Nattering Negative Nabobs Have Bush Fuming
President Bush is angry, again, at the news media. White House insiders say the president is fuming about negative news coverage on a variety of issues, including the special prosecutor investigation, the Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court, the war in Iraq, and rising conservative criticism of the administration. As an example, one Bush adviser said, "We've hit the 2,000 mark for casualties in Iraq. Why is that symbolically important? Because the media says it's symbolically important. And what about all the focus on the special prosecutor? Who controls that? The media." Of late, Bush has been particularly unhappy about the drumbeat of coverage leading up to the federal grand jury indictment of Vice President Cheney's top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Contrary to some news reports, Bush doesn't take out his frustrations on junior staffers. He saves that for his senior advisers, especially Chief of Staff Andy Card, who regularly absorb Bush's venting.

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And Now, Denny the Blogging Speaker
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has joined the blogging world, using his first Internet journal to flog oil companies. "This is America. And Republicans don't believe in punishing success. But what are these oil companies doing to bring down the cost of oil and natural gas? . . . They've built refineries overseas, but nothing here at home," wrote Hastert on his site at www.speaker.gov/ . Hastert made a similar case against Big Oil earlier last week, at a news conference, and immediately took gas from some Republicans and conservatives. The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council, which receive funding from oil companies and other corporations, accused the speaker of pandering to polling showing that Americans blame oil companies for high prices. "The free-market community has been very much taken aback by what Speaker Hastert has said," said Iain Murray, senior fellow at CEI. "Republicans are supposed to be the ones who understand the free market and economics." But regardless of the heat, aides say the 63-year-old Republican from Illinois will continue to blog on.

Abortion: That Pesky Litmus Test
Senior administration officials said that as President Bush and his Supreme Court team review anew resumes for the open seat, abortion will remain the top issue. "It's always been about abortion, and it still is," said a key insider. But this time the president is interested in landing a Supreme Court nominee with a clearer record on abortion and one who conservatives will see is interested in potentially voting to overturn Roe v. Wade. However, officials warned that the issue won't be publicly discussed by the White House as in the past. The plan? The president will roll out the nominee, who will then tour Senate offices--refusing to discuss personal politics--as top aides try to build a coalition of support.

Of Bush, Bernanke, Bonding, and Baseball
How did an introverted Ivy Leaguer like Ben Bernanke land the job of chairman-designate of the Federal Reserve? White House insiders say he's a good administrator and he's not doctrinaire. But more important, Bernanke catered to Bush's need to have information conveyed to him in a boiled-down, no-nonsense fashion. Using teaching skills honed over the years as an educator, Bernanke was able to make Bush feel that he was learning about complicated economic issues in a straightforward, sensible way. He's also a baseball nut, but his team (sorry, Mr. President) is the Boston Red Sox.