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« September 23, 2007 - September 29, 2007 | Talking Points Memo Home | October 7, 2007 - October 13, 2007 »

10.06.07 -- 9:21PM // link | recommend

Clink

Maureen Dowd reviews Arthur Schlesinger's journals. It sounded like an awful choice to me. But I was wrong.

--Josh Marshall

10.06.07 -- 9:16PM // link | recommend

Pace and the 'end of the Rumsfeld era'

It's tough to keep up on the rules dictating political debate right now -- is criticism of U.S. generals allowed? -- but Slate's Fred Kaplan has a good piece on Gen. Peter Pace's departure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Kaplan argues, persuasively, that Pace's involuntary exit marks the end of the "Rumsfeld era."

Pace was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the last two years. Gates decided not to renew the general's term, despite Pace's request for another. The public rationale was that Gates wanted to avoid "very contentious" confirmation hearings. There's clearly something to this. Not only was Pace the last senior official still associated with early decisions on the war (he was the JCS vice chairman at the time of the invasion), he also recently said in public that gays shouldn't be in the military because homosexual acts were "immoral."

But the larger import of Pace's forced retirement -- the message that many officers heard clearly, whatever Gates' intention -- is that the sorts of generals who behave as Pace did the past few years are no longer desired in the Pentagon's inner sanctum.

Pace was a decorated Marine who by all accounts fought valiantly in Vietnam and treated his troops well. But when he entered the Pentagon, he adapted all too eagerly to the ways of the "political general." By statute, the chairman of the JCS is supposed to offer independent military advice to the secretary of defense and the president. Yet Pace became, in essence, a suck-up. His underlings mocked him, behind his back, as "Perfect Pete." He was exactly the sort of chairman that Rumsfeld wanted -- and, apparently, Gates does not.

I guess the "Pace for President" effort may have a little trouble getting off the ground.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 7:52PM // link | recommend

Rep. Jo Ann Davis dies at age 57

After a long battle with breast cancer, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.) died this morning. She was 57.

Davis is survived by her husband, Chuck, two grown sons, and a granddaughter.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 6:09PM // link | recommend

A closer look at Bush's record on jobs

In response to the latest monthly employment report, the White House released a "fact sheet" yesterday bragging about the president's record on job creation. It led Paul Krugman to take a closer look at Bush's numbers as compared to his predecessor's.

Over the whole of the Clinton administration, the economy added 22.7 million jobs -- 237,000 per month.

Over the whole of the Bush administration to date, the economy added only 5.8 million jobs -- 72,000 per month.

But, the White House says, the first two years of Bush's presidency shouldn't count because there was a recession and 9/11 affected the economy. It's only fair, the president's supporters say, to start counting since August 2003, and forget about his first 32 months in office.

Fine, Krugman said. Bush's monthly average, using the cherry-picked timeline, still trails Clinton, 172,000 per month to 237,000 per month.

Krugman concludes, "Did I mention that the Clinton job boom followed an, um, increase in taxes?"

I'd only add that U.S. News recently asked Rudy Giuliani about this in an interview about economic policy. The magazine said, "The Democrats are going to say, 'We raised taxes in the '90s, cut the deficit, and the economy boomed.' Why not try and rerun the '90s instead of cutting taxes?"

Giuliani responded, "Because we have actually done more job creation by lowering taxes than by raising taxes."

Reality shows otherwise.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 4:25PM // link | recommend

U.S. urged caution on Syrian strike

The details are still sketchy, but we know that Israel decided to attack Syria on Sept. 6, hitting a suspected nuclear site that may have been launched with help from North Korea. ABC News reports today that the Bush administration knew about the plans, but argued against the Israeli airstrikes.

In early July the Israelis presented the United States with satellite imagery that they said showed a nuclear facility in Syria. They had additional evidence that they said showed that some of the technology was supplied by North Korea.

One U.S. official told ABC's Martha Raddatz the material was "jaw dropping" because it raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence had not previously picked up on the facility. Officials said that the facility had likely been there for months if not years. [...]

Initially, administration officials convinced the Israelis to call off the July strike. But in September the Israelis feared that news of the site was about to leak and went ahead with the strike despite U.S. concerns.

