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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
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Although President Bush is widely viewed as a lame duck, and an unpopular one at that, the Democratic-controlled Congress handed him a major legislative win over the weekend by passing revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Senate approved the measure on Friday night by a margin of 60-28, and the House followed suit on Saturday night by a margin of 227-183. NBC Nightly News said on Saturday Bush had given Congress "a sort of ultimatum...on the subject of electronic surveillance," while the Washington Times reported the Senate "bowed to...Bush in passing a temporary revision to rules on eavesdropping on foreign terrorists, ending a daylong standoff." Bush had "vowed to veto the House bill," sponsored by the Democrats and defeated on a 218-207 vote, and "stressed the importance of getting the Senate bill done before Congress adjourns for its August recess." The Los Angeles Times called the Senate vote was "a key victory for Bush at a time when adverse court rulings and dismal approval ratings have forced his administration to retreat from some of its most aggressive assertions of executive authority in the war on terrorism."
The AP on Sunday reported the House also "handed...Bush a victory," even as "many congressional Democrats "wanted tighter restrictions on government surveillance, but yielded in the face of Bush's veto threats and the impending August recess." The Washington Post said the "vote capped a high-pressure campaign by the White House," in which "the administration capitalized on Democrats' fears of being branded weak on terrorism and on Congress's desire to act on the issue before its August recess." Democrats "facing reelection next year in conservative districts helped propel the bill to a quick approval." The New York Times noted the "House approved the bill "under pressure from" President Bush, "despite serious objections from many Democrats about the scope of the executive branch's new eavesdropping power."
ABC World News noted last night that the President "acted quickly today" to sign the bill into law. The House "gave final approval to the measure last night despite serious objection from many Democrats." In fact, USA Today notes that Democratic leaders "criticized the law and vowed to change it." In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "'many provisions of this legislation are unacceptable.' The speaker, who voted against the bill, asked the committee to draft a new bill 'as soon as possible after Congress reconvenes.'" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "also promised to revisit the law, which has provoked widespread outrage from civil liberties groups who said it would impinge on Americans' privacy."
The Financial Times reports this morning Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that the US "could begin drawing troops out of Iraq by the end of the year," but "made clear that any decision would depend on the outcome" of the progress reports made by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker in September. Gates said on CNN's Late Edition, "I think the effort underway to dampen the violence, particularly, and that caused by the Baathists and by al Qaeda, is working as well as we would have hoped, both in Anbar province and now in the belts around Baghdad." Appearing on NBC's Meet The Press, Gates said, "I think that the military side of the surge has been successful." AFP also notes Gates "said a reduction in the 155,000-strong US force in Iraq by the end of this year was 'a possibility.'" The Washington Times, under the headline "Gates Sees Chance For Troop Reduction This Year," runs a similar report.
Asked about the long-term troop commitment in Iraq on CNN's Late Edition, Gates also said, "We anticipate trying to work out with the Iraqi government an arrangement whereby there would be a residual presence of US forces at some fraction of the current level that would be a stabilizing and supporting force in Iraq for some protracted period of time."
US Base In Iraq Segregates Iraqis Over the weekend, McClatchy reported from FOB Warhorse that Iraqis "including interpreters who walk the same foot patrols and sleep in the same tents as U.S. troops -- must use segregated bathrooms. Another sign, in a dining hall, warns Iraqis and 'third-country nationals' that they have just one hour for breakfast, lunch or dinner. American troops get three hours."
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U.S. News and World Report reports this week President Bush "has threatened to veto a plan to expand children's health insurance, a bill funding Army Corps water projects, a law on farm policy that passed the House, and almost all of the spending bills that Congress is supposed to pass by October." They are "just threats for now," but "advisers are counseling that Bush's best bet to recover from his long slump in public-opinion polls and to brush aside the lame-duck label is to assert his power."
The Wall Street Journal reports today Congress's Democratic majority made major strides toward implementing its domestic agenda before going home, but will face a large hurdle when lawmakers return at summer's end: President Bush." Come September, Democrats "dread the prospect of reconciling a dozen spending measures, most of which face veto threats from the president."
In a similar vein, U.S. News and World Report reports while Congress "takes its monthlong break, President Bush is being urged to use his recess appointment powers to name new federal judges." Republicans are "dismayed that the Democrats haven't lived up to a pledge to vote on Bush's judges. Some Democrats have suggested blocking every Bush judicial nominee until he leaves office."
