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Sunday, November 8, 2009
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Comments by John Boehner, the top Republican in the House, made waves Sunday. ABC World News reported that the Minority Leader "suggested today that the party's patience with President Bush's Iraq policy may well be running out," and that "if the surge doesn't produce progress in the next few months, Republican support could start to erode." The CBS Evening News also said Boehner suggested GOP "support for the Iraq war might weaken if the current surge does not show results by fall." On Fox News Sunday, Boehner said, "What really irritates our Republican members are the Democrats aren't letting Gen. Petraeus, his plan, have a chance to succeed. We don't even have all of the 30,000 additional troops in Iraq yet. ... Over the course of the next three months or four months, we'll have some idea how well the plan is working."
The Los Angeles Times reports that Sen. Richard Lugar, appearing on CNN's Late Edition, "agreed with Boehner but said that, even if there was another shift in US strategy, the American military would remain in Iraq for a long time." On that same show, Sen. Charles Schumer "said Boehner's comments indicated that it might be possible to force a change in the Bush administration's Iraq policy in the fall." But the Washington Times notes that while a Rasmussen Reports poll released Sunday pegs Bush's approval rating at 38%, Bush "retains a 76 percent approval rating from Republicans, making it far more challenging for Republicans in Congress to break with the White House."
Democrats At Work On Another War Funding Bill Meanwhile, House Democrats "are drafting a new Iraq war spending bill that fences off more than half the military funds until a second vote by Congress in July, when lawmakers will assess progress made by the Baghdad government," the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill "steps back from demands that U.S. forces begin withdrawing by a fixed date, a flash point in the bill President Bush vetoed last week." The Christian Science Monitor says that with Democrats "hinting that they may give up setting specific timelines for withdrawing US troops from Iraq, the new focus on Capitol Hill is benchmarks. They're seen as a way to hold the administration accountable and bring troops home." In addition, Roll Call says "a new round of bipartisan negotiations on an Iraq War spending bill this week will be complicated by fissures in both parties between pragmatists looking to cut a deal and move on to other issues and partisans gearing up for more confrontation."
Defense Secretary At Odds With Bush On Iraq? On its Sunday front page, the Los Angeles Times said that while President Bush "has mobilized his administration, including his top general in Iraq, in a major push to win more time and money for his war strategy," one "crucial voice has been missing from the chorus: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates." The Pentagon chief's "recent comments seem to run counter to the message from the White House." For instance, Gates "told the Iraqi government that time was running out and praised Democratic efforts in the U.S. Congress to set a timetable for withdrawal, saying it would help prod the Iraqis." His "comments have led some surge supporters to conclude that he is trying to devise a compromise between the Iraq Study Group recommendation, favored by Democrats, and Bush's new strategy."
LATimes, Which Supported Surge, Now Calls For Withdrawal On Sunday the Los Angeles Times ran just one editorial, headlined "Bring Them Home." The Times said, "This newspaper reluctantly endorsed the U.S. troop surge as the last, best hope for stabilizing conditions so that the elected Iraqi government could assume full responsibility for its affairs. But we also warned that the troops should not be used to referee a civil war. That, regrettably, is what has happened. ... We are not naive. U.S. withdrawal, whether concluded next year or five years from now, entails grave risks. But so does U.S. occupation. ... Having invested so much in Iraq, Americans are likely to find disengagement almost as painful as war. But the longer we delay planning for the inevitable, the worse the outcome is likely to be. The time has come to leave."
U.S. News and World Report says this week that over the past year, US intelligence agencies "have completely revised their assessment of al Qaeda and reached an alarming conclusion: Bin Laden already has a safe haven -- in Pakistan -- and may be stronger than ever." The intelligence "shift was driven by al Qaeda's resurgence as well as new information they had obtained about its deep involvement in recent terrorist plots. Privately, U.S. officials concede that they had overestimated the damage they had inflicted on al Qaeda's network. The captures of successive operational commanders, including 9/11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, amounted only to temporary setbacks; they were replaced with disturbing ease."
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The Washington Post reported Saturday that White House adviser Karl Rove "attended a crucial planning meeting March 5, the day before House testimony" by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General William Moschella. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and Moschella and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty "have told congressional investigators that Rove attended the meeting" along with White House Counsel Fred Fielding and other White House aides. McNulty and Moschella said the meeting "focused on how Moschella should describe the reasons for firing the eight prosecutors."
The AP reported Moschella "has told congressional investigators he was coached" by Rove. However, "neither Moschella nor McNulty recalled in the interviews what Rove said at the meeting." The Los Angeles Times reported Democrats "said the prep meeting for Moschella that Rove attended was further proof that, contrary to early Justice Department statements about the firings, the White House was deeply involved in the process. White House officials sought to discount the significance of the meeting, saying that Rove played a limited role."
