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Sunday, May 11, 2008
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The Senate yesterday fell 15 votes short in an attempt to invoke cloture end debate and proceed to a final vote on the bipartisan immigration compromise bill. Most commentators see that failure as the collapse of the effort to reform the immigration laws at least for this session of Congress. That outcome is being described as a major defeat for President Bush. McClatchy describes the vote as a "devastating setback" for Bush, and the Washington Post says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "was quick to place responsibility for the defeat on Bush." Not so Speaker Pelosi, however. MSNBC's Hardball ran an excerpt of an interview with her in which she said, "Bush has been a leader on the immigration issue. He knows what the right thing is to do, and he has acted upon it." The New York Times reports the vote was "a significant setback for the president. It came mainly at the hands of members of his own party after he championed the measure in the hope of claiming it as a major achievement on domestic policy in the last months of his administration." Similarly, the AP says the "stunning setback" costs Bush "perhaps his best opportunity to win a top domestic priority."
USA Today, under the headline "Immigration Bill Not Dead Yet, Backers Say," calls the vote a "potentially fatal setback," and the Los Angeles Times notes Reid "left open the possibility that lawmakers could still reach a decision on immigration legislation," even as he "called on Bush to do more to help." The Washington Times was less equivocal, however, announcing that "the immigration 'grand bargain' imploded," while The Politico titled its report "Immigration Dead." USA Today runs a second story under the headline, "Immigration Vote Stuns Senate Supporters," in which it casts doubt on the future of the bill, and Dana Milbank, in his Washington Post column, says the cloture motion "took a lopsided beating -- and so, at least for now, did any prospect of closure on immigration." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the legislation "stumbled badly," and notes "no timetable was given for trying to revive the legislation."
Curiously, the apparent collapse of the immigration deal comes 24 hour after most press reports predicted the worst was over for the bill in the Senate and suggested the real challenge to the immigration measure would come in the House. Such assessments appeared in yesterday's Washington Post, The Hill, New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among others.
Why Did The Bill Fail? NBC Nightly News said that in both parties, "you've got the extremes on the left and right trying to kill the entire bill rather than accept provisions they detest." The Washington Post says "the collapse of comprehensive immigration revision in the Senate last night represents a political defeat for" Bush, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, "the bill's most prominent sponsors. More significantly, it represents a scathing indictment of the political culture of Washington."
The Washington Times offers a different interpretation, reporting that "an immigration alliance with Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts is damaging" Sens. McCain and Graham "among conservative Republicans. The damage to the two Republican senators caused by their support for Mr. Kennedy's immigration bill...is especially clear in Mr. Graham's home state, scene of an early presidential primary next year."
Fox Poll: Only 34% Back Senate Bill Fox News Channel Special Report, meanwhile, reported, "The latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows 58% support enforcement of existing laws. Only 34% back an overhaul of immigration laws along the lines of the Senate compromise."
Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, nominated by President Bush to serve as "war czar," testified before a Senate panel on Thursday. Commentators were struck by Lute's relatively pessimistic tenor. The Washington Post notes Lute said "conditions in Iraq have not improved significantly despite the influx of US troops in recent months and predicted that, absent major political reform, violence will continue to rage over the next year." USA Today reports Lute said "the escalation of US troops in Iraq has produced mixed results," and ABC World News calls Lute's remarks "sobering," and notes he "has serious concerns about the Iraqi government's ability to take control of its country."
McClatchy, meanwhile, notes Lute also said that "some of the blame for Iraq's dependency lays with American forces, who, he said, are so aggressive and used to a can-do style that they sometimes find it hard to step aside." The AP reports "Lute's grim words cast fresh doubt on prospects of an easy US withdrawal at a time Americans are increasingly impatient. In an AP-Ipsos poll released Thursday, just 28 percent said they are satisfied with Bush's handling of the war."
