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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
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McClatchy is reporting today President Bush "plans to order extra US troops to Iraq as part of a new push to secure Baghdad, but in smaller numbers than previously reported, US officials said Wednesday." Bush, according to these officials, "is considering dispatching three to four U.S. combat brigades to Iraq, or no more than 15,000 to 20,000 U.S. troops, the officials said. Bush is expected to announce his decision next week." A State Department official said, "Instead of a surge, it is a bump." That some kind of troop level increase will take place appears to be beyond doubt at this point. In case any doubt remained, UPI reports that White House spokesman Tony Snow said during his regular briefing Wednesday that "it is clear there needs to be a greater military presence in Baghdad."
Some good news for the White House as Bush prepares to announce this plans: The New York Times reports "key Senate Democrats say they could consider supporting a short-term increase in American troop levels in Iraq, a stance that reflects division within the party and could provide an opening for President Bush as he prepares to announce his revised plan for Iraq as early as next week." Also in the New York Times, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft comes out against "an American withdrawal before Iraq can, in the words of the president, 'govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself,'" calling such a move "a strategic defeat for American interests, with potentially catastrophic consequences both in the region and beyond." Scowcroft, a highly respected top aide to the first President Bush, may help sway some Republicans not to call for leaving Iraq now.
Markedly more negative are the assessments of David Broder in the Washington Post (Bush's hands "are tied both at home and abroad. At most, he can suggest what he would like to do, but he is dependent on others to actually do it.) and Bob Herbert in the New York Times ("The US military itself is turning against the war. And yet the president, against the counsel of his commanders on the ground, apparently is ready to escalate -- to send more American lives into the fire he set in Iraq.")
A Win For "Neocons." Under the headline "Behind Troop Surge, A Neocon Force," the Los Angeles Times says today that "ever since Iraq began spiraling toward chaos, the war's intellectual architects -- the so-called neoconservatives -- have found themselves under attack in Washington policy salons and, more important, within the Bush administration." But "neocons have moved back into the mainstream of steering Iraq policy. A key part of the new Iraq plan that President Bush is expected to announce next week -- a surge in U.S. troops coupled with a more focused counterinsurgency effort -- has been one of the chief recommendations of these neocons since the fall of Saddam Hussein."
Iraq Postpones Executions AFP reported early Thursday that Iraqi officials have decided to delay the executions, originally scheduled for today, of two top aides to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. A senior official from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said the executions of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, the head of the revolutionary court, were postponed "due to international pressure."
President Bush yesterday reiterated his call, first expressed in an op-ed piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, for eliminating the Federal deficit by 2012. Bush's push for a balanced budget, sources tell the US Political Bulletin, comes after a spirited debate inside the White House, with some aides wanting the President to pursue additional tax cuts instead. According to the insiders, the President plans to submit a "flat" budget for fiscal 2008 that will leave little wiggle room for Democrats to add on new spending projects without deeply cutting into defense spending or raising taxes. "It will hammer the Democrats," predicted one GOP budget expert. An administration official called the balanced budget plan "a victory for taxpayers. We can balance the budget and make tax relief permanent, continue to restrain spending." Aides said that to make it happen, the President will push for earmark reform -- something the Democrats appear open to -- and the line item veto.
In its analysis, the Los Angeles Times says Bush's deficit goal "could tie the hands of the Democrats as they take control of Congress," making it "difficult for the Democrats to use their newfound majority to enact their program." Rep. John Spratt, who will chair the House Budget Committee, "said he was 'wary' of Bush's plan to balance the budget by 2012. How, he wondered, can Bush balance the budget while the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost upwards of $100 billion a year? And he asked about how to provide relief from the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to hit only the rich but would ensnare growing numbers of middle-income taxpayers -- at a cost to them of more than $60 billion a year." Spratt's three stated concerns found their way into a couple of other newspaper stories this morning: The Financial Times speaks of "prominent Democratic economists" making the same three points, while the Wall Street Journal raises identical objections to Bush's plan in its own analysis.
The AP notes "top Democrats reacted cautiously -- or not at all -- to Bush's plan." Neither incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi nor Sen. Harry Reid "responded to Bush's remarks." And the Washington Post reports Rob Portman, "director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, made a point of calling Democratic leaders Tuesday night to preview the president's remarks. In an interview yesterday, he said the shared target was a powerful signal of progress."
Rove Bets $5 That Bush Won't Hike Taxes Bush political aide Karl Rove appeared yesterday at the weekly conservative gaggle headed by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist -- and pledged that the President won't cave in and sign any Democratic tax increase. In fact, one attendee tells the US News Political Bulletin, Rove "bet a guy $5 that Bush would not sign a tax increase in his final two years." Rove was described as confident and humorous, taking several questions about the President's plans and the political scene. He also appeared to end speculation that he might be considering leaving the White House soon. "He sounds like he plans to be around working hard until they turn the lights out," said one attendee.
