USNews.com: Political Bulletin: Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

WASHINGTON NEWS

Leak Reveals White House Doubts Maliki

As President Bush prepares to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan today, the Administration spent the day yesterday trying to send the message that it remains supportive of Maliki. However, the leak to the New York Times of a "classified" memo to the President written by his national security advisor appears to have undermined the White House's message. Under the headline "Bush Adviser's Memo Cites Doubts About Iraqi Leader," the Times New York Times reports the memo "expressed serious doubts about whether...Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq and recommended that the United States take new steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader's position. The Nov. 8 memo was prepared for Mr. Bush and his top deputies by Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, and senior aides on the staff of the National Security Council after a trip by Mr. Hadley to Baghdad." An "administration official made a copy of the document available to a New York Times reporter seeking information on the administration's policy review. The Times read and transcribed the memo," and this morning makes it available to its readers in its entirety. The White House, says the Times, "has sought to avoid public criticism of Mr. Maliki," and a "senior administration official" stressed that the administration retains confidence in the Iraqi leader. In a front page article on Bush's meeting with Maliki, the Washington Post also mentions the memo "obtained by the New York Times," and says it "laid bare the doubts about Maliki," adding that the Bush-Maliki relationship "has grown fractious as repeated efforts to curb violence in Baghdad have failed."

The memo has gotten little play outside of those two major newspapers, but it's expected that it will make a big splash on cable and network TV as the day progresses. Other stories out this morning suggest the White House message (expressing support for Maliki) was floundering even before the memo surfaced: A number of media reports suggest US officials and commentators, even the President, hold a dim view of the Iraqi leader's performance. The Washington Post, in fact, reports Bush "hinted at the US government's growing impatience with Maliki" yesterday, "when he said he would query the prime minister about his 'strategy to be a country which can govern itself and sustain itself.'" ABC World News said "US officials more and more express doubt Maliki can stop the violence." The Los Angeles Times says Maliki feels "frustrated by US accusations that he isn't doing enough," and USA Today, in a story titled "Some Question Whether Al-Maliki Strong Enough," reports "analysts say there is growing evidence that al-Maliki is not up to the formidable task of bringing stability to his country."

More negative coverage on the upcoming summit: The Seattle Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlight the regional challenges to a successful summit, while the New York Times and Wall Street Journal say the internal turmoil in Iraq and US domestic pressures make both Bush and Maliki weaker as they meet this morning. As if to underscore that point, the New York Times writes in an editorial, "Bush needs to make clear that Americans' patience has all but run out and that he will start bringing the troops home unless Mr. Maliki moves to rein in sectarian bloodletting." Focusing on the unending violence in Iraq, the Detroit Free Press runs an interesting feature on the deadly danger faced by US soldiers' patrolling Fallujah, where "even a trip to a portable toilet" is dangerous and "you have to do the sniper dance -- juking and dekeing so no one can get a good aim on you."

Media Slams Bush On Iraq-Al Qaeda Link

The day before his summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Bush said the US will not withdraw its troops from Iraq "before the mission is complete." Bush also made the case that al Qaeda is behind the recent spike in violence in that country. And the media took exception. The CBS Evening News said "Bush seems to be looking back as much as looking forward, recycling old claims that outside terrorists are to blame for the chaos in Iraq." CBS also interviewed Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, asking him if he "buys" the President's contention that al Qaeda "is basically responsible for the sectarian violence in Iraq." Haas responded, "In a word, no," because "even if al Qaeda disappeared tomorrow...the sectarian violence would continue." NBC Nightly News (which has officially termed the conflict a "civil war" and thus repudiated Bush's interpretation of the conflict) reported, "There's no question that al Qaeda still remain a serious threat in Iraq. But US military officials admit it's not the primary threat by a long shot." CNN's The Situation Room noted the "familiar words from a President now under intense pressure to change direction in Iraq, where more blood is being spilled every day." The New York Times runs a similar story under the headline "Bush Declines To Call Situation In Iraq Civil War," while the Washington Post mocked the White House's case, "Forget the debate over what to do about the war in Iraq. The White House is still debating what to call the war in Iraq. With retired generals, analysts, politicians and pundits increasingly using the term 'civil war,' the Bush administration insists that the definition does not fit as part of its latest effort to control the words of war." The Post continues, "To people dying in the streets of Sadr City, it may be just semantics. But the White House fiercely resists the phrase out of fear of its impact in both Iraq and the United States." The AP, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and McClatchy offer similar takes on Bush's remarks.

Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, thought to be pondering a White House run of his own, told a crowd in New Hampshire that Bush must admit the war in Iraq is a "failure." The Boston Globe reports Gingrich said that without such an admission, the White House "will never develop a strategy to leave the country successfully." A "show of contrition by the White House would help the president regain the trust of the American people."

Bush And Webb Clash At White House

In a front-page profile of Sen.-elect James Webb that promises to be prime fodder for inside-the-Beltway gossip today -- and to cement Webb's status as the Senate's preeminent Iraq War critic -- the Washington Post describes the scene at a recent White House reception for newly-elected members of Congress. There, Webb "tried to avoid" the President, but Bush "found" him and asked him "How's your boy?" referring to Webb's son Jimmy, who is serving with the Marines in Iraq. Webb answered, "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President." To which Bush responded "That's not what I asked you," and repeated his initial question "how's your boy?" The Post reports Webb "coldly" shot back, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President." The Hill adds that Webb "confessed that he was so angered" by the incident that he was "tempted to slug" Bush.

Rangel Calls For Scrapping AMT.

With Republicans eager to portray House Democrats as tax raisers in the next Congress, incoming Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel took a step that could undermine the GOP case. The Financial Times reports Rangel says the "new Democrat-controlled Congress should abolish" the alternative minimum tax (AMT) that "could condemn up to 23m Americans to pay a total $1,000bn next year."

Drug Program Costs Less Than Expected

Congressional Republicans are likely to clash with majority Democrats over the Medicare prescription drug program in the next session of Congress -- primarily over the Democrats' plan to authorize the government to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies. In a development that could undercut the Democratic case, The Washington Times reports the Medicare prescription drug benefit "has cost nearly $13 billion less than expected this year" and "projections show it will cost about $200 billion less in its first decade than initially estimated."

Black Caucus Mad At Pelosi

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still smarting from her decision to back Rep. Jack Murtha in his ill-fated bid to become majority leader, veered away from appointing another supporter with ethical baggage to the key chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee. But her decision to pass over Rep. Alcee Hastings who was impeached as a Federal judge and removed from office by a Democratic majority Congress in the 1980s has angered Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members. The AP, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington Times all noted the complaints coming from the CBC, while the Wall Street Journal says the "criticism of" Pelosi's leadership "is striking given that no other speaker before her has had the same length of service on the intelligence panel." The Washington Post, in a front page story, reports Pelosi "will look for a compromise candidate, probably Rep. Silvestre Reyes (Tex.), but possibly Rep. Norman D. Dicks (Wash.), a hawkish member of the Appropriations defense subcommittee, or Rep. Sanford Bishop (Ga.), a conservative African American with experience on the intelligence committee."

MoveOn Pushing For Big Idea Agenda

US News Bulletin has learned the liberal group MoveOn.org plans to increase pressure on Democrats to tackle bigger concerns, like leaving Iraq, combating global warming, and working toward universal health insurance. On Thursday, MoveOn will kick off its "Mandate for Change" campaign, with meetings across the country to query members on their top priorities for Congress and to "remind Congress what people voted for and encourage them to lead in a big way," according to an email to MoveOn members. In the days since this month's Democratic congressional takeover, MoveOn has been grousing about not getting enough credit for its organizing work that it says closed the gap with the Republicans' vaunted "72-hour plan." But MoveOn also says it won't know how committed Democratic lawmakers are to its issues until next spring, when they've had a chance to take advantage of their new majority status.

Bush Aides Feel "Under Siege"

With the new incoming Democratic House and Senate chairs of key policy committees pledging a wave of oversight hearings, US News Bulletin has learned White House officials say they are starting to feel under pressure as they prepare to testify starting as early as January. "Many of us feel under siege," said one key staffer. Aides working in the issue areas of education, terrorism, national security and defense are especially concerned about the hearings Democrats are promising to hold. Two former staffers tell US News Bulletin that they are advising former colleagues to prepare to testify on their actions over the past five years. "We don't know for sure who will be going up to testify but everybody in the top offices should be prepared for an invitation," said one of the former Bush advisors.

