Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Feingold Seeks Censure Of Bush, Cheney

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports this morning that "within days," Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold "plans to offer a proposal to officially condemn" President Bush and Vice president Cheney "for leading the United States into the Iraq war." Feingold "said one censure will focus on Bush's flawed weapons of mass destruction premise for going to war against Iraq and the administration's failure to adequately plan for aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq."

Feingold made the announcement during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press yesterday. In the interview, he cast "censure" as a moderate option, given the fact that, according to him, "there's a lot of sentiment in the country...for actually impeaching the President and the Vice President. I think that they have committed impeachable offenses with regard to this terrorist surveillance program and making up their own program. What I am proposing is a moderate course, not tying up the Senate and the House with an impeachment trial, but simply passing resolutions that make sure that the historical record shows the way they have weakened our country, weakened our country militarily and against al Qaeda, and weakened our country's fundamental document, the Constitution."

The Washington Post runs a brief mention of Feingold's remarks, while the Los Angeles Times notes Feingold called Cheney "one of the worst actors in American history." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel meanwhile, runs a widely-distributed AP dispatch, reporting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "said Feingold's proposals showed the nation's frustration" but he "would not go along with them" because the Senate "needs to focus on finishing spending bills on defense and homeland security."

However, on CBS's Face the Nation Reid said Bush "has been here as part of a culture of corruption. He is spying on Americans. ... The President already has the mark of the American people that he's the worst president we've ever had, and I don't think we need a censure resolution in the Senate to prove that." Also yesterday, Sen. Dick Durbin suggested he'll back Feingold's measure. Durbin, on CNN's Late Edition, said the Administration "has gone far beyond the exercise of political power. They have abused the Constitution in some respects. And I think it's appropriate for us to take the censure resolution up."

The Washington Times notes that an American Research Group poll found 45% of respondents "in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings against Mr. Bush" and 54% "said they favored bringing impeachment hearings against Mr. Cheney." The Politico notes last year Feingold "garnered only three other votes on a similar measure that would have rebuked the Bush administration for secretly using a domestic surveillance program." The New York Sun, Minneapolis Star Tribune, AFP, Bloomberg, The Hill and UPI all carried reports on Feingold's announcement.

Yesterday, the website of the liberal magazine The Nation urged its readers to "help to develop and push these resolutions forward. E-mail your representatives, bombard them with your appeals and demands that they stop this White House from shredding the Constitution and, as Feingold puts it, 'thumbing their noses at the American people.'"

GOP To Bush: September A "Hard Deadline"

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, on CNN's Late Edition Sunday, said that mid-September is when major decisions have to be made about changing course in Iraq, noting that "the President himself has suggested that. We're all looking to September. And I think most members of, at least of my party in the Senate, are willing to wait until then to make some definitive judgment, feeling that the facts are actually important." The CBS Evening News, meanwhile, interviewed GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe, who said, "The President must understand that September 15th is a hard deadline."

Not everyone in Congress is abandoning the President's Iraq policies, as the Myrtle Beach Sun News points out. South Carolina GOP Rep. Joe Wilson remains "an unabashed supporter...even as some prominent Republican lawmakers defect." In an interview, Wilson says, "If we don't complete the mission, there will be a catastrophic loss of life."

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that the White House and senior military officers said the much-anticipated report on the progress of the "surge" from Gen. David Petraeus will "be delivered by the Sept. 15 deadline set by Congress, even if it takes weeks longer to compile a more complete judgment on the current troop increase." White House spokesman Tony Snow "said neither the White House nor military officers in Baghdad were asking for more time before reporting to Congress on progress in Iraq." However, on Thursday Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq, "said it would take 'at least until November' to complete a full assessment" and on Friday Gens. Rick Lynch and Walter Gaskin "appealed for more time."

Cheney Says Iraq CPA Was A "Mistake" Newsweek reports this week that in his new biography of Vice President Cheney, "Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President," author Stephen Hayes got Cheney "to admit" that "in hindsight...the mechanism for postwar governance in Iraq was a failure. ... 'I think the Coalition Provisional Authority was a mistake, wasted valuable time,' Cheney said."