Dems Wary Of "Tax And Spend" Charges Referring to Bush's yesterday's op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times says this morning the President "is all but daring Democratic leaders to attack his signature tax cuts as they take over Congress. But Democrats, perhaps to his frustration, are having none of it." Democrats "have refused to discuss dismantling his tax cuts or even to engage in a debate with him about the best way to stimulate economic growth. 'It's always the same old tired line with them "Tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend,"' said Senator Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. 'We're not going there.'"
Few Expect Bipartisanship To Prevail Despite the President's repeated calls for bipartisan collaboration, and top Democrats insisting they're all for it, prospects for long-lasting bipartisanship in Washington are being given very, very long odds. Newsweek's Howard Fineman, on MSNBC's Countdown, said "the next 48 hours are about all the era of good feeling that we're going to have here in the next couple years." And on ABC World News, George Stephanopoulos said Iraq, he predicted, "is about to overwhelm everything." Media analysts are placing the blame for the expected confrontation on the President: The Financial Times blames Bush's impending Iraq policy announcement for dimming the chances of bipartisanship. In "spite of the electorate's repudiation of Mr Bush's Iraq strategy at midterm elections in November, the White House looks set to announce a 'surge' of up to 30,000 new troops in a move that would also go against the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which published its report last month." The New York Times, in a story titled "Bush Reaches Out, but Keeps One Hand on the Wheel," reports "some Democrats may have hoped it would be the...Bush who contritely acknowledged a 'thumpin' for his party the day after the elections in November." But "the evidence suggests it is more likely to be the man who all but ignored the disputed circumstances of his election in 2000, governed from then as if he had an expansive mandate and who -- even as he has employed soothing tones in speaking to and about Democrats for the last two months -- has gradually but firmly reasserted himself on both foreign and domestic policy." Similar stories appear in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune.
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As the 110th Congress convenes, Democrats plan quick action on a package of ethics reforms. The Washington Post reports that new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today "will offer a comprehensive package of ethics reforms, a down payment on her pledge to run 'the most ethical Congress ever.'" But it "is not yet clear whether" the ouster of Rep. William Jefferson from the House Appropriations Committee "heralded a new era of honesty and accountability, or just a one-off political calculation inspired by the 2006 campaign." The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today and the AP also report on the Democrats' ethics move.
Another Washington Post story, meanwhile, notes Democrats will also "introduce a package of rule changes to ban gifts and trips from lobbyists, restrict privately funded junkets and begin to sever the cozy relations between lobbyists and lawmakers that scandalized the last Congress." But a "number of loopholes in the proposal have led ethics watchdogs to warn Democrats that their work will be far from done, even if the new rules are secured today."
Sheehan Crashes Press Conference The Hill reports that at a press conference yesterday, when Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel "stepped up to pronounce that Democrats fundamentally would 'change the relationship between lawmakers and legislators,'" anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan "and her allies started shouting, 'De-escalate, investigate, bring our troops home now!'" The Washington Times runs a similar report. Protest organizer David Swanson told AFP that "they wanted to underscore their displeasure that Democrats, in the view of peace activists, are not aggressively holding the Bush administration accountable for missteps in Iraq."
White House officials tell the US News Political Bulletin that President Bush is considering an anti-crime initiative as one of his big new proposals in the State of the Union address January 23. The Justice Department is taking the lead on the issue, prompted in part by increases in violent crime around the country that is a growing concern for law enforcement officials and everyday Americans. "It's primarily a local responsibility but the federal government can help," says a senior administration official. The details aren't being released publicly yet, but officials at Justice are taking a close look at the most effective crime-fighting techniques around the country and are assessing where the feds can do the most good. "We're trying to come up with an effective way to deal with it," the senior official told the Political Bulletin.
The Washington Times reports a 2004 agreement between the Bush Administration and Mexico "on Social Security benefits would allow illegal aliens granted amnesty in the future to claim credit for the time they worked illegally." The deal, which was "never released publicly because it hasn't been submitted to Congress," was recently discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request by a Social Security advocacy group.
The Argus Leader is reporting test results show Sen. Tim Johnson, who "has needed a ventilator to breathe and prolonged doses of medication to prevent swelling on his brain, has improved but will need several months of rehabilitation and physical therapy to continue his recovery from surgery." Johnson "remains in critical condition three weeks after emergency brain surgery Dec. 13 and his long-term outlook is not clear, Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, head of Johnson's surgical team, said Wednesday." Additional accounts on Johnson's health appear in the Rapid City Journal, USA Today and New York Times this morning.
Former President Gerald Ford was buried in Grand Rapids, MI, yesterday. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and former President Jimmy Carter joined the Ford family in the emotional ceremony. The AP reports, "At a graveside service that included a 21-gun salute and a 21-aircraft flyover...Cheney presented former first lady Betty Ford with the American flag that was draped over her husband's casket." Another AP story notes Rumsfeld, in his eulogy, announced that the Navy "will name its next aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford." Moving accounts of the funeral service appear in today's Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and most major newspapers, including USA Today, Washington Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. In addition, Felix G. Rohatyn, chairman of New York's Municipal Assistance Corporation from 1975-1993, praises Ford in a Wall Street Journal op-ed for backing a financial bail-out program for New York during his presidency.