Hadley No Longer Responsible For Iraq The Los Angeles Times headlines its report "War Czar' Nominee Hints At Major Policy Shift," noting that Lute said that "national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley will no longer be responsible for Iraq policy, indicating the administration has quietly engineered a significant change in foreign policy leadership that could directly affect US war strategy." The testimony "stunned leading Democrats and at least one Republican, who appeared taken aback by the extent of the shake-up in Bush's inner circle of advisers -- particularly the diminished role Hadley will play." The New York Times reports Sen. Jack Reed "said the mission facing General Lute should have been the responsibility over the past four years of Condoleezza Rice, the president's first national security adviser, and now her successor," Hadley.
Bayh Discloses Gloomy Iraq Intelligence The CBS Evening News reports that during the hearing on Lute's nomination, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana "unexpectedly unveiled the latest intelligence assessment on the war." Sen. Bayh was shown, saying, "The trend in Iraq is negative. There are occasional bright spots, for example, some developments in al Anbar providence but those positive developments are within the context of an overall negative trend."
Two Republicans Endorse Biden Bill The Los Angeles Times reports that in "another sign that Republicans on Capitol Hill are impatient with the White House's Iraq strategy," Sens. Sam Brownback and Gordon Smith "got behind legislation designed to encourage the Bush administration to reduce US military involvement." The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Biden, "urges support for creating semi-autonomous regions for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in Iraq."
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By a margin of 247 to 176, the House yesterday passed a bill to increase federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, a measure strongly opposed by President Bush, who vetoed a similar measure. The Los Angeles Times reports Bush, in Germany, "issued a statement promising to veto the bill." USA Today notes the measure had "35 votes fewer than needed to override...Bush's threatened veto." The AP reports, "The bill drew the support of 210 House Democrats and 37 Republicans." The Senate "cleared the bill several weeks ago by a margin that was one vote short of the two-thirds needed to overcome Bush's objections."
The Washington Post reports "passage this time was arranged so that the Senate, rather than the House, will have the first vote on an override. Proponents in that chamber -- which in April passed the bill, 63 to 34, on a day when two of its supporters were absent -- appear to be within reach of the necessary two-thirds majority."
The Chicago Tribune says "the Democratic Congress' passage of the bill -- which is also supported by a number of high-profile Republicans, including Nancy Reagan -- forces Bush into the position of rejecting a popular bill and reinforces a political confrontation that will doubtless reach into the 2008 presidential contest." The Wall Street Journal reports, "The legislation approved by Congress would allow federally funded scientists to experiment on cells obtained from spare embryos at fertility clinics. The extra embryos would be those donated for research by patients." The Washington Times notes the stem-cell issue "has split the Republican Party, with Mr. Bush siding with the Catholic Church and social conservatives against the party's moderate voices."
The Washington Times reports Republican leaders on Thursday "threatened a 'total shutdown' of Senate business if Democrats keep holding up President Bush's appointments to the federal bench." After Democrats "postponed a committee vote on the nomination of Leslie H. Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit," Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott said, "It could cause major meltdown."
The Washington Post reports Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, "a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, was voluntarily disbarred from the practice of law yesterday by the D.C. Court of Appeals." Berger agreed "last month to relinquish his law license to the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, a part of the D.C. Bar, rather than submit to an investigation by the bar's counsel of his removal of classified documents from the National Archives. A three-member panel of the D.C. appellate court accepted his offer."
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John Edwards, continuing a focus on the war on terror that began at Sunday's Democratic debate, yesterday said that Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani's anti-terror strategies were ineffective. The AP reports that Edwards yesterday "disputed" Clinton's "claim that the U.S. is safer since Sept. 11 and contended GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani will never win if he embraces President Bush's policies. Speaking on the New Yorkers' home turf -- and not far from Ground Zero -- Edwards dismissed Clinton's comments in Sunday's debate in which she said the nation is safer now that it was before the terrorist attacks." At a news conference, Edwards said, "Today, as a result of what George Bush has done, we have more terrorists and fewer allies. There was no group called al Qaeda in Iraq before this president's war in Iraq." Edwards "never mentioned Clinton by name but the subject was obvious."
The New York Sun reports, "Unlike Senator Clinton, who disputed his comments that America is less safe today than it was before the so-called war on terror began, Mr. Edwards is tacking to the left. While Mrs. Clinton is seeking to create the impression that the Democrats generally hold the same position on the war, Mr. Edwards is attempting to do the opposite. Yesterday, he was quick to respond to critics who have cast him as lily-livered and weak on national security."
