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D.A. in Hot Water Over Duke Rape Scandal
Tweet Share on Facebook December 29, 2006 Comment (97)The runaway prosecutor in Durham, N.C., has been exposed for his dogged pursuit of the lacrosse players at Duke University. He has made a mess for himself.
The North Carolina Bar Association needs to take a long and careful look at his handling of this nationally covered and unsavory matter.
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Ford: A Breath of Fresh Air
Tweet Share on Facebook December 27, 2006 CommentWhen President Richard Nixon was hunkering down in the White House during the gloomy days of the Watergate scandal, he once said in a disdainful tone: "Can you imagine Jerry Ford sitting in this chair?"
Yes, Mr. Nixon, the country could. And the more decent individual sat there for 29 months.
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A Year of Bold but Absurd Statements
Tweet Share on Facebook December 22, 2006 Comment (39)Here are some of my favorite quotes and moments of 2006:
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Who Isn't Running for President?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 21, 2006 Comment (21)There must be something in the water in Washington. How else can you explain obscure politicians even thinking about running for president?
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Skilling's Fees: Why Hire a Lawyer?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 18, 2006 Comment (24)The legal fees for convicted Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling remind us again of why lawyers are the subject of jokes and derision.
Don't get me wrong. Some of my best friends are lawyers. In Washington, you run into one on about every block. While I admit to laughing at some jokes about the profession, I have to admit I was thinking about law school long ago.
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Cold Water for the Obamarama Parade
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2006 CommentThe latest upheaval for voters to fathom is the sudden emergence of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as a promising presidential candidate.
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Early Returns: Handicapping '08
Tweet Share on Facebook December 12, 2006 CommentHere is an early look at the premature run for president in 2008 already underway.
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A Shameful Report on the Foley Affair
Tweet Share on Facebook December 11, 2006 CommentOnce again the House ethics committee has failed to take a positive step in sending a clear message to the American people.
Instead, the bipartisan report on the Mark Foley scandal was a study in pitiful cowardice.
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The Vanishing Veep
Tweet Share on Facebook December 8, 2006 CommentThe forgotten man in the Bush administration is Vice President Cheney. He brought most of it on himself.
His standing is plunging with members of Congress as a whole, Democrats, some Republicans, and even zealots on the Christian right.
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Iraq Report Underscores Bush Stubbornness
Tweet Share on Facebook December 7, 2006 CommentWhen you consider the lost time in the nation's struggle in Iraq, it is painful to read the recommendations in the Baker-Hamilton report (PDF) to Congress.
The blame for the refusal to face reality over this prolonged war rests squarely in the Oval Office. President Bush's stubbornness has led to this mess.
John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.