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Monday, February 13, 2012
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Administration officials yesterday denied President Bush was considering a "gradual" pullout from Iraq in light of plummeting GOP support for his policies, as the New York Times had reported in Monday's edition. The AP reports the White House said Bush "is not considering a withdrawal of US forces," and the Financial Times calls the White House's message "defiant" in the face of "intensifying bipartisan pressure." The Los Angeles Times also says "the White House brushed off calls from a growing chorus of Republican lawmakers to change course in the conflict," while McClatchy runs a similar report under the headline "Bush Stays Course, Rebuffs Demand For Change."
Yet ABC World News said White House officials "are extremely worried." White House spokesman Tony Snow "will not say that on camera," but one White House official told ABC, "We are in panic mode." The CBS Evening News reported, "Senior Pentagon officials tell CBS News a debate is under way to determine what conditions must exist short of victory to begin pulling troops out of Iraq. The White House publicly denies this, but clearly political support is weakening inside the Administration."
In fact, the Washington Post reports on the front page this morning that the President "has rejected calls to change course but will launch a campaign emphasizing his intent to draw down US forces next year and move toward a more limited mission if security conditions improve," according to "senior officials." Similarly, NBC Nightly News reported, "There are signs and signals and indications that a turning point may be nearing on US involvement in the Iraq war," but the White House "is denying anything's been accelerated."
As the Senate begins its debate on proposals for a withdrawal from Iraq, the New York Times reports in a front page article that Ambassador Ryan Crocker is "warning that the departure of American troops could lead to sharply increased violence, the deaths of thousands and a regional conflict that could draw in Iraq's neighbors." Meanwhile, the New York Times says Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday "sounded a similar warning" at a Baghdad news conference.
The Washington Post reports, "Politicians from Iraq's major parties and ethnic groups said Monday that Iraq's government could collapse, plunging the nation into full-blown civil war and sparking regional conflict, if the United States were to begin withdrawing troops too quickly." The Los Angeles Times and Washington Times /AP run similar reports this morning.
All Benchmarks Missed The Washington Times says a progress report on Iraq to be delivered to Congress this week will conclude that the Iraqi government "has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reforms, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next," a US official said Monday. As a result, the "pivot point" for addressing the Administration's Iraq policy "will no longer be Sept. 15... but instead will come this week."
Iraq, Afghan Wars Cost $12 Billion Month The AP reports, "The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, congressional analysts say. All told, Congress has appropriated $610 billion in war-related money since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror assaults, roughly the same as the war in Vietnam. Iraq alone has cost $450 billion."
Bush Warned "Tide Has Turned" ABC World News said last night a "growing number of Republicans now say they want a new strategy for the war. In other words, the number of problems for the President is rising while his support is falling." ABC added GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe told the network "quote, 'the tide has turned and the President needs to understand that,' she said, because 'events are not changing for the better.'" Likewise, the Washington Post reports Republican support for the Iraq war is "cracking," and "Democratic leaders in the Senate are seeking to attract GOP support to force...Bush to begin withdrawing combat troops."
Columnist Charles Krauthammer, appearing on Fox News' Special Report, said, "It looks as if there is a collapse on the part of Republicans. There certainly isn't on the part of President. There are some murmurings in the White House, but he doesn't want to lose this war, and he thinks it can be won. What is really tragic about all of this is after three years of searching for a policy that would work, we have a general and a policy that appears to be helping."
And The Politico says Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, "an umbrella organization of anti-war groups, began a extensive robocalling project aimed at constituents of 12 senators and 52 House members, urging them to call the congressional offices of the targeted members and press them to vote for expected anti-war amendments. The calls include a prerecorded message from Iraq war veteran John Bruhns, who says, 'It's time to get our troops out of this endless war.'"
However, Roll Call says it "doesn't appear that a rising tide of Republicans actually will emerge to vote with Democrats to draw down troops in Iraq anytime soon." Senate Republican Conference Chairman Jon Kyl "said Monday that recent GOP statements urging Bush to change his war strategy likely would not translate into many votes for Democratic proposals to redeploy or withdraw troops from Iraq by early next year." The Washington Times and Chicago Tribune run similar stories, and the same point was made by the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes on Fox News' Special Report. Barnes said though many GOP Senators are "panicky," only "three or four...will vote with the Democrats on some timetable."
Pelosi Plans Pre-September Votes On Iraq The Hill says House Democrats are "planning a series of votes this month on Iraq that they hope will ratchet up pressure on the White House and congressional Republicans to change course on the unpopular war or suffer political consequences."
War Support At Record Low, But 55% Want September Deadline USA Today reports, "Opposition to the Iraq war has reached a record high, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a development likely to complicate...Bush's efforts to hold together Republican support as the Senate begins debate this week on Pentagon priorities." Bush's approval rating "has reached a new low: 29%." Also, "one in five Americans say the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq since January has made the situation there better. Half say it hasn't made a difference. More than seven in 10 favor removing nearly all US troops from Iraq by April." However, "55% say Congress should wait to develop a new policy on Iraq until Gen. David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq, delivers a promised assessment in September; 40% say Congress should act now."