Bush Touted Kristol Op-Ed In his "Media Notes" column for the Washington Post Howard Kurtz writes, "Bill Kristol's the-war-is-being-won piece in The Washington Post [7/15] brought him plenty of ridicule, but at least one person liked it." President Bush "recommended it to his staff."

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Democrats Back Bush Privilege Claims

The Washington Post, in a Saturday article titled "Fight Over Documents May Favor Bush, Experts Say," reported the Bush Administration's "vow" to "block contempt charges from Congress could prove to be a successful strategy for protecting White House documents about the multiple firings of U.S. attorneys, Democratic legal scholars and legislative aides said yesterday." The Democratic scholars "cautioned that complaints by Democratic lawmakers about the administration's legal stance are undercut by a Justice Department legal opinion issued during the Clinton administration" which "contended...that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases in which a president has invoked executive privilege to withhold documents or testimony." The New York Times added that White House spokesman Tony Fratto predicted that "Congressional threats to have presidential aides charged with criminal contempt would probably end in failure." However, administration officials "sought...to tamp down suggestions that a crisis was looming."

Emails Detail Rove Role In USA Vetting The Columbus (OH) Dispatch reports that in 2002 when Greg White was lobbying to be named US Attorney in Cleveland he e-mailed Brian K. Hicks, chief of staff to then-Gov. Bob Taft: "Do you think that the governor would be willing to call the president on this issue?" Hicks told White that he and Ohio GOP Chairman Robert Bennett had talked "directly" top Karl Rove about the post. The Dispatch notes, "White's lobbying campaign apparently hit all the right connections; in March 2003, President Bush nominated him as U.S. attorney for the northern district of Ohio."

Cheney Was President For Two Hours

On a slow news day, all three broadcast networks led their evening newscasts Saturday with reports on President Bush's colonoscopy, which he had undergone that morning. ABC World News, for example, reported, "For only the third time, the powers of the presidency were temporarily transferred under the 25th Amendment while President Bush was sedated for a colonoscopy. ... For two hours and five minutes, Vice President Dick Cheney became President Dick Cheney." Such a transfer has "only happened twice before, in 1985 when President Reagan underwent surgery for colon cancer and in 2002 when President Bush had his last colonoscopy."

The AP reported doctors removed "five small growths" from the President's colon. White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said all the polyps "'were less than 1 centimeter (about four-tenths of an inch) and none appeared worrisome.'" The Washington Post quotes Washington Hospital Center gastroenterologist I. David Shocket, who said, "There's not even a question that these will all be benign." The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune were among those Sunday papers with articles on the procedure and transfer of power.

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

YouTube Debate: Novel Or Novelty?

The Democratic presidential candidates meet at The Citadel in South Carolina tonight for a debate hosted by CNN. What's drawing the media attention this morning is the format of the debate video questions are submitted to YouTube and selected by CNN. The debate in the media today is whether this is a novel idea which allows a new level of engagement by the broader public or if it is simply a gimmick. USA Today for example, reports, "The first use of Internet videos in a nationally televised debate promises either a revolution in political communications or more of the same, political watchers say. 'The pseudo-populist trappings of the YouTube formula will not make this debate any different,' said Andrew Polsky, Hunter College political science professor." However, Polsky isn't really focusing on the format, but on the style of responses the candidates give, saying, "The candidates will still answer with their planned responses, often not to the point of the question."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the debate "The American Dream 2.0" and writes, "The stakes are high for what David Bohrman, the man running the show for Atlanta-based CNN, describes as 'New Media's seat at the table for the presidential selection process.' The debate could end up drawing people more deeply into the 2008 election - or turn them off if it seems too different, or not different enough." The New York Sun reports, "While debate organizers are billing the event as a novel approach aimed at engaging a new generation of voters, the format has drawn criticism from some who say it could cheapen a campaign discourse already dominated by sound bites."