A Washington Post story, meanwhile, discloses incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid didn't attend Ford's funeral. Instead he embarked on a trip to South America. His "mission," adds the Post, "Improved relations -- and New Year's in Machu Picchu." Accompanying Reid were Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D), Ken Salazar (D), Kent Conrad (D), Judd Gregg (R) and Robert F. Bennett (R).
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As expected, Mitt Romney (R) yesterday ended his tenure as governor of Massachusetts and immediately embarked on a campaign for his next job. Romney yesterday formally created a presidential exploratory committee, allowing him to begin to raise funds and assemble a staff for a bid. The New York Times reports that Romney, in a statement, said, "After talking to my family, I have decided to take this initial step of forming an exploratory committee in order to raise the resources and build the campaign organization required to pursue the highest office in our country." The AP reports that while Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain are seen as the GOP frontrunners, Richard Bond, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a McCain backer, said, "Given his pedigree, he is a serious candidate." The Los Angeles Times reports that Romney has already "established support teams in some of the key small states that have played an important role in selecting presidential nominees, going head to head with McCain in the early effort to line up effective organizations in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. 'He has been extremely aggressive,' said Tobe Berkovitz, a longtime political consultant who is now associate dean at Boston University's school of communications. 'He's gotten himself in position to break into the top tier.'"
Meanwhile, the Detroit News reports that Romney, the son of ex-Michigan Gov. George Romney, "becomes the closest thing to a favorite-son presidential candidate for Michigan since his father's unsuccessful 1968 bid for the GOP nomination." He's "has signed up big Michigan names such as state Attorney General Mike Cox and Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson, as well as a number of big donors to President Bush in the state." However, "in Michigan and across the country, he faces a substantial obstacle:" McCain. "'Last time around, McCain was very popular in Michigan,' said Philip Abbot, a political scientist at Wayne State University, who noted McCain's victory in Michigan's 2000 presidential primary. Since then, McCain has built his own formidable Michigan operation."
WMAQ-TV, NBC's Chicago affiliate, reported last night that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) "looks like he will soon have a major announcement." The station's political reports says that "it appears that Obama will soon announce that he is running for president. ... A political insider, who has already committed to work for Obama, said people should look for the senator to make his intentions known very soon. The reason for that is Obama needs to get his infrastructure in place to satisfy federal election guidelines."
Meanwhile, the AP (1/3) reports that CNN apologized Tuesday "for mistakenly promoting a story on the search for Osama bin Laden with the headline 'Where's Obama?'" The AP adds that "the blunder" came Monday evening on Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room." CNN said the promo was a "bad typographical error" by its graphics department.
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The sparring over the order of the presidential primaries, so far confined to the Democratic Party, is beginning to creep into the GOP. In his "Granite Status" column in the New Hampshire Union Leader, political reporter John DiStaso writes that the Nevada GOP "is looking to share the Democratic pre-New Hampshire spotlight" by scheduling a non-binding "straw poll" on January 19, 2008, the day after the Democratic caucus, in an attempt to draw Republican contenders to their state. Last year, the national Democratic Party put the Nevada caucus between the Iowa caucus and the Granite State's "first in the nation" primary, to the chagrin of many in New Hampshire.
The Hill, a Capitol Hill publication, reports today that Rep. Pete DeFazio (D) says he has no interest in running against Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith (R), citing his new-found power in a Democratic-controlled House. Smith, who has been seen as increasingly vulnerable in a state that has trended "blue" over the last few years, has now seen two first-tier challenger drop out in the last 10 days former Gov. John Kitzhaber also said last month that he has no interest in running.
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Jay Leno: "And do you know what Saddam's last words were? Do you know? 'I knew we should have had the trial in L.A.'"
Jay Leno: "A new poll that is just out has Hillary Clinton coming in fourth among Democratic hopefuls in Iowa. Fourth. I don't want to say that's bad news for Hillary, but her new Secret Service code name is NBC. That's not good."
Jay Leno: "Screw-loose Pat Robertson said God told him personally there will be a major terrorist attack affecting millions of people in the United States this year. Yeah. However, today, God denied talking to Robertson. God said whenever Robertson calls he lets the machine get it. So, I don't know."
David Letterman: "Did you hear about this? Saddam Hussein, you know they hanged the guy a week ago. ... But the people were taunting Saddam Hussein, just like seconds before it's lights out. And, you know, when that happens on this show, we just go to a commercial."
David Letterman: "Seconds before Saddam Hussein was hanged, his last words were, 'They made another Rocky movie?' Honest to God, those were his last words. That's a true story."
Conan O'Brien: "California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being criticized after he announced that he is going to have a two-day inauguration ceremony. It's normally one, and he wants a two-day ceremony. Apparently, yeah, the ceremony is two days long because it takes Arnold two days to say the word 'inauguration.'"
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