Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Carter: Iraq one of the 'greatest blunders' by any American president
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President Jimmy Carter sharply criticized President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq Tuesday and told CNN he believes the U.S. invasion of the country may prove to be as big a blunder as the U.S.'s eight year involvement in the Vietnam War. "It's going to prove, I believe, to be one of the greatest blunders that American presidents have ever made," Carter told Wolf Blitzer on 'The Situation Room.' When asked how Iraq will be compared to Vietnam, Carter said it will be a "close call" but noted U.S. actions in Iraq are more publicized around the world than they were in Vietnam. "I think its going to be a close call, but perhaps much more vividly known by the rest of the world than Vietnam was," Carter said. But the former president said he disagreed with those who have labeled the situation in Iraq a "civil war." "I think civil war is a serious -- a more serious circumstance than exists in Iraq," Carter said. "And I say that based on some of the civil wars with which we've been involved in the last few years." -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Rice schedules talks with Palestinian president
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank this week, U.S. and Palestinian officials said Tuesday.
The meeting will be held Thursday between sessions of a foreign ministers' conference Rice will attend in neighboring Jordan, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The talks will be held in the West Bank city of Jericho, he said. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat announced the meeting earlier Tuesday. McCormack said Rice was likely to have other meetings around the Forum for the Future conference and would remain behind after President Bush holds his Wednesday-Thursday talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But no talks with Israeli officials have been scheduled yet, he said. Cheney still in the hunt
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney was spotted visiting a hunting store in Thomasville, Georgia Tuesday, the latest sign the avid hunter has not given up on his favorite pastime despite accidentally shooting a friend in the face on a hunting jaunt last spring.
The vice president -- sporting hunting regalia -- was greeted with cheers as he entered and exited the store. Cheney also spent the past Election Day hunting in South Dakota -- his first trip since the accidental shooting last February. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Ahead on CNN
4 p.m. ET, The Situation Room
-Former President Jimmy Carter will discuss his new book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." 5 p.m. ET, The Situation Room -Democratic strategist Paul Begala and former GOP Rep. J.C. Watts will weigh in on the latest conditions in Iraq and the president's trip abroad. -Maj. Gen. William Caldwell will discuss the conditions in Iraq. 6 p.m. ET, Lou Dobbs Tonight -Rev. Jesse Jackson will discuss actor Michael Richards' controversial remarks at a comedy club last week. Pelosi says no to Hastings heading up intelligence committee
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will not name Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a Democratic aide tells CNN.
Pelosi met with Hastings earlier Tuesday to inform him he will not be named chairman, the aide said. Hastings has served on the committee for seven years, but was a controversial potential choice. He was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate who removed him as a federal judge in 1989 -- though he was acquitted in court on bribery charges. Hastings was subsequently elected to Congress in 1992. Pelosi has already indicated she will not hand the chairmanship to Rep. Jane Harman of California -- the current ranking Democrat on the committee. Reps. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Norm Dicks of Washington, and Rush Holt of New Jersey remain in the running for the intelligence post. -- CNN's Andrea Koppel and Deirdre Walsh
Clark says he wants to avoid jumping into '08 campaign too late
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Wesley Clark said Tuesday he wants to avoid waiting too late to make a decision on whether to run for president -- a mistake he made in his failed 2004 bid.