The White House is receiving largely negative media coverage after asserting executive privilege in the ongoing showdown over the firings of nine US attorneys. A number of reports portray the Administration's move as an escalation of the controversy. ABC World News reported President Bush "raised the stakes" in the "battle...over the firings of nine Federal prosecutors. Former White House political director Sara Taylor and former White House counsel Harriet Miers were both scheduled to testify before Congress this week, but today White House counsel Fred Fielding told Congress the two would not comply with subpoenas." On Fox News' Special Report, White House spokesman Tony Snow was shown saying, "The Administration has made available the information -- that is not a lack of transparency. What it is is a lack of show trial." But NBC Nightly News said "the White House message to Congress today was essentially: 'We'll see you in court.'"
The New York Times calls Fielding's letter "combative," and adds the "the executive and legislative branches" are "on a collision course." The Washington Post notes Fielding "rejected a demand for a more detailed accounting of Bush's privilege claim." The Washington Times reports Taylor's attorney said Taylor "has done nothing wrong and wants to testify, but is loyal to Mr. Bush, and so he asked Congress, if it cannot reach an agreement, to 'direct its sanction against the White House' instead of his client." The Detroit Free Press reports Fielding "said again that the former aides would be willing to discuss the matter with committee staff, but only in a private setting and one in which no public transcript was taken." On its website, U.S. News and World Report says "the committees are set to proceed with the hearings anyway." A House Judiciary spokeswoman "said Conyers expects Miers to comply with the subpoena and appear Thursday." UPI, The Hill and Roll Call run similar reports, in which Congress and the White House as described as being on a collision course.
Democrats Said To Face Greater Peril The Wall Street Journal reports in a front page story that the "looming constitutional showdown over the White House's right to shield internal communications may pose less risk to...Bush, who is resisting subpoenas from Congress, than to lawmakers faced with deepening public discontent." For the Democratic-controlled Congress, "a prolonged fight could have a clear political price." Yet the latest USA Today/Gallup poll suggests Democrats face a starkly anti-Bush base one that could turn against them if they don't pursue the matter. USA Today reports that according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, "by 62%-36%, those surveyed say an impeachment inquiry against Bush, promoted by some liberal websites including ImpeachBush.com, wouldn't be justified. ... Republicans oppose the idea 91%-9%. Democrats support it 54%-44%."
Is Bush "Running Out The Clock"? Fox News' Special Report reported last night that "if Congress decides to take the matter to court...Bush may be out of office before the Supreme Court has a final say." The Wall Street Journal says on the front page that for Bush, "the move appears aimed at either winning in the courts or running out the clock before a judgment is rendered." Sen. Charles Schumer, "who has led the Senate probe of the firings," said in an interview that "the White House will fail if it believes it can 'run out the clock' on the congressional inquiry."
The Los Angeles Times says that to "proceed with a contempt action would require a majority vote of the judiciary committee issuing the subpoena as well as the full House or Senate. Under the law, the matter then would be referred to the US attorney for the District of Columbia, who would make the decision whether to prosecute."
The AP reports GOP Sen. Arlen Specter "said the posturing was a waste of time and money and a distraction from the questions at hand: Who ordered the firings, why, and whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should continue to serve or be fired."
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Yesterday it was revealed that GOP Sen. David Vitter's phone number appears on a list of contacts released by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "DC Madam." The AP says Vitter immediately apologized for "a very serious sin in my past." In a statement released to the press, Vitter said, "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."
According to The Politico, Vitter "did not disclose exactly when the incidents took place, but said it was before he ran for the Senate in 2004." In fact, the Washington Post notes that during his Senate campaign, Vitter was "accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of carrying on a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans's French Quarter." Vitter "called the allegation 'absolutely and completely untrue' and dismissed it as 'just crass Louisiana politics.'" The Post also mentions that Vitter was the first senator to endorse Rudy Giuliani for president and "serves as the campaign's Southern regional chairman."
The Politico reports that supporters of the comprehensive immigration reform legislation defeated in the Senate, such as "labor unions, immigrant advocates and Democratic activists," are "constructing the early framework of a political payback plan." Sens. Norm Coleman and John Cornyn, who face reelection campaigns next year and who helped derail the comprehensive reform deal, are among those who "will likely find themselves in the immigrant community's cross hairs." According to The Politico, activists "plan to mount what some are calling an unprecedented effort to mobilize Hispanic voters and encourage legal immigrants to apply for citizenship and receive the right to participate in elections."