Democrats Reaping Negative Press Congressional Democrats continue to garner negative coverage in press coverage of the run-up to the August recess. Last week, USA Today reported negatively on the Democratic Congress' lack of effectiveness, and a day later said the majority was proposing tax hikes to finance their legislative plans. In the wake of those stories, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that "partisan battling exploded on Capitol Hill Friday, stalling key legislation and casting a lengthening shadow over Democrats' first year of total majority rule since 1994." Long-simmering "tensions between Democrats and Republicans erupted in shouting and a GOP walk-out in the House and action on" several key measures "was put off" until the weekend. Likewise, the New York Times said Congress "stumbled toward its August recess on a discordant note Friday as angry partisanship and distrust slowed the House and Senate in the latest example of the ideological standoff that has made progress difficult all year." The Washington Post reported it is not "every summer that angry Republicans march off the House floor in the wee hours to protest a parliamentary maneuver by Democrats."
The Los Angeles Times reports today, "The GOP sees more advantage in disrupting congressional business, and Democrats see no incentive to accommodate the minority." As a result, "there were few real tears in the Capitol for the current state of affairs. Seven months into Democrats' control of the House and Senate, the angry sparring has largely served the political interests of both parties, whose leaders often believe they have more to gain by warring with their rivals than by working with them."
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the House "unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had stolen a victory from the House GOP on a parliamentary vote late Thursday night." The Washington Times noted Republicans "accused Democrats of stealing a winning vote tally from them -- a maneuver they said was even more galling because it was done to give illegal aliens taxpayer money." Democrats "quickly apologized, saying the matter resulted from confusion on the House floor at the end of a busy day of voting."
The Washington Post noted Democrats "changed House rules in January to disallow the practice of holding votes open to affect the outcome. The new rule came after Republicans routinely held open votes to twist arms, including a 2003 episode on the Medicare prescription drug bill in which Republicans held a vote open for three hours until finally prevailing." The Hill said that the 14 House Democrats "who voted for a contentious procedural rule Thursday night that threw the House into chaos actually violated a leadership policy designed to ensure party unity. The vote, aides said, has sparked renewed discussions among Democratic leaders about changing the way they deal with the procedural votes sponsored by the minority, called 'motions to recommit.'"
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that in a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled "that FBI agents violated the Constitution during their search of Rep. William J. Jefferson's Capitol Hill office last year, and ordered the agency to return all privileged materials." The court "ruled that FBI agents went too far during the May 2006 search when they viewed paper documents before giving the Louisiana Democrat an opportunity to say whether the material was connected to legislative activity and thus protected under the Constitution's 'speech or debate' clause." The New York Times said the "ruling would have no effect on the prosecution of Mr. Jefferson, who is facing trial next year on charges of bribery, racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges." According to The Hill, "The decision could have far-reaching implications for the Justice Department's corruption cases against members of Congress, and could prevent future raids of congressional offices."
The Washington Times reported House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "applauded the decision for upholding 'the separation of power and checks and balances.'" Roll Call, The Politico and the Financial Times also noted the ruling.
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Coverage of the 90-minute Republican presidential debate held in Ames, Iowa, Sunday morning, moderated by George Stephanopoulos and broadcast on ABC's This Week, is very homogeneous on some issues and quite different on others. Virtually all reports say the nine announced GOP contenders took careful steps to distance themselves from the Bush Administration, and (with the exception of Rep. Ron Paul) stressed their support for the US role in Iraq. However, while NBC called it "a heated debate," and ABC cast it as a rancorous affair, the Los Angeles Times called it a "muted" debate, and the New York Times says the Republicans "were more apt to attack Democrats than one another."
ABC World News led with the debate, saying it "started out with a bang: a heated exchange over abortion. ... At issue were allegations made by the campaign of Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback questioning the pro-life credentials of Mitt Romney." Romney: "Virtually nothing in that ad is true." Berman: "When Romney first ran for office in 1994, he did take a pro-choice position. But now he says he is pro-life, and sick of apologizing for his past." Romney: "I get tired of people that are holier than thou, because they've been pro-life longer than I have." Berman: "There was general support for the troop surge in Iraq and general scorn for the Democrats, particularly Barack Obama, and his recent comments that he would meet with controversial foreign leaders and be willing to invade Pakistan to fight terrorism." McCain: "It's naive to say we are going to attack Pakistan without thinking it through." Romney: "I mean, he's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week."
NBC Nightly News said "the candidate who drew the most fire wasn't even on the stage." NBC (Yang) added, "As their supporters braved heavy downpours outside, inside, the Republican field threw thunderbolts at Democrats, especially" Obama "for his recent comments supporting direct talks with Cuban and Iranian leaders and backing a unilateral strike at Al Qaeda in Pakistan." On Iraq, "most said President Bush's troop surge is working. But dark horse candidate Ron Paul sounded like a Democrat, drawing a mix of applause for supporters and boos." Paul said, "Just come home. We just marched in. We can just come back."