"I think it was clear that I got in too late last time," the retired general and former NATO commander told The Associated Press in an interview. Clark announced his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in September 2003, just four months before the first votes were cast. The Arkansas native dropped out of the race the following February, with his only victory in 14 caucuses and primaries coming in Oklahoma. Clark is considering running again, but he said the late start was one of the mistakes he learned from in his last attempt. "(There was) an inability to create a staff in a timely fashion," Clark said. "I didn't have a campaign manager until the end of November. I had no money. I had no strategy when I started. It was my only faith-based initiative.... It's one of several mistakes that if I were to run that I would hope I wouldn't repeat." Senate Armed Services Committee set for Gates hearings
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is expected to formally send his Defense Secretary nomination of Robert Gates to the Senate on Monday, Senate Armed Services Committee spokesman John Ullyot told CNN.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Virginia Republican John Warner, is scheduled to hold a full day of hearings Tuesday. The sessions will be open to the public but will likely close at some point so classified information can be discussed, Ullyot said. Gates will be the only witness -- except for customary introductory remarks from his home-state senators. The goal of the committee is to have Gates confirmed by Christmas, Ullyot said. No senator has yet to publicly oppose Gate's nomination. -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett
DeWine to profile Ohio's war dead during last days in Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, says he's determined to use his final days in the Senate to pay tribute to every Ohioan who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Republican will have to work fast to meet his goal. Over the last five years or so, he has given speeches on the Senate floor memorializing 74 of the state's war dead. But he has nearly that many to profile in a session that resumes next week and could last just five days. DeWine was defeated by Rep. Sherrod Brown on Election Day and is leaving the Senate after 12 years. Administration signals willingness to work with Democrats on trade
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's top trade negotiator said Tuesday that the recent takeover of Congress by Democrats would not derail the administration's aggressive trade agenda.
In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab warned against any move toward protectionist trade policies spurred by the country's record trade deficits. Many Democrats campaigned against Bush's trade policies in the November congressional elections, saying the administration had failed to do enough to halt the loss of manufacturing jobs to low-wage foreign countries such as China. Top Rice adviser Zelikow announces resignation
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow announced plans to resign, leaving Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's without one of her closest advisers as the administration searches to a new approach to the turmoil in the Middle East, Rice announced Tuesday.
In his resignation letter, Zelikow cited "some truly riveting obligations to college bursars" for his children's tuition and said he remained available to help the administration as best he could. "These are challenging times and there is much to be done," Zelikow wrote to Rice on Monday. "But I know you already see the challenges, and the opportunities too." His resignation will be effective on Jan 2. He will return to the University of Virginia where he holds a endowed chair as a history professor which has been held vacant for four years. -- CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott
Obama heads to New Hampshire to celebrate Dems' victories
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, will have key Granite State Democrats all to himself December 10 when he appears at the state party's election victory celebration.
The freshman senator was the only potential White House hopeful invited to the event. "We are honored that Senator Obama has accepted our invitation to celebrate the historic, tidal wave victory New Hampshire's Democrats experienced this November," State Party Chair Kathy Sullivan said in a statement. Sullivan invited Obama after the senator called her to congratulate New Hampshire Democrats on their midterm election victories. Obama -- who has acknowledged he is considering a run for president -- quickly accepted Sullivan's invitation, according to New Hampshire Democratic Party spokeswoman Kathleen Strand. According to Strand, because Obama accepted the invitation, no other White House hopefuls were invited to the celebratory event. Obama has said he will make an announcement on his political future early next year. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Bush touts the flat tax in Estonia
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- President Bush says the United States should have a simpler tax system. Apparently he has found one he likes -- Estonia's.
In a brief stop in the Baltic nation on Tuesday, Bush managed to tout Estonia's flat income-tax three times. "They've got a tax system here that is transparent, open and simple," Bush said in Tallinn after getting a look at how Estonian citizens can file their taxes online. In a toast about an hour later to Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Bush said, "I am amazed to be in a country that has been able to effect a flat tax in such a positive way." And before fielding reporters' questions with Ilves, Bush again praised Estonia's approach to taxation. "I appreciate the fact that you got a flat tax, you got a tax system that's transparent and simple," he said. South Carolina Ag commissioner backs McCain
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A key South Carolina Republican threw his support behind Sen. John McCain's potential White House run Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the Arizona Republican filed papers to form a presidential exploratory committee. Hugh Weather, the state Agriculture Commissioner, said McCain's character and politics appeal to all South Carolinians. "John McCain appeals to farmers and all South Carolinians because of his character, integrity and unique qualifications for the office," Weathers said in a statement. McCain has said he will decide over the holidays whether to seek the White House a second time. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Reid outlines Dems' agenda
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ethics reform, a higher minimum wage and more money for stem cell research are the top items on the Senate agenda next year, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press.