Apparently, Condoleezza Rice wanted Israel to "confront Syria before attacking," and according to the ABC report, there were some administration officials who were concerned about the "profound consequences" of "flawed intelligence."

Jeez, a White House launches one disastrous war under false pretenses and all of a sudden they're on pins and needles.

As for whether the Israelis actually hit a nuclear site in Syria, Kevin Drum considers the evidence and concludes "maybe there was some North Korean nuclear technology there after all."

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 3:27PM // link | recommend

O'Reilly compares WH press corps, cancer

Having watched the clip, via ThinkProgress, I suspect Bill O'Reilly was kidding, but am I the only one who finds his eliminationist rhetoric kind of creepy?

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 1:58PM // link | recommend

Bush’s empty rhetoric on S-CHIP

Under the headline, "Bush hints at spending more on children's health bill," I think the AP is misreading the president's weekly radio address a bit.

President Bush signaled a willingness Saturday to spend more than what he had recommended for a popular children's health program, but provided no specifics on how much higher he would go.

The president on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would increase spending for the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years. Bush has called for a $5 billion increase. Several Republicans in both chambers have sided with Democratic lawmakers on the issue.

"If putting poor children first takes a little more than the 20 percent increase I have proposed in my budget for SCHIP, I am willing to work with leaders in Congress to find the additional money," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

This may sound like renewed flexibility on the president's part, but it's not nearly that encouraging. Indeed, the day he vetoed the bill extending healthcare to low-income children, he told a friendly Pennsylvania audience, "I'm more than willing to work with members of both parties from both Houses, and if they need a little more money in the bill to help us meet the objective of getting help for poor children, I'm more than willing to sit down with the leaders and find a way to do so."

The emphasis there is on "a little more money." Bush is kinda sorta interested is striking a compromise, just so long as it's very close to his demands. What Bush may or may not understand, though, is that the current, bipartisan S-CHIP bill is already a compromise measure. It's exactly why it passed with such a strong majority, and why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ruled out compromising on the compromise earlier this week.

The AP report suggested Bush's comments this morning were a "hint" at conciliation. If only that were the case.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 1:02PM // link | recommend

Hannity's missing his pin

It would be my sincere preference that our political discourse not delve into who does and does not wear American-flag pins, with every presidential candidate's lapel suddenly drawing sharp scrutiny.

That said, if we are going to go in this direction, we might as well highlight hypocrisy when we see it.

Discussing an interview in which Sen. Barack Obama said he had stopped wearing a flag pin on his lapel during the lead-up to the Iraq war, Sean Hannity said on his radio show: "[W]hy do we wear pins? Because our country was under attack." He continued: "And to politicize once again the war to this extent. Well, who cares about the war? Are you proud of your country?" Yet while criticizing Obama for not wearing a flag pin, Hannity himself has not worn an American flag lapel pin on a number of recent occasions.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw lapel pins.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 11:59AM // link | recommend

Scandal rocks Oral Roberts University

It's been weeks since a prominent conservative institution has been rocked by scandal, so I suppose we were due for a story like this one.

Twenty years ago, televangelist Oral Roberts said he was reading a spy novel when God appeared to him and told him to raise $8 million for Roberts' university, or else he would be "called home."

Now, his son, Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, says God is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old Bible Belt college in scandal.

Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.

She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."

The university, which reported nearly $76 million in revenue as recently as 2005, is reeling, despite denials from the Roberts family, which insists the lawsuit filed by three former professors at the school is "about intimidation, blackmail and extortion."

There's no shortage of serious accusations, but clearly that "underage males" angle stands out. Apparently, Mrs. Roberts, a member of ORU's board of regents, "frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to 'underage males who had been provided phones at university expense.'"

Lambert has more, including the observation, "[A]uthoritarian systems are extremely vulnerable to fraud, because authoritarian followers aren't capable of providing checks and balances for their leaders."

