Monday, March 19, 2007
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... Just after the war began four years ago, 72% of Americans said they favored the war; today only 32% do. More poll results here (pdf). Full interview transcript here (pdf). "[I]ntense political pressure surrounding the U.S. attorneys scandal - in which Rove has become a prominent player - could overwhelm the administration's opposition." (Roll Call) What was said in their five-minute phone call yesterday? Find out in Hot Topics below! President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) DEMS WANT TO MAXIMIZE POLITICAL GAIN, EMBARASSMENT ON FIRED ATTORNEYS: Congressional Democrats are planning a new, two-track strategy for maximizing the political windfall -- and the disclosure of potentially embarrassing information -- from the Bush administration's firings of eight federal prosecutors, according to top party officials. House and Senate Democrats plan to delve deep into the details of the corruption cases that might have been disrupted by the high-level purge, the officials said. At the same time, top Democrats will escalate the fight for testimony from top White House officials, including Karl Rove. The Politico: Dems Seek Maximum Political Gain in Attorneys Uproar LEAHY WANTS PUBLIC TESTIMONY FROM ROVE: The Democratic senator leading the inquiry into the dismissal of federal prosecutors insisted Sunday that Karl Rove and other top aides to President Bush must testify publicly and under oath, setting up a confrontation between Congress and the White House, which has said it is unlikely to agree to such a demand. Some Republicans have suggested that Mr. Rove testify privately, if only to tamp down the political uproar over the inquiry, which centers on whether the White House allowed politics to interfere with law enforcement. But Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, seemed to rule out such a move on Sunday. He said his committee would vote Thursday on whether to issue subpoenas for Mr. Rove as well as Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, and William K. Kelley, the deputy White House counsel. New York Times: Senator Insists Bush Aides Testify Publicly HILL APPEARANCE FOR ROVE WOULD BE "EXTRAORDINARY" SPECTACLE: The Senate Judiciary Committee's effort to land presidential adviser Karl Rove as a witness runs headlong into the Bush White House's well-established reluctance to subject high-level staffers or internal documents to Congressional scrutiny. But intense political pressure surrounding the U.S. attorneys scandal - in which Rove has become a prominent player - could overwhelm the administration's opposition. Charles Cooper, a former assistant attorney general under former President Ronald Reagan, said it would be "extraordinary" if Rove were permitted to come to Capitol Hill. "I don't think it's going to happen because I think the president is going to react very negatively," Cooper said. The president has a "very serious attitude towards... protecting the prerogatives and dignity of his office." Roll Call: Rove as Hill Witness Would Be SRO Event SAN DIEGO'S LAM "EMERGING AS THE MOST TROUBLING" DISMISSAL, SAY DEMS: Senate Democrats signaled Sunday that of the eight federal prosecutors abruptly ousted by the Bush administration, the case in San Diego is emerging as the most troubling because of new allegations that U.S. Atty. Carol C. Lam was fired in an attempt to shut down investigations into Republican politicians in Southern California. Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) revealed evidence that Lam had notified Washington about search warrants in a Republican corruption case last year. Soon thereafter, a top Justice Department official in Washington wrote to the White House about a "real problem we have right now with Carol Lam." "As the evidence comes in, as we look at the e-mails, there were clearly U.S. attorneys that were thorns in the side for one reason or another of the Justice Department," said Feinstein, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And they decided, by strategy, in one fell swoop to get rid of them." Los Angeles Times: Democrats turn up heat on firing of U.S. attorney IGLESIAS "HAD BEEN HERALDED" BY DOJ FOR WORK ON VOTER FRAUD: One of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration after Republican complaints that he neglected to prosecute voter fraud had been heralded for his expertise in that area by the Justice Department, which twice selected him to train other federal prosecutors to pursue election crimes. David C. Iglesias, who was dismissed as U.S. attorney for New Mexico in December, was one of two chief federal prosecutors invited to teach at a "voting integrity symposium" in October 2005. The symposium was sponsored by Justice's public integrity and civil rights sections and was attended by more than 100 prosecutors from around the country, according to an account by Iglesias that a department spokesman confirmed. Washington Post: Justice Dept. Recognized Prosecutor's Work on Election Fraud Before His Firing BUREAU OFFICIAL RAISED ALARMS OVER SECURITY LETTERS TWO YEARS AGO: Almost two years before the Federal Bureau of Investigation publicly admitted this month that it had ignored its own rules when demanding telephone and financial records about private citizens, a top official in that program warned the bureau about widespread lapses, his lawyer said on Sunday. The official, Bassem Youssef, who is in charge of the bureau's Communications Analysis Unit, said he discovered frequent legal lapses and raised concerns with superiors soon after he was assigned to the unit in early 2005. New York Times: Official Alerted F.B.I. to Rules Abuse 2 Years Ago, Lawyer Says TROOP SURGE "PROCEEDING AS PLANNED": Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has won high praise from Democrats for his frankness in discussing Iraq and other issues, says President Bush's Iraq troop surge is still in its early stages, but is proceeding as planned, with Iraqis meeting their share of the commitment. "I think that the way I would characterize it is 'so far, so good,' " Mr. Gates said yesterday during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's very early... But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments that they have made to us, that they have made the appointments, the troops that they have promised are showing up." Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley described the various Iraq resolutions being considered by Democrats in Congress as mandating defeat. Washington Times: Surge is 'so far, so good' GATES DECLINES TO COMMENT ON PACE APOLOGY CALLS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates declined to say Sunday whether the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should apologize for his remark that homosexual acts were immoral or whether it was a slur on gay members of the armed forces. Marine Gen. Peter Pace made the remark last Monday in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. The next day, following criticism from several lawmakers and gay-rights groups, Pace said that he regretted having stated a personal opinion but did not apologize. "I think General Pace has made pretty clear that he wished he had avoided his personal opinion," Gates said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. The secretary said he did not plan to ask Pace to do anything more in regard to the remark. AP via Yahoo! News: Gates sidesteps question on Pace apology DEMS' PLAN TO PULL TROOPS A "CHARADE," SAYS HADLEY: White House leaders warn that House Democrats' plan to pull troops from Iraq is unlikely to become law and sure to threaten national security if it did. Despite those bleak warnings, the House seems ready to approve its bill this week. That means a standoff over war funding is looming, just as the battle to secure Baghdad intensifies and the war enters its fifth year. President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday that House Democrats will assure failure in Iraq and waste the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers with their legislation to remove troops. The House's war spending bill includes a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008. Lawmakers know the president will veto the measure, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said, making the exercise a "charade." AP via Yahoo! News: Standoff over Iraq war funding looming IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN STRAIN ARMY READINESS FOR OTHER CONFLICTS: Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and growing demand for U.S. troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United States short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledge. More troubling, the officials say, is that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have called a "death spiral," in which the ever more rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand. Washington Post: Military Is Ill-Prepared For Other Conflicts BUSH HAS "DELEGATED TO THE POINT OF DETACHMENT": President George W. Bush's insular management system, which values loyalty and old Texas ties while discouraging dissent, may be at the root of the political misfortunes undermining his presidency. Bush -- once hailed as an "MBA president" skilled in the art of delegating -- has delegated to the point of detachment, some political scientists and presidential management experts say. His isolation and reliance on unquestioning loyalists have contributed to the image of a president who's out of the loop on vital decisions. "The problem isn't the staff," said Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based policy research organization. "It lies with the president." Bloomberg: Bush's Hands-Off Management Style Contributes to Political Woes GORE WILL TESTIFY ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Democrats, environmental activists and presidential hopefuls are angling to share the spotlight with former Vice President Al Gore this week as he comes to Capitol Hill to testify on global warming. Mr. Gore, who has made a personal crusade out of climate change, will appear Wednesday before House and Senate panels to urge Congress to attempt to halt climate change, and he expects to bring a mailbag filled with the nearly 300,000 postcards he has collected since Christmas. "You and I know that political will is a renewable resource, and enough already exists to start solving this crisis," Mr. Gore, a Democrat, told supporters Friday in an e-mail, noting he's collected 294,000 cards and is aiming for at least 50,000 more. "We just have to communicate that forcefully to the political leaders of our country." The testimony caps a lengthy stint of popularity for Mr. Gore, with headlines and buzz unmatched by any politician. Washington Times: Gore set to change climate on Hill OVERSIGHT IN "OVERDRIVE": One day last week, the entire Federal Communications Commission was summoned for the first time in three years before a House committee, where its members were grilled for five hours and told to expect to be "frequent guests." On another day, Congress authorized subpoenas for Justice Department officials in its escalating investigation into the murky reasons offered by the Bush administration for its decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys. And on yet another day, former covert CIA operative Valerie Plame was the star witness at a hearing where she accused White House officials of "recklessly" blowing her cover and destroying her career. Less than three months since they took control of Capitol Hill, Democrats in both chambers have cranked the powerful congressional oversight machinery into overdrive. Los Angeles Times: Democrats in Congress kick oversight into overdrive KENNEDY VS. KENNEDY ON MENTAL HEALTH PARITY: It's Kennedy versus Kennedy as two members of Congress from the same family face off over competing versions of legislation that would require many health insurance companies and employers to provide more generous benefits to people with mental illness. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island and chief sponsor of the House bill, has criticized as inadequate the Senate bill introduced by his father, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. Representative Kennedy is trying to mobilize mental health advocates to lobby for what he describes as "the stronger of the two bills, the House bill." Both bills seek to end discrimination against people with mental disorders by requiring insurers and employers to provide equivalent coverage, or parity, for mental and physical illnesses. New York Times: Proposals for Mental Health Parity Pit a Father's Pragmatism Against a Son's Passion SCOTUS TO HEAR "BONG HITS 4 JESUS" CASE: A goofy sign on Glacier Avenue sparked a debate that many are calling the most important fight over student free speech since the Vietnam War. The questions: Did former Juneau-Douglas High School student Joseph Frederick have the right to hold up a banner declaring "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" while off school grounds? Did former principal Deborah Morse infringe his First Amendment rights by suspending him? The story began Jan. 24, 2002, while the Olympic Torch Relay toured the snowy streets of the state capital through streets lined with onlookers. Frederick, standing with friends across the street from the school, held up his banner as television cameras rolled nearby. Morse confiscated the banner, had a talk with Frederick and eventually levied a 10-day suspension from school. Frederick sued, and the case began moving up through the court system. Now it has gone as high as it can go. Juneau Empire: High court takes on 'Bong Hits' "OLDER THAN DIRT... BUT I LEARNED A FEW THINGS ALONG THE WAY": John McCain, 70 and scarred, cannot deny his age. So he jokes about it. "I'm older than dirt, more scars than Frankenstein, but I learned a few things along the way," quips the Republican presidential candidate, who tries to play down the ravages of time for the wisdom acquired over seven decades. His body is battered from torture in Vietnam. The scar along his left cheek is a reminder of a different battle, with skin cancer. Yet, McCain packs his work days so tight that aides grouse. And the man who could be the oldest first-term president hiked the Grand Canyon from "rim to rim" last summer. Despite McCain's high-energy lifestyle, getting older begets questions about health. The four-term Arizona senator no doubt will have to prove to voters that he is physically and mentally up to the demanding job of president. AP via Yahoo! News: McCain jokes to play down age as issue HILLARY KNOCKS BUSH'S "SHOPPING" COMMENT: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night used a celeb-studded Midtown fund-raiser to blast President Bush for telling New Yorkers to "go shopping" after 9/11. Clinton, introduced at the event by ex-prez hubby Bill, said Bush should have played a bigger role as the nation - and New York, in particular - struggled to heal. "What were we asked to do? Go shopping," she said. "I think America is ready to be asked to do something besides 'go shopping.' "We are still waiting to be asked to play a part." At a news conference a day after the terrorist attacks, Bush declared, "We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don't conduct business, where people don't shop." New York Post: HILL IN 9/11 'SHOP' CHOP AT W. SHARPTON AND OBAMA MAKE UP... "FOR NOW": The Rev. Al Sharpton appears to have buried the hatchet - at least for now - with Sen. Barack Obama. Sharpton said he and Obama made nice in a five-minute phone call yesterday. "We had a good conversation. He said he's got a lot of respect for me and what I've done. We agreed to keep in touch," Sharpton said. He said he would hold off on an endorsement until after the Democratic presidential candidates speak at his National Action Network Conference next month. Sharpton, who had questioned the Illinois senator's qualifications and record, went ballistic last week and blamed Obama for anonymously planting a story suggesting that Sharpton was just jealous of Obama's popularity. New York Daily News: Al & Bam phone chat axes feud ARE THE SIMPSONS FROM OREGON? The long-awaited Simpsons movie debuts this summer. Part of the hook for the animated feature is that the filmmakers say they'll reveal what state the fictitious "Springfield" is a part of. For some added incentive, the film's producers want the many real-life Springfields across the country to compete to host the film's premiere. Chad Pergram, a radio reporter for Capitol News Connection, interviewed several members with Springfields in their districts last week. According to Pergram's report, the favorite so far appears to be Springfield, Ore., because Simpsons creator Matt Groening hails from nearby Portland. "I think they live just down the street from me, actually," Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore said. "I live in Springfield." Portland's Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., said his wife, Michelle, went to school with Groening. "Matt Groening bases a lot of his characters on Oregon," Wu said. DC Examiner: Congressmen battle to represent Homer Simpson |
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