A promotional excerpt from former White House spokesman Scott McClellan’s upcoming book has the political world buzzing — and calling for an investigation. At issue are McClellan’s assurances to the White House press (and thus the public) in 2003 that then-White House political adviser Karl Rove and former vice presidential Chief of Staff Lewis Libby had no involvement with the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame. But McClellan’s book, “What Happened,†makes this confession:
“It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff, and the president himself.â€
Did President Bush knowingly ask McClellan to lie? The book’s publisher said that Bush told McClellan “something that wasn’t true, but the president didn’t know it wasn’t true.â€
Not surprisingly, Democrats aren’t convinced and have called for an investigation. But GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee may have had the best response. He told MSNBC: “It’s one of those moments where I’m glad to not be a Washington insider.â€
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Kansas Energy Council voted 14-13 last week to remove background information about greenhouse gases from its Web site, exposing a widening rift that has made the advisory group largely irrelevant.
“It’s important to leave it to Congress†to take a position on greenhouse gases, said Jeff Kennedy, a Wichita attorney for Kansas natural gas producers, in supporting the move.
But Bruce Snead, an energy efficiency expert with Kansas State University, called it “ludicrous†to remove from public view information that is relevant to the energy debate.
He’s right. What happened to educating policymakers and the public on energy issues?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Among the things Kansas seemingly misses by being taken as a sure thing for the GOP every four years is the potential to host a presidential debate. Announced Monday, the sites chosen for next fall’s debates between the major party nominees are the University of Mississippi in Oxford (Sept. 26), Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. (Oct. 7), and Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Oct. 15). Washington University in St. Louis landed the vice presidential debate (Oct. 2). Fine choices all, but how could the Commission on Presidential Debates overlook the bid by New Orleans? The excuse that the city hadn’t recovered enough from Hurricane Katrina to handle the event makes no sense, given that the Big Easy is booked for the Sugar Bowl in January and the NBA All-Star game in February.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Many Wichitans have a love-hate relationship with downtown: They wish Wichita’s downtown offered more things to do, but also fewer parking tickets and traffic hassles. A healthy core means a healthy city, though — a view held by 86 percent of respondents to the Wichita Downtown Development Corp.’s latest survey, up 10 points in two years. Slowly but surely, the group’s surveys are showing that people in the community recognize the new life in downtown and realize there is more to come. One result that Sedgwick County officials can hope is reversible, if parking is addressed properly — that 42 percent said the downtown arena project was not good for the community.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
In missing most presidential campaign ads, Kansas doesn’t miss much. One exception is Mike Huckabee’s ad with Chuck Norris, now playing in Iowa. The muscled actor calls the former Arkansas governor a “principled, authentic conservative†who will protect gun rights. But the best lines are Huckabee’s to deadpan: “There’s no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard, only another fist.†“When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he isn’t lifting himself up. He’s pushing the Earth down.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