Special Counsel Vows To Stay On The Job U.S. News and World Report says Scott Bloch, head of the "little-known U.S. Office of Special Counsel" and a Bush political appointee, "is no shrinking violet" when it comes to the "potentially explosive investigation into the missing Rove RNC E-mails, the political briefings at federal buildings, and the firing of David Iglesias, the U.S. attorney for New Mexico." But Bloch himself "has come under great fire from liberal activist groups who say Bloch is hugely conflicted because he is the target of a big investigation initiated by the White House into his alleged lax enforcement of whistle-blower and sexual-orientation discrimination cases, and his alleged intimidation of whistle-blowers within his own office." Bloch says the "complaint filed against him" is "a bunch of 'trumped up charges by outside interest groups' without a 'scintilla of evidence,'" and he "vows to stay the course on the Bush probe."
House Judiciary Chair Focusing On Alleged Lack Of Diversity At DOJ The Politico reported the House Judiciary Committee will "summon" Attorney General Alberto Gonzales next week "to answer fresh charges stemming from the failure of the Justice Department's civil rights division to hire more minorities." Chairman John Conyers "said the panel planned to call Gonzales as it opens a probe into allegations of diversity shortcomings in multiple areas. Among the charges is that the key criminal section of the civil rights division has failed to hire a single black attorney since 2003 to replace those who have left."
This week's U.S. News and World Report cover highlights "A Sinking Presidency." But the magazine says that despite "a cascading series of setbacks that convey the impression of a White House in crisis," President Bush "continues to exude an aura of calm and self-confidence. Like him or not -- and he is one of the most polarizing leaders in American history -- he rarely if ever backs down or exhibits self-doubt." Bush aides "say their boss can be pragmatic, but he won't compromise his core convictions," as he showed last week by vetoing the Democratic war funding bill.
Bush Doesn't Make Latest "Time 100" The latest "Time 100" list of the "men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world" is out. American political figures on the magazine's list include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chief Justice John Roberts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Elizabeth Edwards, and Al Gore. Not on the list: President Bush.
The Senate's top Democrat is turning to a leading moderate Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter, "for help in shepherding conservative Republicans into a deal with GOP moderates and Democrats on comprehensive immigration reform before electoral politics kills the issue for the next two years," Roll Call reports. Majority Leader Harry Reid has recruited Specter "in the hopes of turning up the heat on Republicans."
Homeland Security: Fence Plans Just A "Starting Point" The Washington Times reports the Department of Homeland Security says "no final decision has been made on where a southwestern border fence stretching 370 miles through four states will be built" and that plans that "angered many residents after being released last week" were just "a 'starting point' for further discussions."
More Immigration News In other immigration-related news, the Christian Science Monitor says the federal "crackdown on illegal immigration is resulting in so many more felony charges against foreigners that the federal courts serving the Southwest border are overwhelmed." The Washington Times reports the "immigrant-advocacy group" CASA of Maryland is "distributing guidebooks instructing those targeted by federal immigration agents during job-site raids not to cooperate with authorities if they are arrested or detained." And USA Today says some companies' adoption of "policies that require employees to speak only English on the job" have sparked "a backlash of lawsuits alleging that such rules can discriminate against immigrants."
U.S. News and World Report says now that NASCAR "has grown into a major sport," it is "starting to maneuver its way around Washington, and its Hill allies are helping to open doors." Last week, three top NASCAR drivers, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears, and David Stremme, "lobbied Capitol Hill for a tax law change to help racetracks." Burton "sized up the new NASCAR-Washington relationship" during a meeting with GOP Sens. John Cornyn, John Ensign, and Jon Kyl. Burton said, "I hope it's good for both of us."
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Fred Thompson, whose non-candidacy has been shaking up the GOP field, is receiving mixed reviews for his first big speech, given Friday night to the influential Orange County, California, Lincoln Club. The Christian Science Monitor reports that in the heart of Orange County, "one of the country's wealthiest conservative enclaves, the reviews of" Fred Thompson's "public debut as a semi-candidate were decidedly mixed." Members of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, "praised Thompson's plain-spoken style, his appeal to Southern voters, and his impeccable ideological credentials on issues like limited government, lower taxes, and border security. But several people said they were worried by his sedate delivery where was the fire? one man asked and a lack of specifics in his homespun critiques of Democrats and inside-the-beltway Washington." In his column in the Washington Post, Robert Novak says, "'It was not Reaganesque.' 'No red meat.' 'Too low key.' That was the preponderant reaction I heard to Thompson's half-hour presentation (leavened by a few favorable comments, mostly by women, that he was more 'statesmanlike' and 'presidential' than the announced candidates). Lincoln Club members, like many conservative Republicans, have been unimpressed by the existing field of Republican hopefuls and envisioned Thompson as the second coming of Ronald Reagan. They did not get it Friday night."