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 11:08AM // link | recommend

Ron Paul puts his nuttiness in print

Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) presidential campaign had a pretty good week. Paul announced that he raised $5 million in the third quarter, which not only stunned the political world, it put him on par with GOP heavyweights like John McCain in the race for campaign funding. It's difficult to dismiss a guy as a "fringe" candidate on a "quixotic" quest when he's able to demonstrate this kind of support.

But it's incredibly easy to dismiss a guy as "nutty" when he writes bizarre, hand-written letters about a U.N.-takeover of the world.

Brendan Nyhan received a fundraising letter from Paul, in which the candidate insisted that American sovereignty is hanging by a thread.

I don't need to tell you that our American way of life is under attack. We see it all around us -- every day -- and it is up to us to save it.

The world's elites are busy forming a North American Union. If they are successful, as they were in forming the European Union, the good 'ol USA will only be a memory. We can't let that happen.

The UN also wants to confiscate our firearms and impose a global tax. The UN elites want to control the world's oceans with the Law of the Sea Treaty. And they want to use our military to police the world.

Keep in mind, all of this was written long-hand. I know fundraising operations have grown sophisticated, and professionals can make it appear as if a letter is hand-written when it's really just a clever font, but this (.pdf) certainly looks like it came from Ron Paul's pen. What's more, it is, as Kevin put it, "Unabomber-esque."

Listening to the debates, Paul often comes across as the most sensible guy on the stage, especially when it comes to Iraq and the Patriot Act. And then we're reminded, in print, that when it comes to a paranoid vision of the world, Paul really is out there on the political periphery.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 10:05AM // link | recommend

A shameful way to 'support the troops'

The 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently ended a 22-month tour of duty in Iraq, the longest deployment of any ground-combat unit in the Armed Forces. Many of its members returned home, looking forward to using education benefits under the GI bill.

For example, John Hobot, a platoon leader, said, "I would assume, and I would hope, that when I get back from a deployment of 22 months, my senior leadership in Washington, the leadership that extended us in the first place, would take care of us once we got home."

It's not working that way. The Guard troops have been told that in order to be eligible for the education benefits they expect, they had to serve 730 days in Iraq. They served 729.

Nearly half the members of one of the longest serving U.S. military units in Iraq are not eligible for a more generous military educational benefit, with some falling one day short of eligibility. [...]

All 2,600 of the soldiers, who returned this year from Iraq, are eligible for money for school under the GI Bill. But nearly half discovered they weren't eligible for a more generous package of benefits available to other soldiers.

Minnesota's congressional delegation is apoplectic, and the Army has vowed to look into the matter, but the troops are understandably suspicious that they were deliberately brought home after 729 days so the Pentagon could deny them GI Bill benefits.

Keep an eye on this one.

--Steve Benen

10.06.07 -- 9:17AM // link | recommend

Censure and move on

Senate Republicans can't force Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to resign, they don't have the votes to expel him, and an embarrassing ethics investigation may prove more embarrassing to the caucus than the senator.

What's left? Apparently, a censure.

Sen. Larry Craig is likely to be censured by the Senate - but not expelled - for pleading guilty after soliciting sex from a male cop, a top Republican said yesterday.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a presidential candidate and religious conservative, said his colleague from Idaho faces a rebuke by the Ethics Committee.

"Whether ... he'll be expelled or not for that crime, I think there's a good chance of censureship [sic]. But expulsion seems to me probably unlikely," Brownback told Bloomberg TV. [...]

Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana may also face censure because he admitted hiring prostitutes, Brownback said.

As far as I can tell, that last part, about censuring Vitter, is new. The GOP has struggled for weeks to explain why Craig's conduct is, in Mitch McConnell's word, "unforgivable," while Vitter's sex scandals are trivial and inconsequential. If the party is willing to censure both, that would be a pleasant surprise.

--Steve Benen

10.05.07 -- 9:51PM // link | recommend

GOP Grand Unified Bamboozlement Theory

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA): "We have right now a real danger of people that are illegally in the country being rounded up, herded into the polls, we've seen that in California, voting illegally. That disenfranchises everybody in that community."

--Josh Marshall

10.05.07 -- 7:35PM // link | recommend

New Pol Enters GOP Stall of Fame

Another Republican decides to step aside from the hurly-burly of politics as public restroom incidents hit the papers.

