USNews.com: Political Bulletin: Thursday, November 16, 2006

Thursday, November 16, 2006

WASHINGTON NEWS

Lott Makes Startling Comeback.

In what ABC World News called a "remarkable comeback," Sen. Trent Lott yesterday was elected Senate Minority Whip for the next Congress. The Hill reports Lott bested Sen. Lamar Alexander "by 25 votes to 24." Lott had to resign his post as Senate Majority Leader in 2002, accused of having made racially insensitive remarks." At the time, President Bush did nothing to thwart a push for Lott's removal as leader, and backed Sen. Bill Frist as his replacement. The Los Angeles Times reports this morning "the vote within the Republican caucus" could in fact "reflect unhappiness with President Bush for engineering the switch to Frist, who was not considered a strong leader."

The New York Times says Lott's "recent history is...a testament to sudden falls, unlikely recoveries and the fickle hands of fortune in American politics," while the Washington Post reports "Lott's feat ranks among the more impressive political comebacks of recent times, just as his fall from grace in December 2002 was spectacular and painful."

In an interesting development, Sen. Alexander tried to spin his defeat by pointing out that being a rank-and-file senator will enable him to be more independent. The Nashville City Paper, under the headline "Alexander Spins Leadership Loss As Good For Constituents," reports Alexander said that he "believes his loss will free him up to vote his conscience on issues, rather than fight for party votes. 'I'm a pretty independent fellow, anyway,'" Alexander said, adding, "And having my independence increased on the issues I care about the most appeals to me a lot."

Democrats Wage War Against Themselves.

The Washington Times reports House Democrats "will decide today whether to install as their majority leader one of the most scandal-tainted members of Congress." With Pelosi backing Rep. John Murtha, says The Hill, the race "has reinforced longstanding divisions between different factions in the caucus, members and observers said, and has diverted their attention from a positive message they hoped to project just days after winning control of the House." Moreover, as the New York Times reports, House members "acknowledged on Wednesday that the increasingly bitter contest for majority leader was sullying the image of unity and new direction that Democrats hoped to convey." The "downtrodden Republicans were enjoying the spectacle." The Christian Science Monitor notes "Murtha's opposition to ethics reform, including past brushes with ethics issues, open Pelosi to charges that she hasn't heard voters on the importance of cleaning up the culture of corruption in Washington." In his syndicated column, Robert Novak says no matter who wins, "the damage" to Pelosi "was irrevocable when she wrote her colleagues Sunday urging them to pick Murtha over Rep. Steny Hoyer." This is "a no-win situation for Pelosi. If Murtha wins today, she will be accused of personal vindictiveness in derailing Hoyer, who is more popular in the caucus and better qualified for leadership. If Murtha loses, as is much more probable, she will be seen as bumbling her first attempt to lead the new Democratic majority."

Murtha Says Ethics Bill Is "Total Crap."

Roll Call is reporting on its website that Rep. John Murtha "told a group of Democratic moderates on Tuesday that an ethics and lobbying reform bill being pushed by party leaders was 'total crap,' but said that he would work to enact the legislation because Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supports it." Murtha and current Minority Whip Steny Hoyer "are locked in a battle for the House Majority Leader post, and both men made presentations to the Blue Dog Coalition on Tuesday in a bid for their votes." Later in the day, Murtha appeared on MSNBC's Hardball, where he reiterated his views on the proposed legislation: "There's a lot of crap going on in Congress all the time. Guys violate the law, some do. But the problem we have is a few people violate the law and then the whole Congress has to be changed? ... The idea we have to deal with an issue like this -- and it is total crap -- that we have to deal with an issue like this when we've got a war going on and we've got all these other issues."

Republicans Embarrass Bush.

The House's rejection of the Vietnam trade bill is casting a pall over President Bush's Asia trip. One of Bush's goals in Asia is to promote trade liberalization, and the House vote on the eve of his departure, says the New York Times, "was an embarrassment for the White House." The Financial Times notes the Administration "scrambled on Wednesday to play down the significance" of the House vote, noting the measure "is very likely to pass when Congress reconvenes in December."

Why did the House, still controlled by Republicans, hand the President such an "embarrassing" defeat? NBC Nightly News said the "subplot" in this story is "how angry some of his fellow Republicans are at the election results at home." NBC goes on to note yesterday's Wall Street Journal story, which reported "Republicans in Congress intentionally didn't pass two bills the President badly wanted before he left. One of them is aid for Vietnam and another is a bill to pay for the US government, which will now have to be flown to Asia by a White House aide for the President's signature." The New York Times reports "even administration officials said they were not sure why the bill failed," adding "legislative aides said Republican skeptics of the bill were furious with their leaders that it was being scheduled so soon after an election in which trade was an issue." A similar piece in the Financial Times reports that for the White House, "Never mind the Democrats: it's those Capitol Hill Republicans you need to watch out for." Administration officials, says the Times, "blamed the ineptitude of the Republican leadership of the House."

Bush Forces Battle Over Judges.

The AP reports the Bush administration is "trying to push through judicial nominations before Republicans lose control of the Senate." Yesterday it "resubmitted six nominees deemed by Democrats too conservative for the federal bench." The White House submitted Terrence Boyle of North Carolina and William James Haynes II of Virginia to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.; Michael Brunson Wallace of Mississippi to the 5th Circuit in New Orleans; Peter Keisler of Maryland to the District of Columbia Circuit; and William Gerry Myers III and Norman Randy Smith, both of Idaho, for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. Everyone except Keisler has generated intense opposition from Democrats." The Washington Post says Bush's move is "triggering the first real battle with ascendant Democrats since the midterm elections and signaling what could be the start of a fierce two-year struggle over the shape of the federal judiciary."