Reid said he will tackle those priorities after cleaning up the"financial mess" that the outgoing Republican leadership has left. He was referring to nine long overdue appropriations billscovering 13 Cabinet departments for the budget year that began Oct. 1. "They're just leaving town, it appears," Reid said from his office in the Capitol. "We hope that's not the case, but it appears that's what they are going to do. And so we're going to have to find a way to fund the government for the next year." The must-pass legislation totals more than $460 billion and promises to divert time and energy from other items on the Democratic agenda. Gingrich says govt may have to limit free speech in terror war
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich used a New Hampshire event dedicated to freedom of speech to say the United States will have to re-examine that constitutional right as it fights terrorism.
Speaking in Manchester last night, Gingrich said the country may need a different set of rules to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. But the former speaker said changes are needed to expand First Amendment rights in campaigns. He said elminating the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law is one solution. The law bans unrestricted donations from labor, corporations and the wealthy to political parties. Gingrich said the reforms have failed and only led to more negative campaign ads via e-mail, television, direct mail and phone calls. Bush, at NATO summit, stands firm on finishing 'mission' in Iraq
RIGA, Latvia (CNN) -- President Bush gave a freedom pep talk Tuesday at the University of Latvia, once again vowing he won't support the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq "before the mission is complete."
Bush, who faces heightened political pressure because of rising Shiite-Sunni violence in Iraq, is in Riga for a summit with other NATO leaders, and many of his comments addressed the strengthening of democracy in eastern Europe, including the former Soviet republic of Latvia. "The most basic responsibility of this alliance is to defend our people against the threats of a new century," he said. "We're in a long struggle against terrorists and extremists who follow a hateful ideology and seek to establish a totalitarian empire from Spain to Indonesia. "We fight against the extremists who desire safe havens, and are willing to kill innocents anywhere to achieve their objectives." Full story Italian Deputy Prime Minister to honor Pelosi
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi isn't just the first female to lead the House of Representatives. The California Democrat is also the first Italian-American to ascend to Congresses' top post, a milestone Italian Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli is set to honor Tuesday.
Rutelli ventures to Pelosi's Capitol Hill office at 11:15 a.m. ET to deliver his accolades in person. The two will appear for photographs shortly after. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Christian Coalition president resigns over agenda dispute
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America has resigned his post Monday, citing a difference in philosophy over which issues the conservative Christian organization should embrace.
Rev. Joel C. Hunter, currently the senior pastor of the Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, was to assume the presidency in January. But Hunter said CCA leaders resisted his calls to expand their issue base. "I wanted to expand the issues from only moral ones -- such as opposing abortion and redefining marriage -- to include compassion issues such as poverty, justice, and creation care," Hunter said in a statement. 'We need to care as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb." Hunter also said he wanted to focus on rebuilding the CCA's once powerful grassroots network -- an appeal he says board members rejected. "After initial willingness to consider these changes, the board of the CCA decided, 'that is fine, but that is not who we are,'" Hunter said. -- CNN's Alexander Mooney and Scott Anderson
Iran's supreme leader blames U.S. for Iraq's insecurity
TEHRAN (CNN) --Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday said American policies in Iraq are the "main cause" of that country's violence and insecurity, and withdrawal of "foreign forces" is the first step to ending the country's discord, according to an Iranian news agency report.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks while meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is visiting Iran and holding discussions with its leaders. Talabani was welcomed Monday by his counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was at the Tuesday meeting. "U.S. policies being implemented through mediators are the main cause of the current situation in Iraq," Khamenei is quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), a state-run operation. Vilsack won't get free pass in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Vilsack's home-field advantage isn't enough to force rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination to cede him the game -- far from it.