The New York Times reviews some of the questions submitted and reports, "Many analysts, from consultants to bloggers, see the video format as having the potential to bring new voices into the process and change the media equation. 'These debates are the first real political foray into citizen journalism,' writes Morra Aarons, a blogger and political director for BlogHer.org, which covers women's issues. Ms. Aarons is also a Democratic consultant who supports Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton but is not affiliated with her or any campaign. Like many who are keen on the experiment, she wonders if it is an overhyped gimmick or if it will substantially alter the debates or politics."

Democrats Trouncing GOP In Campaign Cash

The Wall Street Journal reports that the tides have turned in fundraising for federal races. In an arena long dominated by the GOP, the Democrats are now in control bringing in $100 million more so far this election cycle for all federal races (presidential, Senate and House) than the GOP. Democrats "have taken the lead by exploiting widespread disapproval of President Bush and the Iraq war to develop a more robust online network of new, small donors, as well as to gain traction with deep-pocketed business contributors. ... If their fund-raising advantage continues -- so far, Democrats have been pulling in about 58% of overall donations to federal-office seekers -- they will have more resources for pricey advertising, organization building and voter outreach next November to buttress their edge in the polls."

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Romney Calls Clinton A Commie

Some old-school Cold War rhetoric is sneaking back into the presidential race in 2008. The AP reports Mitt Romney "took aim at Democratic rivals on Sunday, calling them all unprepared to lead the country and comparing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's economic plan to that of Socialist Karl Marx." Romney said that Clinton "said we have been an on-your-own society. She said it's time to get rid of that and replace that with shared responsibility and we're-in-it-together society. ... That's out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx." The Boston Herald adds that Romney "noted that socialist-friendly nations such as Germany and France are turning to more capitalist ideals. 'She wouldn't be elected president of France today, never mind the United States,' he said."

Clinton Up Big In Latest Poll

A new Washington Post /ABC News national poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton holding a double-digit lead over Sen. Barack Obama, which expands if Al Gore is not included in the mix. With Gore in the race, Clinton leads the Democratic field with 39%, followed by Obama, 28%; Gore, 14%; and John Edwards, 9%. All other candidates are at 2% or less. Without Gore in the race, Clinton leads Obama 45%-30%, with Edwards at 12%.

In its coverage of the poll, the Washington Post says Clinton "enjoys a substantial edge over Obama among the 4 in 10 Democrats who said that in assessing presidential candidates, strength and experience are more important than new ideas or a new direction. Even among the 51 percent who prefer a change-oriented candidate, the core message of Obama's campaign, Clinton runs even with him." The Post adds, "It may be equally important that Clinton's initial support for the Iraq war is not proving a significant impediment to her bid. Clinton has drawn criticism this year for refusing to apologize for her 2002 vote authorizing the use of force, but the poll shows her leading among Democrats who support a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces as well as those who oppose a deadline. She has a 51 percent to 29 percent lead over Obama among those in favor of a complete, immediate withdrawal."

Edwards, Thompson On Top In Tar Heel State

An "Under the Dome" column in the Raleigh News & Observer reports that a TelOpinion Research survey of 800 North Carolina voters conducted July 11-15 shows John Edwards, who hails from the state, leading the Democratic presidential field with 26%, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 23% and Sen. Barack Obama with 17%. On the GOP side, Fred Thompson leads with 28%, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 21%, Sen. John McCain with 10% and Mitt Romney with 8%.

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "Tomorrow, President Bush will undergo a routine colonoscopy. You know what they found the last time Bush had a colonoscopy? His head."

Jay Leno: "While he's under, they will temporarily transfer power to Dick Cheney. Well, good luck getting that power back, huh?"

Jay Leno: "You know what's going to happen by noon tomorrow. He will have invaded Iran, Syria and Malibu."

Conan O'Brien: "Tomorrow, President Bush is undergoing a colonoscopy. So, he's going to temporarily transfer his presidential power to Vice President Dick Cheney. Yeah, yeah. That's right. On the day that millions will be reading the new 'Harry Potter' book, Voldemort will be running the country."

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