Joey DiFatta, St. Bernard Parish Councilman and until-today candidate for state senate, had a novel approach to getting ahead of the story. Hours before the revelations appeared in the Times-Picayune, he called local reporters to announce that he would withdraw from the senate contest because he had "been having chest pains for a few weeks and ... might have had a minor heart attack in the past few days."

One incident in 1996 involved watching "a man use the bathroom while peering throguh a hole in a bathroom stall." The man subsequently detained the sizable DiFatta until police arrived. In 2000, an effort at a foreshadowing homage to the work of Sen. Craig was misinterpreted as an effort to engage in public bathroom sex ...

Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover detail in a men's bathroom at Dillard's at Lakeside Shopping Center in March 2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies involved in the investigation.

The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy's stall and tapped the deputy's foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex.

The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub the deputy's leg, the report states.

The detective asked DiFatta, "What do you want?" according to the report, and he replied, "I want to play with you."

DiFatta also used a hand signal to indicate that he wanted to engage in sex and used language that indicated the same, according to the report. Conley, who is now the Kenner city attorney, confirmed the report's authenticity Thursday.

Only days ago, DiFatta was hawking the DiFatta plan to "defend our conservative values from attacks by extreme liberal groups."

He now joins Idaho's Larry Craig and Florida's Bob Allen in the GOP Stall of Fame.

--Josh Marshall

10.05.07 -- 6:24PM // link | recommend

Daniel Levy at TPMCafe

The noted Israeli activist, scholar and former government official finally weighs in on Mearsheimer's and Walt's The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy:

[W]hile I certainly take issue with the specific recent policy examples in the book (Iraq and Syria in particular), I would argue that the relationship between the US, Israel and the lobby that speaks in its name needs to change for everyone’s sake, that this book contributes to a re-think and that the authors are not driven by prejudice.

Worth your time.

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 6:21PM // link | recommend

A Bad Week for Rudy

I'm not sure this has gotten the attention it deserves. The leading Republican presidential candidate in most national polls is facing what amounts to an open revolt from his party's religious conservative base (or perhaps more precisely from a wing of the party which makes up a significant portion of its base).

As we noted yesterday, Rudy Giuliani's pro-choice leanings have some leading religious conservatives publicly declaring their intention to abandon a pro-choice GOP nominee for a third party pro-life candidate.

This afternoon Richard Viguerie, the conservative direct mail guru and longtime leading light of the movement, launched a petition drive to get GOP voters to declare to the national Republican leadership that "they will not support or vote for any Republican candidates who are pro-abortion."

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 5:38PM // link | recommend

WaPo: Rampant wrongdoing and politicization at DOJ should not prevent Democrats from trusting DOJ officials in all matters large and small.

--Josh Marshall

10.05.07 -- 5:18PM // link | recommend

Catch-22

The nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the FEC has put Senate Democrats in a box: either confirm the GOP voter suppression specialist or enter the 2008 elections with a crippled FEC.

Paul Kiel looks at the options and the consequences.

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 4:27PM // link | recommend

Depends on What the Meaning of Torture Is

White House spokesperson Dana Perino dances around the torture question for a second day, as the White House press corps all but rolls its eyes:

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 2:30PM // link | recommend

More Fox News poll shenanigans. Who prays more for the President? Who prays more for the troops?

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 2:05PM // link | recommend

Thought of the Day

Verbal gymnastics are more offensive when they're about oral sex than they are when they're about state-sanctioned torture.

--Josh Marshall

10.05.07 -- 1:05PM // link | recommend

Progressives Push Back

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cancels an afternoon news conference to debut the new FISA bill as progressives in the House put up resistance.

Greg Sargent has the details.

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 12:16PM // link | recommend

Blast from the Past

Remember the New Hampshire phone-jamming case? Well, the House Judiciary Committee is now investigating how the Justice Department handled the case.

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 12:04PM // link | recommend

Problem of armed American contractors run amok in Iraq to be solved by implementing "management feedback loop."

