Entries for March 05, 2007

This item comes from White House Correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh:

White House advisers have high hopes for President Bush's trip to Latin America this week. Bush leaves Thursday for a seven-day visit to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico, during which he will promote fair trade and try to strengthen those countries' bonds to the United States.

Bush is expected to announce, for example, an agreement with Brazil to encourage the use and trade of ethanol by both countries. Another goal is to lift Bush's stature at home, where his job-approval ratings are hovering at about 30 per cent, a low number that could inhibit his ability to get congressional support for his initiatives.

The problem is that Bush is unlikely to score any big breaththroughs on his trip, so its PR value at home may be minimal. Still, White House advisers say Bush remains committed to enhancing U.S. relations with Latin America, which was one of his goals when he became president in 2001. But 9/11, the war on terrorism, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken precedence.

There's another dimension to the visit. Bush wants to limit the growing influence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is extremely critical of the Bush administration and is trying to move other Latin American governments to the left.

Etc.: The Hugo Factor, on USNews.com

Mitt Romney came away with the victory in last week's "straw poll" of 1,705 registrants at the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual meeting, but his win is perhaps most notable for its small margin of victory, only 21 percent. Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback and Newt Gingrich were close behind with 17, 15 and 14 percent, respectively. John McCain, who unlike the others did not attend the event, polled at 12 percent.

Full results are here as a Power Point file (results on slide 9).

Straw polls certainly don't mean as much as scientific surveys, but they serve as good publicity for the winning candidate. McCain narrowly won a straw poll in Spartanburg, S.C. last week.

Etc.: The Pajamas Media Straw Poll on USNews.com

Here are the stories making the rounds this afternoon:

• Congressional hearings on the sorry state of the Walter Reed Medical Center began today, with lawmakers expressing worry that the problems at the Washington, D.C., military hospital are indictative of poor conditions at other facilities as well. Watch video.
• Nine Afghani civilians are reported dead after an airstrike by coalition forces hit a home in the village of Jabar. Tensions with the Afghanistan government were already high after Western forces fired on crowds fleeing a suicide attack. U.S. military officials have blamed militants for endangering the civilians.
• The fact that daylight-saving time begins three weeks earlier this year is causing headaches for the tech community, which has to update electronic devices to account for the change.
• The Supreme Court has ruled against three Republican voters in Colorado who were challenging a planned redistricting in Colorado that favors Democrats.

The Census Department released new data (excel file) this morning on state government employees by industry. Here's a few highlights:

Most Full-time equivalent workers:

• Electric Power: South Carolina, 1,753
• Health: Florida, 24,186
• Hospitals: New York, 43,059
• Liquor Stores: Pennsylvania, 2,994
• Parks and Rec: California, 3,282
• Public Welfare: Texas, 22,192
• Sewerage: Massachusetts, 866
• Solid Waste Management: New Jersey, 645

These are absolute numbers, of course, not per capita. If anyone feels like running those figures, we'd love to see them.

The House Judiciary subcommittee that will hear testimony tomorrow from four fired U.S. attorneys has just announced that it has issued subpoenas to two more dismissed prosecutors, Daniel Bogden of Nevada and Paul K. Charlton of Arizona. They join Carol Lam of Southern California, David Iglesias of New Mexico, H.E. "Bud" Cummins of East Arkansas, and John McKay of Western Washington.

The spotlight will be particularly bright for Iglesias as speculation zeroes in on Sen. Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican who repeatedly complained to the Justice Department about Iglesias, the AP reports.

More developments are likely this afternoon. Stay tuned.

Etc.: News Desk: The Lost Numbers in the Case of the Fired Attorneys on USNews.com

With five days and counting until the international summit on Iraq this weekend in Baghdad, Iran's foreign minister said today that a representative from Tehran will most likely attend.

As U.S. News reported in this week's magazine, the United States has shown signs of engaging both North Korea and Iran diplomatically, charter members of the original "Axis of Evil" trifecta--something that would have been unheardof not so long ago.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy carrier John C. Stennis patrols the Arabian Sea. See a video report here.

Etc.: A Looming Face-Off With Iran on USNews.com

Here's the rundown on who's where on the trail today:

Democrats

• Joe Biden is in South Carolina for a town hall meeting at a technical college and an address to the Kiwanis Club.
• Hillary Clinton is in Des Moines to meet with Democratic members of the state legislature.
• Chris Dodd meets privately with Democrats in Colorado.
• John Edwards continues his trek through California with a stop at UCLA and a house party in the evening.

Republicans

• Sam Brownback campaigns in Greenville, S.C.
• John McCain attends to fundraising events in Michigan.
• Updated: Rudy Giuliani meets with governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in California.
• Updated: Duncan Hunter meets with South Carolina Republicans in Hilton Head.

News from the weekend:

In Selma, Ala. yesterday, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama overlapped on the campaign for the first time at a commemoration of the 1965 civil rights march. In the photo on the front page of the New York Times this morning, just six people stood between the rival presidential hopefuls in an arm-in-arm march. The tone of their remarks remained polite.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won a "straw poll" at the Conservative Political Action Conference annual meeting. Meanwhile, McCain won a close victory in last week's South Carolina straw poll after two days of counting.

Stayed tuned this afternoon for a look at what--if anything--straw polls mean.

Etc.: Crafting the New Hillary on USNews.com