The Washington Post reports, "After dismissing the phrase 'war on terror' as a useless slogan," Edwards "outlined his plan to fight terrorism," identifying "six core principles in his terrorism strategy: restructure the military to respond to today's needs; rely on proven methods in intelligence gathering; hold regular meetings with military leaders; create a 'Marshall Corps' of 10,000 that could be used to prop up weak or failing countries; invest in equipment; and create a budget process to reflect security programs in all agencies across the federal government." The New York Times reports that Edwards "repeated his calls to go beyond the use of force to undermine the threat of terrorism, and to adopt a more multilateral approach to combat 'the long-term forces of terrorism.'"
A new Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll taken June 5-6 shows Rudy Giuliani narrowly leading the GOP field, while Hillary Clinton holds a broad lead in the Democratic race. Giuliani leads with 22%, followed by John McCain, 15%; Fred Thompson, 13%; and Mitt Romney, 10%. Clinton leads the Democrats with 36%, followed by Barack Obama, 23%; Al Gore, 14%; and John Edwards, 12%.
General Election Situation Clouded In a series of general election hypothetical match-ups, Giuliani bests Clinton (45%-42%) and Obama (46%-41%). McCain and Clinton are tied at 43% apiece. Clinton leads Romney (46%-36%) and Fred Thompson (48%-38%). The biggest margin of the poll: Obama topping Fred Thompson 47%-34%.
The Raleigh News & Observer reports this morning that a new Public Policy Polling survey shows Fred Thompson leading the GOP field in North Carolina with 37%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 25%; and John McCain and Mitt Romney tied at 14% apiece. That represents a 12 point jump for Thompson since a May survey. On the Democratic side, native son John Edwards leads with 30%, followed by Hillary Clinton with 26% and Barack Obama with 22%.
The Boston Globe report that a Franklin Pierce College/WBZ survey of 409 likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters conducted June 7 shows Mitt Romney leading his Republican presidential opponents with 28%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 18%; Jon McCain, 17%; and Fred Thompson with 9%.
The Omaha World Herald reports this morning that Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R), who has made a name for himself criticizing George Bush's policies, gained a first-tier GOP primary challenger state Attorney General Jon Bruning. The World Herald reports the two "took turns Thursday tossing verbal grenades as Bruning officially launched his campaign for Hagel's seat. Bruning called Hagel a 'carpetbagger' because, he said, the senator lives in Virginia but returns periodically to Nebraska to run for office." In response, "the Hagel camp accused Bruning of insulting the intelligence of voters by chiding Hagel, a combat veteran, for his criticism of the Iraq war. Bruning supports President Bush and his troop surge in Iraq. Hagel does not and has voted for a strict timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops." However, there is no guarantee that Hagel will stay in the race. Hagel "has said he will decide later this year whether to seek a third term."
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Jay Leno: "And congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks, who won the Stanley Cup championship. I believe this is the biggest victory for a group of ducks since Dick Cheney shot that lawyer in the face."
Jay Leno: "There seems to be a bit of tension between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But...Bush thinks this is good. He thinks a new Cold War could help global warming."
Jay Leno: "The Democratic congressman from Louisiana, William Jefferson," the "guy that was caught with $90,000 in his freezer, he's been indicted on 16 corruption charges. That's William Jefferson. Don't confuse him with his wife, Weezie."
David Letterman: Top Ten President Bush Global Warming Solutions:
"10. Instead of 'Partly sunny,' have weatherman say 'Partly cloudy.'
9. Stop using Air Force One for Texas barbecue runs.
8. Replace dangerous CO2 in the atmosphere with more eco-friendly CO1.
7. Encourage people to walk more by distributing free Dr. Scholl massaging gel inserts. Are you gellin'?
6. Watch Al Gore movie one of these nights instead of 'Dukes of Hazzard.'
5. Bob Barker's free. Get him workin' on it.
4. Send more troops to Iraq.
3. I dunno, tax cuts for the rich?
2. Reduce hot air emissions by cancelling 'The View.'
1. Resign."
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