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 10:50AM // link | recommend

Bush: We Don't Torture

But he still won't say what we do actually do:

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 10:33AM // link | recommend

The Bush Legacy

Seems as if everyone, even outside of the liberal blogosphere, is starting to realize that Bush's plan is just to leave the messes he has created to his successor, which is accompanied by the growing sense of how badly he has failed across a broad spectrum of issues.

"It's hard to find something he has done that really has improved the situation a great deal," Stephen J. Wayne, a Georgetown University presidential scholar, tells the AP.

Or as former Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd puts it: "We're in a worse place than we were in 1999."

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 10:02AM // link | recommend

Who Succeeds St. Pete?

Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) and Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) appear to take their names out of the running for Pete Domenici's seat.

Meanwhile, someone please explain to CNN that the Dems already control the Senate.

Late Update: TPM Reader JM chides: "Given their performance over the past nine months, are you really sure about this?"

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 9:49AM // link | recommend

Senate GOP Dying Slow Death Over Craig

From the AP:

"Senator Craig gave us his word" that he would resign by Sept. 30 if he could not overturn the guilty plea, said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who chairs the GOP campaign committee overseeing next year's Senate elections. "I wish he would stick to his word."

"It's embarrassing for the Senate, it's embarrassing for his party," Ensign said. Asked if Craig's staying would be a distraction for the party, Ensign said: "It may be a personal distraction for me."

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who faces a tough re-election campaign next year in a state where opposition to the Iraq war is strong, spoke with reporters Thursday before Craig announced his plans to stay and fight.

"I would hope that he would live up to what he said he would do _ not put the Senate through the wringer on this, respect the institution," Coleman said. "Clearly, his ability to serve his people was severely compromised."

--David Kurtz

10.05.07 -- 9:34AM // link | recommend

Today's Must Read

U.S. military official, on the Blackwater shooting in Nisour Square: "It was obviously excessive, it was obviously wrong."

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 10:41PM // link | recommend

Godzilla vs. Mothra

High profile military contractors Blackwater and DynCorp duke it out over which companies' employees arranged the jail break of the most senior Iraqi government official convicted of corruption since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The crook in question, Ayham al-Samarrai, the former Iraqi electricity minister, now apparently lives in Chicago. So maybe they can ask him.

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 8:38PM // link | recommend

Did We Mention: Our 100th Episode!

Walk down memory lane with us, finding out about our new feature episodes and get your questions in for our TPMtv interview with Paul Krugman ...

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 5:19PM // link | recommend

White House's Torture(d) Explanation

Earlier, we flagged today's press gaggle as a model of obfuscation. The televised briefing, also by Dana Perino, was similarly opaque:

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 5:17PM // link | recommend

The Genius of Larry Craig, Senator

You've heard the news. Sen. Larry Craig isn't resigning after all. He'll keep plugging away in the Senate until January 2009.

For the moment at least he says he's not going to run for reelection. (I put the odds of his getting into the presidential at about three-to-one.) But really, it's pretty obvious why he's chosen not to seek another term in the senate. If he's in the senate how can he found Craig & Associates LLC, Specialists in Crisis Communications.

Let's face it, Larry Craig is demonstrably the shrewdest and most deft master of crisis communications in American history, quite possibly since the early days of the Roman Republic.

Let's review, news breaks that Craig, a social conservative and strong opponent of gay rights, got nabbed for propositioning a man for sex in a public restroom -- a misdemeanor to which he later pleaded guilty. That's just a bad news day.

So Craig's fellow Republicans basically do everything short of physically forcing him to resign. He "resigns". Only it's not a resignation. Rather, it's a rather ingenious ploy to let the temperature ease off on the story, a post-dated resignation. Then it's not a resignation. He's going to fight the guilty plea -- something of a novelty in the annals of jurisprudence. He'll stay in office if he can get his plea withdrawn. And now he can't get his guilty plea withdrawn so, well, too bad. He's staying anyway.

I don't know whether it was all intentional. But it was ingenious. Who could have thought he would survive this?

Late Update: TPM Reader DH thinks Craig's a shrewd betting man too ...

