Where to begin?
How about with more reviews which seem to be overwhelmingly negative. Not only was Bush defensive, he was hesitant and nervous answering what were pretty obvious questions the W.H. staff had weeks and even -- in the case of certain abscences without leave -- 10 years to come up with coherent, if not plausible, answers.
Unfortunately for George, the bad reviews are not only coming from the left. Look at these blisters from the NRO.
Even Little Roy Cohn is becoming shrill.
And still more reviews, summarized by the Campaign Desk. What's most astonishing about this compendium of blogs all focused, laser-like, on the big story of yesterday -- the big story of the political season thus far -- Russert's interview with Bush, what does Kaus care about? Kerry's hair, or something. The guy's got a right to write what he wants, but sheesh. And Slate's editorial standards are lowered by his drivel.
As Campaign Desk puts it, the flood gates are opening up on Bush's proud service to the Texas Air National Guard.
More on the subject from Kevin Drum. Where in the world does he get this information, and why can't the mainstream press -- with the exception of the Boston Globe -- dig a little deeper into a story Bush himself has turned into an issue? As Atrios argues.
When I heard the economic report issued from the W.H. today, I thought it had to be the most preposterous thing I'd yet heard from the clowns managing our economy. That jobs number can't be even remotely possible, can it? Brad DeLong does the math.
There is a smelly tide lapping the banks of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It's the smell of rotting conservatives. In the WSJ, Jackie Calmes notes [sorry, subscription required] that "Bush Finds Party Faithful in an Ugly Mood."
For all the attention paid to partisanship in this town, the more interesting -- and consequential -- fights here in this election year will pit Republicans against Republicans.
A new level of tension is emerging between President Bush and the congressional Republicans he expects to deliver his election-year agenda. Among the sore points, Mr. Bush's initiative to give legal status to immigrant workers who are here illegally, a bid to attract Latino voters, instead has roiled the party's conservative faithful. Republicans have been put on the defensive over the President's policies on Iraq. And record deficits and spending suddenly have Republicans questioning his fiscal stewardship.
"Well, they're wrong," Mr. Bush said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, when asked about barbs from conservatives over his fiscal record. But the very fact that Mr. Bush needs to defend himself shows he faces political strains that were absent during the party's successful 2002 midterm elections.
But what's really amazing is the complete inability of both the Republican-controlled Executive and Legislative branches to control themselves in any way. This is one of my favorite bits:
"If people are hearing from their constituents what I'm hearing, then the stars have finally aligned," says Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. "Congress needs to exert some leadership. I'm not here to counsel the president, but it is time to protect the family budget from the federal budget."
Mr. Hensarling is one of about 70 members of the House's conservative Republican Study Committee, which has become emboldened in recent weeks to demand a freeze in domestic spending and vetoes of anything above that -- starting with a pending and overdue six-year highway construction bill. Similarly, a Bush adviser says that when administration officials were at a Senate Republicans' lunch in December, Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the Senate Republican Conference chairman and a darling of conservatives, said Mr. Bush had to start vetoing bills because Congress can't control spending [emphasis added].
What a testament to the complete abdication of responsibility Republicans in power now represent.
But some cuts are easy. Phil Carter draws a bead on the Pentagon's plans to cut funding to Stars & Stripes and to censor the extremely popular "Early Bird."
"Analysis: So, let's review the facts. We have a somewhat intentional effort by the Office of Secretary of Defense to reduce the amount of news going to soldiers in the field, partially on what lawyers might call 'content-based' criteria. The Early Bird constitutes the primary source of real-time news for military officers and higher-level commands around the the world. Next, we have fiscal pressure on Stars & Stripes, the primary news source for soldiers, officers, and their families stationed overseas. The net effect of both of these efforts is to reduce the amount of news being conveyed to our men and women in the military, at a time when we are asking them to go into harm's way. Maybe I'm overstating the case here, but I think that's a real problem when you have an all-volunteer force of citizens who you're asking to put their lives on the line."
Meanwhile, while our foreign policy is focused on trying to find "WMD-program-related-activities," or whatever, who is keeping an eye on the bigger picture? For instance, what is going on with our gentle Eurasion giant?
