainly not an excuse to out his wife as a covert CIA agent. I know this because I’ve read the statutes and there is no "Joe Wilson Is A Liar" exception. Still, Bush supporters somehow think that Libby’s behavior can be justified … Read More
Ignoring Whig
My jaw dropped when I read this crap from Glenn Reynolds at MSNBC: Perhaps Reid should look at this Senate Intelligence Committee report on Iraqi WMD, which found that errors in intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction didn’t stem from White House pressure, but from groupthink and systematic failure within the Intelligence Community: The Committee found significant short-comings in … Read More
“What Does Bush Keep In His Pockets?”
That was the question asked by CNN (What? Has it been a slow news week or something, guys?). Okay, an intriguing question, I suppose. Let’s see. What could the answer be? A small copy of the Constitution? A bible verse? A letter from a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq? A picture of his family, or Barney? Any of these things … Read More
This Is An Important Post Because This Is What It Is All About
Neo-cons were certainly thrown today by Senator Reid’s invocation of a rule calling for a closed session of the Senate. Mostly, they just said that Reid was throwing a "temper tantrum", which is of course, bullshit. Not to mention a childish response to a serious concern. In order for the Senate to discuss matters of intelligence, it is prudent — … Read More
Harry Reid: Kicking Ass
Whaa?!? The hot breaking buzz is on Senator Harry Reid, and his surprise invocation of a rare closed door session of the Senate to discuss Iraq and the faulty intelligence during the run-up. Frist is pissed, talking about the lack of senatorial courtesy (something which Republicans feel they have not been obligated to give, since they have a majority). CNN … Read More
Cooperating?
Supposedly, WH Press Secretary Scott McClellan just said: The president directed everybody in the White House to cooperate fully with the special counsel…The White House has been cooperating fully with the special counsel, and we will continue to do so. Libby worked in the White House. And he was charged with . . . oh, what was it . . … Read More
Restoration Project
From Billmon: George W. Bush will repair what has been damaged . . . On the first hour of the first day, he will restore decency and integrity to the Oval Office. Dick CheneySpeech to the 2000 Republican ConventionAugust 2, 2000 My fellow citizens, we can begin again. After all of the shouting, and all of the scandal. After all … Read More