Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Senate-House Clash On Iraq Coming?

With the House having offered what U.S. News and World Report called a "resounding vote of no confidence" on President Bush's new Iraq strategy this weekend, and the Senate failing to muster the support to do the same, Senate Democrats are now "suggesting they will seek to limit a 2002 measure authorizing President Bush's use of force," USA Today reports. Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said yesterday Democrats "will probably seek to capitalize on wavering Republicans to limit the 'wide-open authorization' Congress gave Bush" four years ago. The Financial Times says Levin said changes "would redefine the role of the US military in Iraq from a 'combat mission to a support mission.'"

However, Levin noted, that doesn't mean cutting off funding for US troops. On Fox News Sunday, he said, "I don't think there's support to cut off funds. I think that sends the wrong message to our troops." That statement, which appears to echo GOP criticisms of House Democratic plans, could signal a budding divide between Senate and House Democrats. In the House, Rep. Jack Murtha "wants strings on that money to make it harder for the President to maintain troop levels," NBC Nightly News said, even though "those restrictions would face strong opposition in the Senate and a certain presidential veto." On CNN's Late Edition, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Murtha is onto something, where they're going next. ... Where they're going is to try to cut off funds for the troops. It's very dangerous turf for them." Nevertheless, in his syndicated column Robert Novak says the House is "all but certain" to back Murtha's proposal.

In two Sunday morning talk show appearances, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow took Democrats to task and called for a show of unity. On CNN's Late Edition, he said, "What I would say to members of Congress is, 'Calm down and take a look at what is going on and ask yourself a simple question: If you support the troops, would you deny them the reinforcements they think are necessary to complete the mission?'" And on NBC's Meet the Press, Snow said, "This is a time now for the United States also to send a message: 'Yeah, we can have disagreements, but when it comes time to show determination against an enemy and show determination in support of our forces as they try to pursue success in Iraq, we can also stand behind them and provide the funding and flexibility the President thinks is essential."

Senate GOP Outlines Seven-Point Agenda

The Washington Times reports Senate Republicans "have pledged to fight for up-or-down votes on President Bush's judicial nominees and to make his tax cuts permanent, but they face an uphill battle in pushing their agenda." Senate Republican Conference Chairman Jon Kyl said the GOP caucus "unanimously agreed on a set of guiding principles and revealed them in advance of forthcoming legislative specifics." Among the seven items are "attempting to make the Bush tax cuts permanent; Supporting Mr. Bush's plan to increase the size of the military; Pushing earmark reform; Expanding domestic oil production and alternative energy research."

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Cheney Not Happy About North Korea Deal

Newsweek reports "former officials close to Vice President Dick Cheney" say Cheney is not pleased with the deal reached with North Korea last week. However, Cheney is said to believe "there are enough get-out clauses to ensure either that Pyongyang complies or the whole bargain collapses. Cheney had long influenced North Korea policy through powerful bureaucratic allies who battled what they viewed as State Department appeasers." U.S. News and World Report notes that while the Bush Administration has long insisted it would "not reward the North's nuclear 'bad behavior...hard-line critics complain" that is "just what the deal does."

DHS Boosts Nuclear Detection Efforts

U.S. News and World Report reports this week that given the destructive capability and lethality of a nuclear weapon or "dirty bomb," it is "not surprising that DHS and New York-area authorities are planning an aggressive approach in coming months: They'll surround Manhattan with radiation detectors they hope can sniff out a weapon before it does harm. But it's an ambitious, expensive effort, and critics worry they're going too far, too fast." In a skeptical note about the radiation detection effort, U.S. News and World Report also says that in December 1945, nuclear scientist Robert Oppenheimer said, "If you hired me to walk through the cellars of Washington to see whether there were atomic bombs, I think my most important tool would be a screwdriver to open the crates and look. I think that just walking by, swinging a little gadget would not give me the information." US News adds, "Department of Homeland Security officials say new state-of-the-art detectors can do a much better job than that. But the basic point is still valid-and alarming."

Lobbyist Tipped Rove On Novak Column

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reports that in his testimony at the trail of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, columnist Robert Novak "said he'd discussed" Valerie Plame's CIA status "with a lobbyist named Richard Hohlt." Hohlt is "such a good source that after Novak finished his column naming Plame, he testified, he did something most journalists rarely do: he gave the lobbyist an advance copy of his column." But what Novak "didn't tell the jury is what the lobbyist then did with it: Hohlt confirmed to NEWSWEEK that he faxed the forthcoming column to their mutual friend Karl Rove (one of Novak's sources for the Plame leak), thereby giving the White House a heads up on the bombshell to come." Hohlt's "more significant role may be his leadership of a secretive social group of GOP heavy hitters and, occasionally, White House officials."