How about with more reviews which seem to be overwhelmingly negative. Not only was Bush defensive, he was hesitant and nervous answering what were pretty obvious questions the W.H. staff had weeks and even -- in the case of certain abscences without leave -- 10 years to come up with coherent, if not plausible, answers.
Unfortunately for George, the bad reviews are not only coming from the left. Look at these blisters from the NRO.
Even Little Roy Cohn is becoming shrill.
And still more reviews, summarized by the Campaign Desk. What's most astonishing about this compendium of blogs all focused, laser-like, on the big story of yesterday -- the big story of the political season thus far -- Russert's interview with Bush, what does Kaus care about? Kerry's hair, or something. The guy's got a right to write what he wants, but sheesh. And Slate's editorial standards are lowered by his drivel.
As Campaign Desk puts it, the flood gates are opening up on Bush's proud service to the Texas Air National Guard.
More on the subject from Kevin Drum. Where in the world does he get this information, and why can't the mainstream press -- with the exception of the Boston Globe -- dig a little deeper into a story Bush himself has turned into an issue? As Atrios argues.
When I heard the economic report issued from the W.H. today, I thought it had to be the most preposterous thing I'd yet heard from the clowns managing our economy. That jobs number can't be even remotely possible, can it? Brad DeLong does the math.
There is a smelly tide lapping the banks of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It's the smell of rotting conservatives. In the WSJ, Jackie Calmes notes [sorry, subscription required] that "Bush Finds Party Faithful in an Ugly Mood."
For all the attention paid to partisanship in this town, the more interesting -- and consequential -- fights here in this election year will pit Republicans against Republicans.
A new level of tension is emerging between President Bush and the congressional Republicans he expects to deliver his election-year agenda. Among the sore points, Mr. Bush's initiative to give legal status to immigrant workers who are here illegally, a bid to attract Latino voters, instead has roiled the party's conservative faithful. Republicans have been put on the defensive over the President's policies on Iraq. And record deficits and spending suddenly have Republicans questioning his fiscal stewardship.
"Well, they're wrong," Mr. Bush said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, when asked about barbs from conservatives over his fiscal record. But the very fact that Mr. Bush needs to defend himself shows he faces political strains that were absent during the party's successful 2002 midterm elections.
But what's really amazing is the complete inability of both the Republican-controlled Executive and Legislative branches to control themselves in any way. This is one of my favorite bits:
"If people are hearing from their constituents what I'm hearing, then the stars have finally aligned," says Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. "Congress needs to exert some leadership. I'm not here to counsel the president, but it is time to protect the family budget from the federal budget."
Mr. Hensarling is one of about 70 members of the House's conservative Republican Study Committee, which has become emboldened in recent weeks to demand a freeze in domestic spending and vetoes of anything above that -- starting with a pending and overdue six-year highway construction bill. Similarly, a Bush adviser says that when administration officials were at a Senate Republicans' lunch in December, Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the Senate Republican Conference chairman and a darling of conservatives, said Mr. Bush had to start vetoing bills because Congress can't control spending [emphasis added].
What a testament to the complete abdication of responsibility Republicans in power now represent.
But some cuts are easy. Phil Carter draws a bead on the Pentagon's plans to cut funding to Stars & Stripes and to censor the extremely popular "Early Bird."
"Analysis: So, let's review the facts. We have a somewhat intentional effort by the Office of Secretary of Defense to reduce the amount of news going to soldiers in the field, partially on what lawyers might call 'content-based' criteria. The Early Bird constitutes the primary source of real-time news for military officers and higher-level commands around the the world. Next, we have fiscal pressure on Stars & Stripes, the primary news source for soldiers, officers, and their families stationed overseas. The net effect of both of these efforts is to reduce the amount of news being conveyed to our men and women in the military, at a time when we are asking them to go into harm's way. Maybe I'm overstating the case here, but I think that's a real problem when you have an all-volunteer force of citizens who you're asking to put their lives on the line."
Meanwhile, while our foreign policy is focused on trying to find "WMD-program-related-activities," or whatever, who is keeping an eye on the bigger picture? For instance, what is going on with our gentle Eurasion giant?
posted by John at 8:09 PM
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