The New York Times, meanwhile, reports "several Democrats and liberals" are "labeling" Bush's nomination "as provocative and a sign that he does not intend to seek compromise as he suggested he would after Republican losses in the elections last week. 'Democrats have asked the president to be bipartisan, but this is a clear slap in the face at our request,' said Senator Charles E. Schumer." Schumer added, "For the sake of the country, we hope that this is an aberration because the president feels he must placate his hard-right base rather than an indication of things to come."

The Washington Times quotes a "Republican aide, who...asked not to be identified," saying, "There is zero, zip, zilch chance of any of these judges making it through the Senate killing fields in the waning days. ... Without a plan for successful confirmation from the White House, the only point is to fly the flag as the judicial-confirmation ship slips beneath the waves. Burble, gurgle."

Senators, General Face Off On Iraq.

Gen. John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East, faced off with frustrated members of the Senate Armed Services Committee over Iraq, resisting calls for both quick troop withdrawals and increased troop commitments. ABC World News said Abizaid "found himself caught between sort of a rock and a hard place" on Capitol Hill, where CNN's The Situation Room said "a lot of what he did was reject the ideas coming from both sides of the aisle."

There was a political element to the face-off, too. Among the vocal critics on the panel were several possible presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton and John McCain. The Financial Times says Abizaid "drew the ire" of McCain by saying he did not think sending more troops, as McCain has called for, would help "stop the bloodshed." Meanwhile, the Washington Post says Clinton "took exception with Abizaid's talk of all the steps that the Iraqi government needs to take." Clinton said, "Hope is not a method. We've had testimony now for four years about what 'must be done' -- and it doesn't get done." As for McCain, the Washington Times quotes him saying, "It's not encouraging to those of us who heard time after time that things are, quote, 'progressing well,' that we're making progress, et cetera, because we're hearing from many other sources that that's not the case."

The panel's top Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin, said on CNN's The Situation Room, "What Gen. Abizaid basically said which did surprise me is that he thinks that things are getting somewhat better in Iraq. And according to the two leaders of our intelligence community...who testified this afternoon, things are getting worse in Iraq." On the CBS Evening News, Levin said, "I was somewhat frustrated because I thought basically he was saying that we should stay the course, which is, I think, clearly a position that's been rejected by the American people overwhelmingly; staying the course in Iraq is not a strategy for success."

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POLITICAL NEWS

Carville Tears Into Dean.

One of the Democratic Party's most celebrated political consultants, James Carville, yesterday joined with Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg to rip into the performance of Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean. The Christian Science Monitor reports, "Sweet as it was to win control of the House and the Senate in the 2006 election, some Democratic operatives think their victory could have been bigger if" Dean "had been willing to spend more in districts where races were close." At a Monitor breakfast, Greenberg said, "There were two dozen seats in which Republicans got 51 percent or less. ... There is a very big difference between defending these seats as incumbents or still trying to pick these up while they are being protected by Republicans." Carville said at the event, "We beat the hell out of them at the committees, at the congressional [campaign] committees. The DNC left the money on the table.'" Carville said Dean "should be held accountable" and described his leadership facetiously as "Rumsfeldian in its competence."

2008 Race Draws Another Former Governor.

Former Wisconsin Governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson (R) said yesterday that he will form a presidential exploratory committee in early 2007, the AP reports. The Des Moines Register reported that Thompson "was in Des Moines to give a speech about health care. In an interview afterward, he was asked if he intended to run for president. 'I hope so,' he said. 'Why not? I'm from the Midwest. There should be a Midwestern candidate for president.'" Meanwhile, USA Today reports on another development in the 2008 race, noting that Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) has begun the process of forming his exploratory committee, as he said he would over the weekend. USA Today adds that McCain says he'll make a final decision on a run "with his family over the Christmas holidays."

Rockefeller Decides Against Retirement.

Roll Call reports this morning that Democrats have gotten a good start on defending their narrow Senate majority -- West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D), who has been rumored to be ready to retire, says he will run for reelection. While an open-seat contest in West Virginia, which has trended Republican in presidential races, would be potentially competitive, Rockefeller is expected to cruise to reelection.

Three House Contests Wind Down.

The AP reports this morning that CT2 Rep. Rob Simmons (R) conceded yesterday to challenger Joe Courtney (D), opting not to launch a legal challenge to his opponent's 91-vote victory. ... In Georgia, the AP reports GA8 Rep. Jim Marshall (D) and GA 12 Rep. John Barrow (D) were officially certified as winners of their extremely tight races. Barrow defeated Max Burns (R) by 864 votes, while Marshall defeated Mac Collins (R) by 1,752 votes. Because the GA12 race was decided by less than 1%, Burns can ask for a recount under state law. The Savannah Morning News reports, "Tim Baker, campaign manager for Burns, said the candidate will make up his mind today. He has until 4 p.m. Friday to do so, said Ashley Holt, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's office."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians.

Jay Leno: "President Bush went to Vietnam. And here's the embarrassing part, did you know this? He had to ask John Kerry for directions."

Jay Leno: "And President Bush said today he's now listening to Democrats in a new way, without wiretaps."

David Letterman: "Did you hear about this? A judge in Massachusetts has ruled that a burrito is not a sandwich. Which makes me wonder, have we found bin Laden yet?"

Conan O'Brien: "President Bush just announced that, next month, he will host a White House conference on malaria. Yeah, Bush told reporters, 'I'm looking forward to meeting the Malarians.'"

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