A Rush To Judge Bush?

U.S. News and World Report has a cover piece on "The 10 Worst Presidents" and asks, "Is George W. Bush's presidency shaping up to be one of the worst in U.S. history?" While "historians and other custodians of the long view prefer to reserve judgment," something about the current President "has inspired many historians to abandon their usual caution." And "with Iraq a shambles and trust in the administration declining, it is probably not surprising that 54 percent of respondents in a recent USA Today/Gallup survey said that history would judge Bush a below-average or poor president."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

McCain Supports Overturning Roe Vs Wade

The AP is reporting that Sen. John McCain told a crowd in South Carolina Sunday: "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned." McCain "also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who 'strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.'" The AP also notes that McCain has been endorsed by former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who had been considering mounting a presidential campaign, and former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm. According to the Washington Post McCain "has shown little of the exuberance of the Republican outsider" he displayed in 2000. McCain "has appeared subdued, even dour. ... But as he campaigned across Iowa this weekend, there were flashes of the old McCain." McCain "staunchly defended his position on the war, decried a Republican Party that he said has lost its way and punctuated question-and-answer sessions with his particular brand of humor. When a man said he was serving in the Marines in Vietnam around the time McCain was being held in a North Vietnamese prison camp, the senator interjected, 'Why didn't you come get me?'"

Romney Supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The Washington Post reports that during an appearance on ABC's This Week former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, "who once advocated allowing gays to serve openly in the military," said "he does not think the Pentagon should change its 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in the midst of the Iraq war."

Portion Of Obama Memoir Questioned

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Obama may have exaggerated his involvement in a community effort to draw attention to asbestos in Chicago public housing. According to the Times, "As the 24-year-old mentor to public housing residents, Obama says he initiated and led efforts that thrust...asbestos problem into the headlines," but "others tell the story much differently. They say Obama did not play the singular role in the asbestos episode that he portrays in the best-selling memoir, 'Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.' ... 'Just because someone writes it doesn't make it true,' said Hazel Johnson, a longtime Altgeld resident who...began pushing for a variety of environmental cleanups years before he arrived." Longtime Obama nemesis Rep. Bobby L. Rush is quoted as saying that "while he has not read Obama's memoir...Johnson's role was so prominent that he was 'offended' by anyone telling the Altgeld story without including her."

Obama Overtaking Clinton In The South? The Politico's Mike Allen writes, "At the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner of the Democratic Party of Virginia on Saturday, the Hillary Clinton signs and bumper stickers were free," while "'Obama '08 Gear' was for sale T-shirt, $20; button, $10; sign, $5. And he had a lot more takers than she did, suggesting he might be making early inroads in a tough region that once was Confederate soil." Virginia's Gov. Tim Kaine became the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse Obama. Hastings Wyman, founder of the Southern Political Report, "said that while Clinton retains her hold on the African-American establishment, which is crucial in Southern primaries, Obama has the most appeal among younger African-Americans."

Reid's Son Joins Clinton Campaign

USA Today reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's son Rory, chairman of the Clark County, Nev., Commission and a former chairman of the Nevada State Democratic Party, will be Nevada chairman for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Senator Bill Clinton? The Washington Examiner reports that if Sen. Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, "some top Democrats would like to see former President Bill Clinton appointed to serve out her Senate term. Quoted in the piece are Clinton aides Harold Ickes and Paul Begala, both of whom endorsed the idea. However, the Examiner notes that "so far, speculation about potential successors has focused on New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr."

Some Clinton Enemies Have Mellowed The New York Times, in an article on conservatives' evolving view of Clinton, notes that Richard Mellon Scaife, who "spent more than $2 million investigating and publicizing accusations about the supposed involvement of Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton in corrupt land deals, sexual affairs, drug running and murder" now has "had a rethinking" and believes "Clinton wasn't such a bad president. In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "A tentative agreement has been made with North Korea, who says they will end their nuclear weapons program in return for millions of dollars of aid delivered to their country. In a related story, today, New Orleans announced they are trying to produce nuclear weapons."

Conan O'Brien: "Yesterday, Iraq's Prime Minister told President Bush, 'There have been' -- this is a quote 'dazzling successes in Iraq this week.' 'Dazzling success.' ... Yeah, when asked what they were, the Prime Minister said, 'I saved 15% on my car insurance by switching to Geico.'"

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