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Conservatives: Bush Isn't One of Us
Tweet Share on Facebook October 6, 2009 Comment (42)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
It's been shrugged off by Bushies as a juvenile kiss-and-tell book, but conservatives are fast embracing Speech-less, from former George W. Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer, as proof that the big-spending ex-prez was never one of them. "My book seems to have resonated with a number of prominent conservatives for that very reason," Latimer tells Whispers. "Many conservatives, in fact, are telling me that they didn't think Bush was as true a conservative as first appeared. And the small number of Bush officials criticizing my book really don't like the fact that I expose their role in this and how they left the Republican Party in tatters. It's finally time for conservatives to appreciate those things the administration did well, while also acknowledging disappointments so that conservatives can move forward to 2012 on principles they hope to champion." For conservatives like Human Events Editor Jed Babbin, the goal is to promote the book to prove that "Bushism" isn't conservatism.
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Frist Predicts Tax, Premium Hikes With Democratic Health Bill
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2009 Comment (12)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Voters will be angry and mount a backlash against Democrats in upcoming elections unless the five different healthcare reform bills working through Congress are redrawn to prevent higher taxes and insurance premiums, according to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The former lawmaker, a heart surgeon who teamed with Democrats to push some previous healthcare reforms, told Whispers that he would not vote for any of the five bills without major changes. Time today reported that Frist would support the legislation, but he told Whispers that he was "disappointed" with that story because it didn't reflect his view.
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Imus Returns to Big Cable on Fox Business Network
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2009 Comment (24)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Neil Cavuto has come a long way since high school, where he and his pals swapped stories about the latest jokes and rants they heard from radio shock jock Don Imus. "I can remember as a kid in high school saying to friends, 'Did you hear what he said?'" says Cavuto, senior vice president of Fox Business Network. "I go a long way back as a kid listening to him on the air." As of today, he is Imus's boss, something he's excited and, well, scared about, as FBN turns over the 6-to-9 a.m. slot to the simulcast of radio's Imus in the Morning Show. "I am no more in control of Don Imus than a lab professor is with a broken vial of a deadly mutating virus," Cavuto tells Whispers. "I think that analogy isn't too far off."
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Obama's Approval Rating Finally Above 50 Percent
Tweet Share on Facebook October 2, 2009 Comment (26)Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 37:
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Town Hall Crowds Get the Starbucks Treatment
Tweet Share on Facebook October 2, 2009 Comment (6)By Robert Schlesinger, Washington Whispers
One sign that something has hit the cultural mainstream is that it starts showing up in television commercials. This summer's angry town hall protestors have now gone from curiosity and political movement right into the cultural oeuvre of advertising. A new Starbucks commercial brags that coffee drinkers can't taste the difference between their regular, fresh-brewed coffee and their new instant variety, VIA.
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Jill Biden Welcomes Son Beau Home From Iraq and Thanks Troop Greeters
Tweet Share on Facebook October 1, 2009 Comment (1)By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers
Jill Biden stood, a relieved parent, at last night's Capitol Hill screening of the new documentary The Way We Get By as she announced that her son Beau had returned home safely from the Middle East. "Today I feel blessed because today, this afternoon, my son Beau came home to Delaware after being in Iraq for a year," she told the crowd. The Blue Star mother was asked to introduce the film, which follows the lives of three senior citizens who are "Troop Greeters." The greeters park themselves at Bangor International Airport in Maine to give hugs, handshakes, cookies, and cellphones to American soldiers as they leave for or arrive home from tours abroad. They've greeted every group, nearly 1 million soldiers on about 4,000 flights, since May 2003, according to Maine Sen. Susan Collins, also on hand at the screening.
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Poll: Cut Congress and White House Salaries to Slash Federal Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook October 1, 2009 Comment (13)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Congressional lawmakers and top White House aides beware: Americans are angry about big government spending, and they want to balance the budget by slashing your pay. In our latest Washington Whispers poll, a whopping 51 percent of those surveyed called for cutting Capitol Hill and White House salaries when asked about the best way to address their worries about federal spending and growth. The second choice, way down at 17 percent, was taxing the wealthy. Some 15 percent suggested returning government spending to prestimulus levels, 14 percent think Washington should drop big-ticket items like healthcare, and 3 percent called for a freeze on federal hiring.