The genius of Craig’s move today is in calling the Republicans’ bluff on Ethics Committee hearings: Does the Republican leadership really want televised hearings on gay sex in public, involving one of their own, as the AP is reporting is “virtually certain”? Didn’t think so. Who’s taking odds that those hearings are cancelled somehow, some way?

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 4:05PM // link | recommend

I'm Here, I'm Not Queer, Get Used to It!

Breaking: Larry Craig to remain in Senate.

Well, so much for resigning. Craig has decided to serve out the remainder of his term, which runs until January 2009.

But here's the question: Will he attend the 2008 GOP Convention in Minneapolis?

Inquiring minds want to know.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 3:23PM // link | recommend

GOP Mocks Humor Gods One Too Many Times

GOP releases their 2008 Convention Logo .... elephant bending over in Minneapolis. Nope. Not kidding. It's really their logo ...

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 3:00PM // link | recommend

Very Fishy, Too Fishy

Yesterday we noted the AP story that said that US military personnel had confiscated videotape that an AP reporter had taken at the scene of the bombing in which the Polish Ambassador was injured. Allegedly they were enforcing an Iraqi law banning coverage of the aftermath of such events.

That seemed pretty odd. How does the US military get involved enforcing an Iraqi law banning press coverage?

TPMmuckraker's Spencer Ackerman got on the case. And after first being told by US military representatives that they didn't know anything about such a confiscation, he eventually learned that not only had the videotape been confiscated but that the reporter had also been temporarily taken into custody. There's still no explanation of why US forces are enforcing this law. And they still appear to be refusing to give the tape back. Here's our report. And we're continuing to look for more answers.

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 1:45PM // link | recommend

TPMtv Logs 100th Episode!!!

Yes, I know, an amazing feat. In today's episode we review some of where we've been, tell you about some exciting new features and episodes we're doing (interview with Paul Krugman next week! Get your questions in today!) and tell you how you can sign up to get TPMtv on iTunes, Tivo and if you're nice, even that dental work that helps you pick up those secret messages from outer space ...

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 1:44PM // link | recommend

HUD Secy Tries to Get on the Crooked Bushie Bandwagon

Feds investigating Alphonso Jackson, shady HUD Secretary who bragged about politicizing contracting.

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 1:40PM // link | recommend

Hat in the Ring

Rep. Wilson (R), arch-Social Security bamboozler, jumps into NM senate race.

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 1:38PM // link | recommend

Damned By Faint Praise

Log Cabin Republicans are opposed to Mitt Romney so they're running an ad praising him. We have the ad. Don't you love GOP primary politics?

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 1:18PM // link | recommend

We Like Voting Rights

Kudos to Obama for stepping in to block the odious nomination of voting rights opponent Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. Republicans do this sort of thing pretty often; Democrats seldom.

--Josh Marshall

10.04.07 -- 12:43PM // link | recommend

More Bad News For Rudy

I mentioned below how bad the news is for Rudy Giuliani that some key figures in the conservative "pro-family" movement have declared their intention to back a third party pro-life candidate over any pro-choice GOP nominee.

But take a look at this Rasmussen polling that our Eric Kleefeld has highlighted. In a hypothetical three-way race with Hillary Clinton and a pro-life third party candidate, 27% of Republicans would vote for the third party candidate. Overall, in that hypothetical match-up, Hillary polls at 46%, Rudy at 30%, and unknown third party candidate at 14%.

Those numbers don't bode well for Fred Thompson either.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 12:29PM // link | recommend

Chris Dodd picks up endorsement of Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 12:11PM // link | recommend

Rep. John Mica (R-FL): Let's not take our eye off the ball, Maliki government corruption may be bad but look at Bill Clinton!