Not only won't Vilsack get a pass in Iowa's 2008 Democratic caucuses, but party leaders are bending over backward to keep the start-off of the contest evenhanded, key activists and strategists said. "The game is on and I think people such as John Edwards, Evan Bayh and others have spent enough time here and think they can run a successful campaign, even with a former Iowa governor running against them," said Iowa Democratic Chairman Rob Tully It will not, they say, be another 1992, the year Tom Harkin -- the Hawkeye State's popular U.S. senator -- ran for president. Harkin's Democratic rivals skipped the Iowa caucuses, arguing that it wasn't possible to compete with him on his home turf. Bush: Iraq not in civil war
TALLINN, Estonia (CNN) -- In a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, U.S. President George Bush said the steady violence in Iraq is not a civil war, but is instead part of a plot to spark violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
"There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al Qaeda causing people to seek reprisal," Bush said. According to the president, the violence can be directly traced to the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra. "We've been in this phase for a while," he told reporters. Bush travels to Jordan Wednesday for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on how adapt to what some administration officials have called a "new phase" in the Iraq war. Biden blames Mexico's 'corrupt system' for illegal immigration
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- Sen. Joe Biden, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's incoming chairman, wants to get tough with Mexico, calling it an "erstwhile democracy" with a "corrupt system" responsible for illegal immigration and drug problems in the U.S.
Biden, D-Delaware, was in Columbia on Monday in his first postelection trip to this first-in-the-South presidential primary state as he continues to line up support for his presidential bid. During a question-and-answer session before more than 230 Columbia Rotary Club members, Biden was asked about immigration problems. Biden, who favors tightening the U.S.-Mexico border with fences, said immigration is driven by money in low-wage Mexico. "Mexico is a country that is an erstwhile democracy where they have the greatest disparity of wealth," Biden said. "It is one of the wealthiest countries in the hemisphere and because of a corrupt system that exists in Mexico, there is the 1 percent of the population at the top, a very small middle class and the rest is abject poverty." CNN Political Ticker AM
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... On his upcoming meeting with Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki in Amman: "My questions to him will be: What do we need to do to succeed? What is your strategy in dealing with the sectarian violence?... I will ask him: What is required and what is your strategy to be a country which can govern itself and sustain itself?" Also, certified results from Virginia's Board of Elections show James Webb's margin of victory was just 9,329 votes, or .4%, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch President's Schedule: Once in Riga, Bush will meet with Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer. He is scheduled to speak at the University of Latvia at 9:15 am ET. Tonight, there is a working dinner and cultural event at the National Opera House scheduled for the NATO attendees. ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) SECTARIAN VIOLENCE "FOMENTED... BECAUSE OF THE ATTACKS BY AL-QAIDA CAUSING PEOPLE TO SEEK REPRISAL," SAYS BUSH: President Bush said Tuesday an al-Qaida plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, and refused to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war. "No question it's tough, no question about it," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida causing people to seek reprisal." Bush, who travels to Jordan later in the week for a high-stakes summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said an uptick in violence does not represent a new era in Iraq. The country is reeling from the deadliest week of sectarian fighting since the war began in March 2003. "We've been in this phase for a while," Bush said. AP via Yahoo! News: Bush: Iraq violence part of al-Qaida plot BUSH WILL ASK AL-MALIKI ABOUT "STRATEGY" FOR QUELLING VIOLENCE: Allowing that Iraq has grown "dangerous and violent," President Bush said today that he will press Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki this week for his "strategy" for confronting the sectarian violence there... "My question to him will be, 'What do we need to succeed?'" Bush said of his meetings planned on Wednesday and Thursday in Amman, Jordan. "What do we need to do ... about sectarian violence? ... I will ask him, 'What is required, and what is your strategy to be a country