White House Week
Rumors of His Demise May Be Greatly Exaggerated
A suddenly proactive White House has even some skeptical Democrats admitting they are seeing new life in an administration they were about to bury. As he made plans for his trip this week to Latin America—an area that was once to have been a primary focus of his presidency—George Bush revisited areas hit by Hurricane Katrina, got ready to tour parts of the South ripped by last week's tornadoes, and announced he would appoint a commission to check into the healthcare of war veterans. Democrats are also impressed with the administration's new willingness to join with Baghdad in talks with Iran and Syria, a nonstarter in the past. And they admit they are surprised by all the new outreach from the White House to the Hill on domestic issues. Still, groused one senior Democratic strategist, "President Bush should have done these things a long time ago."
How Global Warming Is a Taxing Problem
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel says the "federal government can use the tax code" to encourage development of alternative energy sources. He made this declaration at a hearing of his committee, the first of many to be held as Democrats try to meet Speaker Nancy Pelosi's goal of climate change legislation by Independence Day. Ranking Republican member Jim McCrery balked, arguing that humanity's role in the warming is still unknown; he asked whether hurting the nation's economy and losing jobs to China and India was worth preventing a 1-degree rise in temperature. But Rangel called global warming "a fact," and with that the two staked out their parties' entrenched positions.
The McCain Band Hits Some Sour Notes
It was supposed to be his coming-out week—or, at least one of them—but no sooner did he announce for the presidency than John McCain was battered by the left and the right. McCain was relaxed and funny, making his "preannouncement" on CBS's Late Show With David Letterman, but then he said the Iraq war had "wasted" American lives. Democrats howled that he was dishonoring the troops, so he withdrew that remark. Then the conservatives struck, offended that he declined to speak at their big conference in Washington, and some new polls showed McCain losing ground. A spokesman, however, called it a good week, noting that McCain is raising lots of money and garnering many high-profile endorsements.
From Scandal to Worse in 24 Hours
The scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., turned into a full-fledged fiasco on Friday as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates fired Army Secretary Francis Harvey, apparently over both the shabby conditions at the hospital where the war-wounded convalesce and Harvey's missteps to fix the situation. After the Washington Post exposed the neglect of patients and housing at Walter Reed, Harvey fired one general who headed the hospital but replaced him with another who had been there even longer. "I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation," Gates said. Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, who had headed the Army's medical research command, was put in charge.
PHOTO OP: 12:26 p.m., February 27, Kabul, Afghanistan
It was all pomp as Vice President Dick Cheney met Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his palace in Kabul, but terror was in the air a little more than two hours earlier when a suicide bomber struck the gates at Bagram Air Force Base, where Cheney was staying. The bombing was a sign of an energized Taliban, a worry for both Karzai and the United States.
With Kenneth T. Walsh, Bret Schulte and Anna Mulrine
This story appears in the March 12, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.