Border Arrests Drop 24% Last night Fox News' Special Report noted that the Bush administration is touting figures showing apprehensions at the US-Mexico border were down 24% In the last fiscal year. As Fox news put it: "Federal officials say more would-be illegal immigrants are paying attention to the no-trespassing signs at the U.S.-Mexico border." Customs and Border Protection commissioner Ralph Basham "attributes the decrease to new technology on the border and Operation Jump Start, a Bush administration plan...to put thousands of National Guard troops on the border." Basham was shown saying: "We feel very strongly that the deterrent affect is starting to play a major role." Fox News went on to report that opponents of President Bush's immigration policies, such as Rep. Tom Tancredo, assert that the decrease in apprehensions may very well be a result of the border patrol's failure to keep pace with the tactics of immigrant smugglers, rather than evidence that Bush's border security policies are having a deterrent effect.
According to the Washington Times, "homosexual advocacy groups" are "objecting strongly" to President Bush's surgeon general nominee, Dr. James Holsinger, who also "faces questions from conservative groups about his views on human cloning and embryonic-stem-cell research." Tom McCluskey of the Family Research Council, notes that in 2002 Holsinger "testified in support of loosening regulations around cloning and embryonic-stem-cell research." The New York Times, in an editorial, contends there are "disturbing indications that he is prejudiced against homosexuals." According to the Times, Holsinger has said he "considers practicing homosexuals abnormal and diseased."
A new report issued by the International Energy Agency "predicted that world oil demand would rise faster than previously expected over the next five years while production slips, threatening a supply crisis," according to the New York Times. The agency "said that global oil demand would rise by an average of 2.2 percent a year from this year to 2012, up from a forecast in February of 2 percent annual growth from 2006 to 2011." The Wall Street Journal says the IEA "added to rising concerns in some quarters that oil and natural gas production won't keep up with the world's growing thirst for energy in coming years." The agency sees "little prospect of relief unless world economic growth falters." The Financial Times calls the report the IEA's "starkest warning yet on the world's fuel outlook."
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There have been some bumps in the road for the two 2008 frontrunners in recent weeks, but it hasn't eaten into their lead in a new national poll. USA Today reports Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "have double-digit leads over their closest party rivals, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows." On the GOP side, Giuliani "has support of 30% of Republicans and Republican leaners, up 2 percentage points from last month and a 10-point lead over former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson. Thompson, who hasn't announced his run, comes in with 20%," while Sen. John McCain "has 16%." Clinton has "support of 37% of Democrats and Democratic leaners surveyed, vs. 33% a month earlier. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's support is unchanged at 21%," while 16% would vote for Al Gore and 13% would vote for John Edwards.
The Sioux City Journal, in what it dubs "the duel in Des Moines," reports that both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are campaigning in Des Moines today. Clinton "is scheduled to deliver a 10 a.m. speech on the Iraq war at the Temple for the Performing Arts. At the exact same time, Obama will hold a town hall meting on the economy at Des Moines Area Community College's urban campus."
Both are expected to address the war in Iraq. The Washington Post adds, "After dueling entourages in Iowa over the Fourth of July holiday, both Obama and Clinton are returning today, possibly with competing messages on Iraq. Clinton is delivering a speech about her overall Iraq policy in Des Moines; Obama, a short distance away, is holding a town meeting on the economy but is also expected to talk about the war. Each denied trying to step on the other's message."
The Des Moines Register says that Clinton "is expected to explain her plan for ending the war" in Iraq. Clinton spokeswoman Stephanie Bjornson said, "She'll go through the details of her current plan and elaborate a little bit more."
The Boston Globe reports on its website yogurt magnate Gary Hirschberg, chief of Stonyfield Farm in New Hampshire, "one of the biggest liberal fund-raisers in the country," yesterday endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, saying that "Obama was the one candidate who could appeal to both Democrats and Republicans alike. 'This guy can heal a divided nation,' Hirshberg said on a conference call with reporters." NHPR reported on its website that Hirshberg "says he's been impressed with" Obama, who "understands the need for economic reforms, renewable energy, and organic farming. And Hirshberg says early evidence in the campaign shows plenty of people agree that on these issues and others, Obama is getting it right."
In addition to their fundraising prowess, the Hirshberg's have other attractions to candidates vying in New Hampshire. The Washington Post reports that in the Granite State, "where every voter is flattered, indulged and generally chased after," Gary and Meg Hirshberg "are particularly big game." Hirshberg and his wife "have become 'verifiers': A well-known couple who have studied the issues and met with candidates, and who can persuade undecided voters and independents to at least consider a particular candidate." The Post adds the Hirshbergs "made it clear that their choice would be a tactical one. Their main concern? Finding someone who can defeat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the state's primary, by custom the first in the nation."
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Jay Leno: "President Bush told British reporters last week he wishes he was a better speaker. At least that's what they think he said. They're not quite sure."
Jay Leno: "Some sad news. Al Gore's son, Al Gore III, arrested in Laguna Niguel, California. Police found marijuana in his car. Police searched the car after pulling him over for going 100 miles an hour in his Prius. When his dad found out, he said, 'Whoo, thank God it was a Prius!'"
David Letterman: "Hot down in Washington. It was so hot down there, earlier today a chunk of ice fell off Dick Cheney."
David Letterman: "So hot, Scooter Libby wishes he was in the cooler."
David Letterman: "So hot today, President Bush pardoned Al Roker."
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