that can govern itself and sustain itself?'" Chicago Tribune: Bush to press Iraqi leader on 'strategy' CIVIL WAR? "WE ARE ALMOST THERE," SAYS KOFI: The Iraq Study Group began two days of intensive behind-closed-doors deliberations yesterday as the White House conceded that Iraq has moved into a dangerous new phase of warfare requiring changes in strategy. In a sign of the growing global concern about Iraq's fate, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed for immediate steps to prevent the country from crumbling into all-out civil war. "Given the developments on the ground, unless something is done drastically and urgently to arrest the deteriorating situation, we could be there. In fact, we are almost there," Annan said when a reporter asked about the prospects of civil war in Iraq. Washington Post: Civil War in Iraq Near, Annan Says NBC'S NOTABLE "SHIFT IN SEMANTICS": NBC News said Monday that its reporters and anchors would begin referring to the ongoing sectarian strife in Iraq as a "civil war," a move that reflects the news media's use of increasingly stark language to characterize the escalating violence gripping the country. NBC's decision, which came after a particularly deadly series of retaliatory attacks in Baghdad, makes it the first television network to officially adopt the term "civil war," a description the Bush administration has resisted. The Times was the first major news organization to formally adopt the description when it began to refer to the hostilities as a civil war in October, without public fanfare. No other major media outlet has made the phrase a matter of policy, although it has cropped up in various news reports. The White House has exerted pressure on the media not to use the term, journalists said, which led to newsroom caution over the issue. NBC's announcement spotlights a shift in semantics that has quietly taken place on the airwaves and in newsprint as the violence has worsened along with the public's view of the situation in Iraq. Los Angeles Times: NBC to use 'civil war' to describe Iraq STUDY GROUP MEETS AT "UNDISCLOSED LOCATION" TO REVIEW DRAFT REPORT: The Iraq Study Group met yesterday at an undisclosed location to discuss its first draft report that calls for increased diplomatic engagement in the region and new military moves to rescue Iraq from a descent into civil war. The panel's co-chairmen, James A. Baker III, secretary of state in the first Bush administration, and former Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, Indiana Democrat, finished work on the draft during the weekend. It contains an assessment of where violence-racked Iraq stands more than three years after the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. It also includes a list of recommendations on diplomatic and military fronts. A final report to President Bush is expected next month. Mr. Baker is said to be pushing a recommendation for the Bush administration to engage in direct talks with Syria and Iran, two U.S.-designated state sponsors of terrorism who are supporting various insurgencies and terrorist attacks in Iraq. Washington Times: Iraq panel inks draft report HEZBOLLAH TRAINING SHIITE MILITIAS IN IRAQ, SAYS INTEL OFFICIAL: A senior American intelligence official said Monday that the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shiite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr. The official said that 1,000 to 2,000 fighters from the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias had been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon. A small number of Hezbollah operatives have also visited Iraq to help with training, the official said. Iran has facilitated the link between Hezbollah and the Shiite militias in Iraq, the official said. Syrian officials have also cooperated, though there is debate about whether it has the blessing of the senior leaders in Syria. The intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules set by his agency, and discussed Iran's role in response to questions from a reporter. New York Times: Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq GATES COULD BE INSTALLED BEFORE YEAR'S END: Robert Gates, the former CIA director who is President Bush's choice to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, is likely to assume the Pentagon post before year's end if he is confirmed by the Senate as expected, officials said Monday. Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, said Gates will have his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee early next week, with a vote expected by the full Senate by Dec. 12 or 13. In preparation for the hearing, Gates is receiving a series of briefings by senior Pentagon officials, Ruff said. Even if Gates is confirmed as expected, it is unclear when he would be sworn in to his new duties, Ruff said. "It's somewhat of a fluid situation," he said. Another administration official, who would discuss the Gates matter only on condition of anonymity, said that if confirmation goes as expected, then Gates would be sworn in well before the end of the year. No date is set. AP via Yahoo! News: Gates may take Pentagon job in December AFGHANISTAN IS TOPIC A FOR NATO LEADERS: President Bush will seek fresh troops and equipment for the fight in Afghanistan, and fewer restrictions on how they can be used, when he sits down this week with NATO allies to review the state of the dangerous mission there, according to senior U.S. officials. Bush flew Monday to this scenic capital, on his way to a summit of NATO's leaders in Riga, Latvia, that begins Tuesday. There, U.S. officials say, they are hoping allies will renew their commitments in Afghanistan, where a stepped-up Taliban insurgency is posing stiff new challenges for some 33,000 NATO troops, about a third of them American. The mission is shaping up as the major issue for discussion among Bush and the leaders of the 25 other NATO member countries, who are gathering for the first time in two years. A failed operation in Afghanistan would threaten NATO's ambition to one day play a more robust role in helping address the world's crises. Washington Post: Bush to Pursue Fresh NATO Commitments RICE'S "INTELLECTUAL SOUL MATE" ZELIKOW TO STEP ASIDE: One of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's closest advisers said yesterday that he will resign at the end of the year, depriving her of a key sounding board at a time when she is still searching for a new deputy and faces difficult challenges in the Middle East. Philip D. Zelikow, 52, holds the unassuming title of "counselor," but in many ways he is Rice's intellectual soul mate, and he plays a critical role in formulating policy at the State Department. In his resignation letter, he cited professional and personal obligations, including a need to return to an endowed chair that the University of Virginia has held vacant for four years and to pay "some truly riveting obligations to college bursars" for his children's education. Washington Post: Close Adviser to Rice Plans to Resign DOJ IG OPENS WIRETAP REVIEW: After months of pressure from Congressional Democrats, the Justice Department's inspector general said Monday that his office had opened a full review into the department's role in President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program and the legal requirements governing the program. Democrats said they saw the investigation as a welcome step that could answer questions about the operations and legal underpinnings of the program, which allows the National Security Agency to monitor, without obtaining court warrants, the international communications of Americans and others inside this country with suspected terrorist ties. "This is a long overdue investigation of a highly controversial program," said Representative John Conyers Jr., the Michigan Democrat who will take over as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. New York Times: Justice Official Opens Spying Inquiry "CREW" CALLS FOR HASTERT LAND DEAL PROBE: A government watchdog group Monday called for an official investigation into whether House Speaker Dennis Hastert broke the law by pushing for federal funding of a highway project near land he owned west of Chicago. Hastert (R-Ill.) and two partners turned a profit of more than $3 million last year on land they bought and sold near the proposed route of the Prairie Parkway—earnings that the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington say the investors got because of federal funding pushed by Hastert. The group is asking the Justice Department to investigate Hastert's actions. "It looks like Hastert may have broken the law," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW. "You are not allowed to use the legislative process purely for your own personal financial benefit, which is what appears to have happened here." Chicago Tribune: Group wants Hastert deal investigated SOUTHWEST LANDOWNERS HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT BORDER FENCE: "They're not gonna build it," [Ranching magnate Bill] Moody says flatly. "We darn sure don't need a wall. Everybody knows the Great Wall of China wasn't worth a damn."