White House Week
When the Going Gets Tough, the Vice President Gets Going
White House insiders are singing the praises of Vice President Dick Cheney as the go-to guy when the crunch comes on Capitol Hill. The latest evidence: While President Bush hit the Hill during the day, Cheney was there for much of last Wednesday night, cajoling Republicans to vote for the CAFTA free-trade bill, and aides say Cheney was critical to corralling the handful of last-minute GOP votes that assured its passage. Cheney, a former congressman from Wyoming, gets credit for carrying President Bush's water not only on CAFTA but also on the $12.3 billion energy bill that passed on Friday, bankruptcy overhaul, and a transportation bill. "He knows how the process works," says one adviser. Others argue that Bush's recent success in passing legislation contradicts those who said he was becoming a lame duck. "Now you see the process as a whole, and the accomplishments are substantial," says a senior GOP strategist.
More Than One Way to Skin That Cat
With John Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations stalled in the Senate by unified Democrats and a handful of reluctant Republicans, President Bush was expected to make Bolton a recess appointment--that is, install him while Congress takes its August break. But the plan hit a road bump, if not a serious snag, when the State Department confirmed that Bolton had incorrectly answered a Senate questionnaire, writing that he had not been interviewed by investigators in the past five years. It turns out that Bolton had been interviewed by the State Department inspector general in 2003 on the question of how the White House ended up stating--wrongly--that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. "He will correct it," a State spokesman said.
Voters Are OK if Roberts Stays Mute
A just completed poll conducted by the Winston Group, a Republican firm, finds vast support for Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts ducking comment on social issues that might be taken up by the court. The poll question referenced a similar move by Clinton appointee Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who refused to answer out of concern that she didn't want to prejudge issues that might later come before her. The poll of 1,000 registered voters taken July 23-24 found that 76 percent would find a similar refusal acceptable from Roberts. Twenty percent found it unacceptable.
Home, Home on (and Riding) the Range
President Bush returns to his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas, this week for a month of R&R--but with a difference. This time, he won't make much of a case that he's taking a "working vacation." He's there to relax, and he doesn't plan to take many day trips to promote his policies or boost his job-approval ratings, as he did in 2004, an election year. In another move likely to outrage his critics, Bush plans to stay on the range almost to Labor Day. An aide says, "It's been a productive six months," but Bush is tired, and friends note that he has been safely re-elected. At the ranch, Bush will clear brush, as usual, and he intends to keep mountain biking, despite two recent spills. He loves it when guests, aides, and even Secret Service bodyguards eat his dust.
With Kenneth T. Walsh and Paul Bedard Kenneth T. Walsh and Paul Bedard Kenneth T. Walsh and Paul Bedard Kenneth T. Walsh and Paul Bedard
This story appears in the August 8, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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