Fred Thompson Took "Optimistic Tone" In Speech In a front-page story, the San Francisco Chronicle writes, "Millions of Americans know him as the take-charge District Attorney Arthur Branch on 'Law & Order,' and he has played statesmanlike characters ranging from the CIA director to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, but is actor Fred Thompson really auditioning to become president of the United States?" In a speech that "never specifically mentioned the 2008 election," Thompson "channeled the optimistic tone and patriotic themes of the late President Ronald Reagan, delivered few specifics and stuck to general topics, arguing the value of low taxes, smaller government and bipartisan cooperation." The AP reported that in his speech, Thompson sketched "a broad agenda that hewed to Reaganesque themes -- a strong military, a limited federal government and robust free markets. Thompson also warned that people in the United States must be prepared to sacrifice in a world threatened by terrorism and hostile governments. 'Every generation has made sure that it did its part to make sure that it did endure, with the sacrifices they made. And now it's our turn,' Thompson said."
Boehner Notes Thompson's Attractiveness For House GOP House Minority Leader John Boehner said on Fox News Sunday, "I thought that that was fascinating that that many of our members, basically 25 percent of our conference, would show up to meet with Fred Thompson. And it kind of indicates the same thing that I'm feeling as I go around the country. There's some interest in a number of the candidates who are out there, but there seems to be some easiness and some desire for somebody else. And so I think there's clearly some interest there. But this is a long process."
The Washington Times reports, "Two leading Republican lawmakers," House Minority Leader John Boehner and Rep. Tom Tancredo, "said yesterday that former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's pro-choice stance on abortion should not disqualify him from becoming their party's presidential nominee or from receiving the support of conservative voters."
House Minority Leader John Boehner was asked on Fox News Sunday if the GOP will "nominate someone like Rudy Giuliani, who says that he's okay if Roe vs. Wade is repealed and also okay if it isn't repealed." Boehner said, "I think it's an uphill fight on that issue. But I think a lot of Republican voters see Rudy Giuliani as competent and able to do the job."
Rep. Tom Tancredo said on ABC's This Week, "You have to say what you believe. And if he is just sort of nominally interested in the [abortion] issue and it would be okay, that's what he believes, that's the way he should portray it." Asked if a "pro-choice candidate like Mayor Giuliani" can win the GOP nomination, Tancredo said, "Probably. Yes, I think that's possible, because one of the things that happens of course is that Republicans start looking at alternative and saying, oh my gosh, even if -- even if Mayor Giuliani is a pro-choice, or at least a flip-flop candidate on this issue, maybe he will appoint strict constructionists and that sort of thing, and God knows we don't want the [Democratic] alternative."
The AP reports Louisiana State University student Richard Wargo "told another student that he was planning a violent attack" against Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to police. Wargo "was held on $1 million bail. Mrs. Clinton is scheduled to speak today in Baton Rouge at the National Conference of Black Mayors, and the police said it was unclear whether the attack was planned for that visit." LSU police chief Ricky Adams said Wargo "had asked another student whether he wanted to commit arson, a 'terrorist act' that he described as a 'national event.'" Adams said, "He reportedly went on to say it was political and it involved Hillary Clinton." On its Web site, The Hill says the "acquaintance reportedly told police that he believed Wargo wanted to commit arson at Clinton's Louisiana office. The acquaintance argued that the act would make the former first lady and current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination more popular. Wargo reportedly responded: 'True, but have you ever heard of a dead president?'"
The AP reports this morning that a Mason-Dixon poll of likely Nevada caucus-goers shows Hillary Clinton on top of the Democratic field with 37%, followed by John Edwards, 13%; Barack Obama, 12%; and Al Gore, 9%. On the GOP side, John McCain leads with 19%, followed by Mitt Romney, 15%; Fred Thompson, 13%; and Rudy Giuliani, 12%. However, the small sample from each party (300 apiece) has a very high margin of error -- +/-6%.
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Jay Leno: "Actually, my favorite part of the [GOP debate last week] was when Chris Matthews asked, 'Who does not believe in evolution?' And Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo all raised their paw."
Jay Leno: "And how embarrassing is this? 'Time' magazine released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. President Bush is not on the list. Isn't that amazing? However, supermodel Kate Moss is! And here's the scary part -- Kate Moss actually has a better plan for getting us out of Iraq."
David Letterman: "Top Ten Surprises In 'Spider-Man 3': 8. Spider-Man's secret identity is leaked by Dick Cheney."
Craig Ferguson: "The DC Madam released her client list. Oh, yeah. There haven't been this many nervous lawyers in Washington since Dick Cheney renewed his hunting license."
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