... "Trust me, it's not gonna happen," [Val Verde County Sheriff D'Wayne] Jernigan says. "There's not gonna be a fence. I have landowners here who put it this way: 'Over my dead body.'" USA Today: Fence plan alarms landowners GOVT. CONTRACTORS GET READY TO GO "UNDER THE MICROSCOPE": After riding high for five years, government contractors are bracing themselves for increased oversight, tighter budgets and stepped-up regulations as Democrats take over on Capitol Hill and vow to keep a closer eye on how companies spend taxpayer dollars. Every company that does business with the government could feel the impact, but contractors that benefited most from work in Iraq and Afghanistan, from homeland security initiatives or from Hurricane Katrina are especially likely to be under the microscope. Big-ticket weapons programs are also expected to garner special attention, and it may become more difficult to get a no-bid contract, according to industry observers. Washington Post: Contractors Face More Scrutiny, Pinched Purses PRYCE DECLARED VICTOR, BUT...: Republican Deborah Pryce was declared the winner this morning of a central Ohio congressional race that remained too close to call until 20 days after the Nov. 7 election. The four-member Franklin County Board of Elections certified final vote totals that gave Pryce the victory over Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by 1,054 votes, a net loss of 2,482 from Pryce's unofficial election-night count. The tighter margin is within the half-percent required to trigger an automatic recount, director Matthew Damschroder said. Pryce, who declared "semi-victory" hours after the polls closed, will return to Washington for an 8th term if the results hold. She said this morning that she was surprised the race came down to about 1,000 votes out of more than 200,000 cast, but doesn't expect a recount to change the outcome. Columbus Dispatch: Pryce declared winner by 1,054-vote margin WEBB'S OFFICIAL MARGIN OF VICTORY JUST 9,329 VOTES, OR .4%: It's official -- Democrat Jim Webb won the U.S. Senate race by 9,329 votes over Republican incumbent George Allen. The state Board of Elections yesterday officially certified the results of the Nov. 7 election. Webb edged Allen by four-tenths of 1 percent. Webb, making his first bid for elective office, took 1,175,606 votes, or 49.6 percent of the vote, to Allen's 1,166,277 votes, or 49.2 percent. Independent Gail Parker got 1.1 percent of the ballots cast, or 26,102 votes. Statewide, 53 percent of registered voters went to the polls. Richmond Times-Dispatch: Webb won race by 9,329 votes VILSACK WON'T KEEP '08ERS OUT OF IA: He may be Iowa's governor, but Tom Vilsack's home-field advantage isn't enough to force rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination to cede him the game - far from it. Not only won't Vilsack get a pass in Iowa's 2008 Democratic caucuses, but party leaders are bending over backward to keep the start-off of the contest evenhanded, key activists and strategists said. It will not, they say, be another 1992, the year Tom Harkin - the Hawkeye State's popular U.S. senator - ran for president. Harkin's Democratic rivals skipped the Iowa caucuses, arguing that it wasn't possible to compete with him on his home turf. As a result Harkin won Iowa easily, but got none of the caucuses' famous momentum and media attention. He wound up quickly leaving the Democratic race in which Bill Clinton later prevailed. Vilsack, who is leaving office in January after two terms,is to make a formal announcement about a presidential bid Thursday and then begins a five-state tour. AP via Yahoo! News: Vilsack to face challenge on home turf GIULIANI HOLDS TOP SPOT IN QUINNIPIAC POPULARITY CONTEST: Rudolph W. Giuliani is the most popular politician in America, according to a new survey. The former New York City mayor, a likely candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, tops a list of 20 leaders whose popularity with registered voters was measured in a new survey by Quinnipiac University. The survey asked respondents to rate their feelings about the 20 leaders on a "thermometer reading" scale of 0 to 100. Mr. Giuliani finished with a 64.2 rating. Trailing closely were Sens. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, and John McCain, Arizona Republican, who tallied 58.8 and 57.7. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the top-ranking woman in the survey, finishing just behind Mr. McCain with a 56.1 rating. "As we enter the presidential campaign of 2008, Giuliani and McCain are in enviable positions," said Quinnipiac assistant poll director Peter A. Brown. "They are well-regarded, and most Americans are quite familiar with them. Obama's showing is impressive, but 4 in 10 Americans still don't know enough about him to have an opinion." Washington Times: Giuliani tops most popular U.S. politician polling JOHN KERRY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST, BTW... FULL POLL RESULTS (via Quinnipiac.edu) |
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• Hagel to announce decision on presidential bid Monday• Does Tiger Woods have a political future? • AFL-CIO makes push to keep unions united behind one presidential candidate • Obama: "No place for politics" in voter intimidation • Muslim congressman talks up 'American values' in State Department outreach • Year of the 'smaller' Pig • Pataki joins law firm • Bush 'sad' about Libby's conviction • House Dems urge colleagues to fund a withdrawal from Iraq • Romney recruits from the Sunshine State ARCHIVE
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