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 11:55AM // link | recommend

House Dems to DOJ: Hand over the secret torture memos.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 11:50AM // link | recommend

Torture By Any Other Word

If you haven't read the NYT report today on the collusion of the Alberto Gonzales Justice Department with the White House and Office of Vice President to legally sanction torture even after the famous Bybee torture memo had been withdrawn, then please take a look. We'll have more to say on this, but for now, check out the White House response to the NYT piece at this morning's press gaggle, where Dana Perino bobs, dodges, and weaves.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 11:27AM // link | recommend

Meanwhile, Back in Alabama

I've always had a hard time getting my hands around the idea that the whole case against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was a political hatchet job. Not that there's nothing fishy there, but as a rule, the more moving parts to an alleged conspiracy, the more skeptical I am. In the Siegelman case, there are those who argue that the White House, Justice Department, field prosecutors, and trial judge were all in cahoots with the Alabama GOP establishment. That's a lot of moving parts. But that doesn't make it untrue, and today's report in Time that all of the Republicans initially fingered in the probe were never investigated--well, there's an exception to every rule.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 10:49AM // link | recommend

White Men

So which is it? Do Democrats ignore white male voters at their own electoral peril, or should they finally give up trying to close that gender gap?

Thoughts?

Late Update: Bowers and Singer each tee off on the notion that Dems must woo white men.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 10:29AM // link | recommend

Bad News for Rudy

Leading social conservatives decide to back a third party pro-life candidate over any pro-choice GOP nominee.

--David Kurtz

10.04.07 -- 9:25AM // link | recommend

Today's Must Read

The State Department relents and agrees the FBI team in Iraq investigating Blackwater should not be guarded by Blackwater. That and more in Spencer Ackerman's wrap-up of all things Blackwater.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 10:15PM // link | recommend

Charnel House

It seems, from an article in tomorrow's Times, that there's still much we are yet to learn about how far the Gonzales Justice Department took us into the darkness of state-sponsored torture and lawlessness. Not just the euphemism-laced quasi-torture we've already been numbed to. But everything. From Cheney's lips to Gonzales' pen, you might say. From the Times ...

A lengthy excerpt is merited (the full article runs several pages) ...

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Mr. Gonzales approved the legal memorandum on “combined effects” over the objections of James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, who was leaving his job after bruising clashes with the White House. Disagreeing with what he viewed as the opinion’s overreaching legal reasoning, Mr. Comey told colleagues at the department that they would all be “ashamed” when the world eventually learned of it.

Later that year, as Congress moved toward outlawing “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment, the Justice Department issued another secret opinion, one most lawmakers did not know existed, current and former officials said. The Justice Department document declared that none of the C.I.A. interrogation methods violated that standard.

'Shame' hardly does it justice. But it is a start. How does the country, the state, cleanse itself of the pollution of Cheneyism?

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 10:09PM // link | recommend

Nyquil

From the NYT (via Kos) ...

Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to “give my thoughts about some things.”

Then he stood face to a face with a silent audience.

“Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter.

“Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.

Really never a good sign when you have to do a shout out for your own round of applause. And this guy's neck and neck for the lead.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 9:10PM // link | recommend

No Kidding

A new ABC-WaPo poll out tonight shows that by strong margins Americans believe Bill Clinton is an asset to Sen. Clinton's presidential candidacy and they give high ratings to his eight years in office.

To which I would say, no kidding.

As many luminaries of the liberal blogosphere have noted many times, the pundit class, official Washington, whatever, has never managed to get its collective head around the fact that Bill Clinton was a very popular president, certainly from late 1995 on. And he also didn't wreck the country, like the current guy, which is saying something. So why shouldn't people give his tenure high ratings? As big of a fan as I was of Bill Clinton's presidency (and I was a really big one), it's stunning to me how different a world it is from the 1990s. It seems like a different era. So many of our key problems today hardly existed. Or at least we didn't recognize them. But why shouldn't people think of him as an asset? Look at who we have now.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 5:47PM // link | recommend

William Hartung: The new North Korea deal doesn't even get us back to where things were before the Administration abandoned the Agreed Framework.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 5:30PM // link | recommend

Question

How much did Sen. Domenici's (R-NM) dirty hands in the firing of US Atty David Iglesias have to do with today's retirement announcement?

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 5:13PM // link | recommend

Linda Hirshman joins the TPMCafe Coffee House, and kicks things off with the first of a three part series on liberal principles:

In the next six months, yet more liberal journalists are going to avow their liberal consciences and show how history is on their side. As others have said, neither tactics nor avowals are likely to revive political movements. Only philosophy – principles about what it means to be human and how people should live together – can ultimately do that.

