Entries for March 08, 2007

U.S. and Iraqi military forces captured eight suspected insurgents north of Baghdad today as part of the ongoing security crackdown in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, called those propogating violence in Iraq "thugs with no souls." Video below.

Etc.: Letter from Iraq: The Things That Get You, on USNews.com

The trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby may be in hibernation while the former Cheney aide awaits sentencing and ponders an appeal, but Plame-ophiles will now have something else to occupy their attention: House Oversight Committee Chair Henry Waxman has just announced that his committee will be investigating the matter. (U.S. News's Liz Halloran has a roundup of the trial here.)

In a letter (pdf) to Patrick Fitzgerald, Waxman praised the special prosecutor's work in the case but said the matter of whether the White House adequately tried to protect the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, an undercover CIA agent, remains unresolved.

Waxman asked Fitzgerald to meet with him to discuss what the prosecutor is legally able to include in a testimony. Wilson will also testify.

Etc.: Inspector Waxman's Inquest, on USNews.com

This comes from Pentagon reporter Anna Mulrine:

In a speech today at the Center for American Progress, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a "new GI Bill of Rights," to include expanded care and physical and mental screening of soldiers going into war zones--and those returning as well.

The initiative will also help families learn how to care for injured family members and create provisions for care of the children of single soldiers killed in war. She added that she is asking the Department of Defense to review rejected insurance claims of Army soldiers suffering traumatic injuries.

Sen. Barack Obama, one of Clinton's leading rivals for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, also is cosponsoring an initiative to address neglect at military hospitals.

Etc.: Democrats Call Walter Reed Scandal "The Katrina Of 2007", on USNews.com

The story of the fired U.S. attorneys zeroed in this week on David Iglesias, the former chief federal prosecutor for New Mexico, after Republican Sen. Pete Domenici admitted to having called Iglesias about the corruption probe of a local Democrat.

The political ground in New Mexico is still scorched by bruising fights in the past two elections. In 2006, Rep. Heather Wilson, the other Republican lawmaker implicated in the Iglesias affair, won re-election in her district by fewer than 2,000 votes in a race that wasn't called for several days. In 2004, George W. Bush won New Mexico's five electoral votes by just over 6,000 ballots.

So strategists are already starting to wonder how the controversy will play out in November 2008. (And who can blame them? The election is a mere 21 months away.)

As political science Prof. Lonna Atkeson of the University of New Mexico says, conventional wisdom in the state hold that presidential candidates are unusually beholden to the popularity of state lawmakers.

From USNews.com editor Kent Allen:

Two events this week -- the death of wine mogul Ernest Gallo at 97 and a Capitol Hill appearance by software mogul Bill Gates -- coincidentally brought to front and center the debate over the future of the estate tax.

The Gallos have been one of 18 very wealthy families that, according to Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy, have been behind efforts to permanently repeal the tax. Under current law, the tax, which runs at about 45 percent for the value of estates of more than a few million, will be repealed in 2010.

But the following year the tax will revert to the 40 percent-plus range and with a much lower minimum threshold. Among the families not on the List of 18: the Gateses. Bill Gates himself told the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee that he supports the estate tax. His father, Bill Gates Sr., has spearheaded action to retain the tax.

Gallo's death, meanwhile, could have relatively quick ramifications for the federal budget. While wealthy people can leave an unlimited amount of money tax free to their surviving spouse, Ernest Gallo's wife is already dead. If his net worth is the $1.3 billion that United for a Fair Economy says it is, then Uncle Sam could take a half billion or more of the estate (though this could be significantly cut depending on however much Gallo might have willed to charity; such gifts are not included in the taxable portion of an estate).

With no changes in federal law, had Gallo lived to 100 and died in 2010, the tax would have been zero.

Etc.: "Estate Tax" v. "Death Tax"--The Language of Politics, on USNews.com

It's a quiet day on trail today as candidates rest for a big weekend push that starts tomorrow.

Two events:

• John McCain is in New York City for an event at the Hudson Theater this evening.
• Mitt Romney attends a Republican fundraiser in Charleston, W.Va.

Today's Political Bulletin includes a poll that shows Obama narrowing Clinton's lead while Giuliani widens his own over other GOP contenders.

Today's Political Bulletin includes a poll that shows Obama narrowing Clinton's lead while Giuliani widens his own over other GOP contenders. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll finds that Romeny still lacks name recognition among many Republicans.

Etc.: Giuliani and the Art of Hat-Toss Timing, on USNews.com

This morning's top stories:

• President Bush leaves for a five-country tour of Latin America today, intent on bolstering U.S. influence at a time when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's sway in the region is on the rise.
• Democrats in the House are pushing legislation that would require a withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the fall of 2008, the AP reports. Meanwhile, the new commander in Iraq said today that insurgent attacks are intensifying.
• Bush indicated Wednesday that a pardon of former Cheney aide "Scooter" Libby is unlikely in the near future, the Washington Post reports.
• An Indian tribe in Arizona has constructed a giant glass-bottomed walkway along the edge of the Grand Canyon, hoping to attract tourists -- and and their money -- to the area.