Under the headline "Iowa Debate Refuses To Drift Far From GOP Orthodoxy," the Los Angeles Times says the candidates "eyed each other warily as much as they sparred" during the "muted televised debate." The candidates "appeared to shy away from taking each other on, concentrating on striking a chord with their audience of Iowans -- and dispirited Republicans across the nation -- by hewing closely to the party's conservative stances on abortion and health care and tough talk on the war on terrorism." On its front page, the Washington Post says the candidates used the debate "to mock Democrats on foreign policy, taxes and health care while sparring with each other over abortion and the administration's anti-terrorism efforts. ... As in past encounters, the Republicans largely agreed on the need to continue the Iraq war, saying that leaving the country too quickly would disrupt the fight against terrorism." The Politico also says the debate "quickly settled into a mild-mannered Sunday morning affair that saw the Republican presidential hopefuls training their fire on would-be Democratic opponents more than on each other."
The Des Moines Register says the candidates "put distance between themselves and President Bush on foreign policy and the war in Iraq, and between each other on social issues." Romney "defended his change of position on abortion from criticism from Sen. Sam Brownback," who "stood by his campaign's attacks on Romney." Romney later said "his position in Massachusetts prior to his 2002 election -- personally opposing abortion but supporting keeping abortion legal -- was a personal and political error."
The Washington Times leads its report by saying Romney "said his greatest mistake in life is that he used to be pro-choice on abortion." Romney said, "I am pro-life. That's the truth. ... I can tell you that I am pro-life and that I'm opposed to same- sex marriage, and I support the Second Amendment. Those are my views." In a story headlined "Romney says he erred on abortion," the Boston Globe reports that "Romney yesterday called his onetime support for abortion rights his greatest personal and political mistake, and sought to reassure voters...that he is a reliable and determined foe of abortion, an issue important to the party's religious conservatives." Romney and Giuliani "were on the defensive for their positions on abortion, underscoring the simmering trouble the issue poses for two of the leading candidates in the nine-member GOP field."
Long Island Newsday reports that Giuliani's "abortion stance also came under fire. Stephanopoulos played a tape of Romney in March attacking Giuliani for being 'pro-choice...pro-gay marriage and anti-gun.' Giuliani said he supports the Second Amendment, believes marriage should be between a man and woman, and that abortion should be discouraged and adoptions encouraged. 'Ultimately, a woman should make that [decision] with her conscience,' he said, 'and ultimately with her doctor.' The answer won applause."
In his syndicated column, Robert Novak (8/4) writes that Sen. Chuck Hagel, "the Senate's toughest Republican critic of President Bush's war policy, has not ruled out a campaign for the GOP presidential nomination and will use the August recess of Congress to make up his mind. A major reason for the unexpectedly strong professions of support for Rep. Ron Paul's libertarian-conservative candidacy is that he is the only announced Republican presidential candidate opposed to the invasion of Iraq." Novak adds that Hagel "has received many offers of financial support should he run."
An ABC News/Washington Post poll of 402 likely Iowa caucus-goers taken from July 26-31 shows Mitt Romney on top of the GOP field with 26%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 14%, and Fred Thompson, 13%. John McCain and Mike Huckabee are tied at fourth with 8% apiece, while the remainder of the field is at 5% or less.
The Washington Post reports Romney's lead in the state "is built in large part on perceptions among Iowa voters that he has worked the state far harder than any of his rivals. Yet, despite the time, money and television advertising that Romney has showered on the state," Rudy Giuliani "is seen as similarly electable, as experienced and about as strong a leader" as Romney. And "compounding an already muddled picture is the fact that" Fred Thompson "is running about even with Giuliani, though he lags well behind other top candidates on many personal and political characteristics." ABC World News also discussed the poll once again, saying "the latest ABC News poll shows among caucus-goers, only 19% of the Republicans are actually satisfied with the field compared to 53% on the Democratic side." ABC is hosting an Iowa GOP presidential debate Sunday morning.
An American Research Group poll taken July 30-August 2 shows Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton leading their respective presidential primaries in California. Giuliani leads with 30%, followed by Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney at 18% apiece. Newt Gingrich and John McCain trail at 7% each. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads with 35%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama 22%, John Edwards 16%, and Sen. Joseph Biden and Gov. Bill Richardson at 5% each. ARG surveyed 600 likely primary voters from each party in the state.
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Jay Leno: "It seems a brain-injured man who had been in a coma for the last six years, is now awake, eating and speaking with his family. In fact, you know what you call a man who has been in a coma for the last six years? 'Mr. President.'"
Jay Leno: "And this has to be the stupidest story of the week. Hillary Clinton was chastised by the Washington press for showing too much cleavage in front of the Senate. Isn't that ridiculous? Shouldn't we be focusing on Iraq, not her rack?"
Conan O'Brien: "According to store owners in Iraq, Iraqi consumers are now developing a taste for American products like Pringles, Froot Loops, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. In a related story, Iraqis are also developing huge asses."
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