Take a look.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 4:56PM // link | recommend

Breaking: Domenici to retire.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 4:32PM // link | recommend

McCain on Mormons: Don't know if they're Christians.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 4:27PM // link | recommend

More Answers Please

You see the post below about US military authorities in Iraq confiscating news footage that the AP took at today's bombing in Baghdad. According to a US military spokesman, they were enforcing a new Iraqi law banning photographs or news footage of terrorist attacks.

My question is, How did the US military get in the position of enforcing that law?

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 3:41PM // link | recommend

Catholic Archbishop says no communion for Giuliani.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 3:38PM // link | recommend

What's This About?

Following the car bomb attack today in Baghdad on the Polish ambassador:

U.S. authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told the AP the government of Iraq had made it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 1:59PM // link | recommend

Thompson: We could barely win wars without Rush.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 1:39PM // link | recommend

Help Wanted

From: Blackwater Employment
Date: Jul 10, 2007 4:24 PM
Subject: Blackwater Security Positions Available for people with experience
To: xxxx

Dear Friend,

In order to staff a current contract, Blackwater Worldwide is offering a $1,000.00 referral fee for a limited time.

Payable to any member of the Blackwater Tactical Community who refers a qualified candidate who successfully deploys for us to an area of Blackwater operation. Referrals are paid only when the candidate reports for the duty assignment in the area of operations.

In the event of a referral dispute, Blackwater Worldwide reserves the right at its sole discretion to determine the referral fee recipient.

SECURITY POSITIONS

Qualifications

Note -These are hard requirements! Please do not apply if you do not not meet these basic requirements.

· 8 years of Military service with qualifications in one of the following: US Navy SEALS, Army Special Forces or Rangers, Marine Force Recon, Air Force PJ or CCT

· Must have or be eligible for US Government Secret Clearance. Must be a US Citizen!

· Must have a minimum of one year experience in Iraq or Afghanistan

· Must be proficient in small arms and be in excellent physical condition

If you or someone you know is interested, please send resumes to D.Carter at XXXXXX@blackwaterusa.com. We appreciate your time and consideration.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 1:34PM // link | recommend

Obey Iraq withdrawal proposals roil House leadership.

Greg Sargent has the details.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 1:05PM // link | recommend

Behold! Complete RSS Feeds

For a long time -- years -- many of you have asked: Why don't you have full RSS feeds for the TPM sites? Having just the first few sentences really blows!

Well, since our operations are run almost exclusively by ad revenues. We just weren't able to do that. Until now. We now have full feeds for TPM, TPMmuckraker, TPM Election Central, TPMCafe, and TPM Horse's Mouth.

You can find them all here.

--Josh Marshall

10.03.07 -- 1:05PM // link | recommend

More on the International Peace Operations Association and its founder, Doug Brooks, Blackwater's man in Washington.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 12:32PM // link | recommend

Sound and Fury, Signifying What?

Sen. Patrick Leahy appears ready to cave on his White House document demands.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 11:55AM // link | recommend

M.J. Rosenberg: Hillary's position on Jerusalem directly contradicts Bill's.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 10:44AM // link | recommend

Today's Must Read

Shoot first, ask questions later: The actual rates of private security contractor violence in Iraq are underreported.

--David Kurtz

10.03.07 -- 8:55AM // link | recommend

TPMtv: Is Pakistan the Central Front in the War on Terror?

How are things going in Afghanistan? Have we botched things so badly that the Taliban are about to take over again? And since al Qaeda, the Taliban and nuclear weapons are all in Pakistan, what happens if Pervez Musharraf falls from power? We asked each of those questions to renowned Afghanistan expert Dr. Barnett Rubin in today's episode of TPMtv ...

--Josh Marshall

10.02.07 -- 7:45PM // link | recommend

In today's White House press briefing, Dana Perino described all that went on during the hour-long Oval Office meeting today between President Bush and Iraqi President Talabani. Apparently, not too much...

--Ben Craw

10.02.07 -- 7:19PM // link | recommend

How Bad Was It?

Mil contracting expert Peter Singer blogs about today's hearing at Wired.com's DangerRoom blog.

--Josh Marshall