In one of several examples of expected Democratic assertiveness, the Los Angeles Times reports the Pentagon is "preparing an emergency spending proposal that could be larger and broader than any since the Sept. 11 attacks." The Pentagon request of $127 billion to $150 billion in new spending next year "may push the Defense Department into a conflict with Democrats" when they take control of Congress." Democratic congressional aides said the new majority on Capitol Hill was likely to push back against a request that exceeded $100 billion." And the Washington Post reports senators released a Government Accountability Office report yesterday that found US Citizenship and Immigration Services has lost track of 111,000 alien files, or A-files, "in 14 of the agency's busiest district offices and processed as many as 30,000 citizenship applications last year without the necessary files." The GAO conducted a review "at the request of Sens. Charles E. Grassley and Susan Collins after US authorities granted citizenship in 2002 to a man without checking his primary file. The file, which was lost, indicated ties to the militant Islamic group Hezbollah."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Obama Heading To New Hampshire

The AP reports that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) will make his first trip to New Hampshire in December for a celebration of the state Democratic Party's success in the 2006 elections. The New Hampshire Union Leader reports that Obama "will have an opportunity to make influential New Hampshire friends very quickly. 'He is going to make contact and meet a lot of people and be with the entire leadership team of the state,' said party vice chairman Raymond Buckley. 'It's a great opportunity for him to introduce himself to New Hampshire.'" The Chicago Tribune reports William Shaheen, husband of former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and "the state chairman or co-chairman for three prior winning presidential primary campaigns, said the event will provide an auspicious introduction for Obama. 'When you're invited to speak at an event like this, you get access to the activists, the shakers and the movers of this thing,' Shaheen said. 'He may acquire some converts. Depending on how well he does, he may start a movement.'" Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports this morning that Obama's advisers "are reportedly debating whether to move quickly to set up a presidential campaign operation and begin organizing in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, or to wait until sometime next year and plot out a more unconventional campaign."

Vilsack Launching '08 Bid With National Tour

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) is set to announce his presidential bid today in his home state of Iowa, Radio Iowa reports, before setting off on a five-state tour to formally kick off his candidacy. The New Hampshire Union Leader reports that Vilsack will make a number of stops in New Hampshire on Thursday and Friday, while the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that he will swing through Pennsylvania, where he was born, on Saturday, before heading for early primary states Nevada and New Hampshire next week.

Romney Taps Bush Economic Advisors

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) may not yet have formed a presidential exploratory committee, but he is already recruiting some top-notch political advisors for his campaign team. The Washington Post reports that he has assembled an "economic brain trust" headed by "two former chairmen of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and N. Gregory Mankiw, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute."

Dean Webmaster Seeks Job With McCain

The Hill reports this morning that Nicco Mele, Howard Dean's webmaster during his 2004 campaign, is seeking to join Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

Kaine Praises Warner In Virginia

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that during a radio call-in show yesterday, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, "lavishly praised" Virginia Sen. John Warner, a Republican, "describing him as 'an icon' who has served Virginia very well. He's 'a superb senator,'" Kaine said, adding, "I count him as a friend." Should Warner decide "to seek a sixth term in 2008, he might want to include the governor's seeming endorsement in his campaign literature. 'He has done and continues to do an excellent job for Virginia,' Kaine observed.

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians.

David Letterman: "Here's great news for the holidays -- the Christmas tree was delivered to the White House yesterday. That's nice. Just what we need at the White House: More dead wood."

Conan O'Brien: "NBC News is in some hot water. The Bush Administration is upset with NBC News, because NBC News has started referring to the situation in Iraq as a civil war. Yeah. Yeah, White House officials say they prefer the term, 'explosion-filled misunderstanding.'"

Conan O'Brien: "The Pentagon is, of course, making some decisions on Iraq. The Pentagon is trying to convince Germany to send more troops to the war in Iraq. Yeah. This marks the first time anyone has asked the Germans to send more troops."

Conan O'Brien: "President Bush keeping busy. President Bush is putting together his presidential library. That's right, he's putting together his presidential library. And apparently, the library is going to cost $500 million, yeah, which works out to $100 million per book. Yeah. Those books, they're pop-outs."

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