In another blow to the credibility of the Bush administration’s detention of suspected terrorists, a federal appeals court ruled that the military didn’t have credible evidence to show that a Chinese detainee who has been held for more than six years at Guantanamo Bay is an “enemy combatant.”
“Laws and rules have been adopted to prevent the hijacking of the Justice Department to advance a partisan or ideological cause. But that’s exactly what the Bush administration did,†columnist Jay Bookman wrote, noting how “the campaign to turn the Justice Department into an enforcement arm of the Republican Party extended even to its hiring of legal interns.â€
Bookman wrote: “According to a new report by the Justice Department’s inspector general — a Republican, by the way — the Bush approach ‘constituted misconduct and also violated the department’s policies and civil service law that prohibit discrimination in hiring based on political or ideological affiliations.’
“In other words, those appointed to enforce the law instead knowingly violated it to advance partisan interests.â€
Three years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency drew widespread scorn for its disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. But agency seems to have learned from that debacle. In recent days, Midwestern flood victims along the Mississippi have been praising FEMA workers for their quick response time and on-the-spot assistance.
This time around, FEMA really does seem to be doing a heckuva job — proof that government can work and benefit citizens when it’s led with competence and accountability.
Robert Gates has won bipartisan praise as defense secretary. Now there is buzz about whether the Wichita native might be persuaded to stay on, no matter which presidential candidate wins. “My personal position is Gates is a very good secretary of defense and would be an even better one in an Obama administration,†said Richard Danzig, a top national security adviser to Barack Obama and a former Navy secretary. John McCain’s campaign is making similar suggestions, though more quietly. What does Gates say? “The circumstances under which I would do that are inconceivable to me.â€
Signs that the Bush presidency is winding down: Talking Monday at the National Press Club about revelations that he’s distantly related to Barack Obama, Vice President Dick Cheney added that there are Cheneys on both sides of his family tree. “And we don’t even live in West Virginia,†Cheney joked. A spokeswoman later apologized for his “inappropriate attempt at humor,†which had caused bipartisan outrage in the state. West Virginia, by the way, went for Bush-Cheney in 2000 and 2004.
“The greatest threat to classic Republicanism is not liberalism; it’s this new brand of libertarianism,†former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said in an interview last week. He described this libertarianism as a “heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism because it says ‘look, we want to cut taxes and eliminate government. If it means that elderly people don’t get their Medicare drugs, so be it. If it means little kids go without education and health care, so be it.’†He said such a message is neither American nor historically Republican.
“Huckabee is right that libertarianism is a threat to Republicanism,†Libertarian Party spokesman Andrew Davis responded in statement. “The Republican Party, with the help of people like Sen. John McCain, has done nothing but increase the scope and power of government while throwing fiscal responsibility to the wind.†He said that libertarianism was “the American message,†because it “empowers the American people by giving them more control over their lives and their wallets.â€
Meanwhile, Michael Gerson wrote in the Washington Post that attempts by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to portray Jesus as a libertarian are as distorted as portrayals of Jesus as a leftist revolutionary.
What a relief that partisanship has been set aside on Capitol Hill regarding Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and his diagnosis of a cancerous brain tumor. When the news of Kennedy’s condition came via BlackBerry to lunching GOP lawmakers Tuesday, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., led his colleagues in a prayer for the liberal lion so many Republicans have reviled for so long. “I prayed for grace and peace for Sen. Kennedy and his family,†Brownback told an aide. “I prayed for healing.†Brownback was a natural choice, given that he and Kennedy have collaborated on issues such as illegal immigration and Down syndrome.
Not sure of the origin of these imaginary answers making the viral rounds, but some of them are good.
The question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
George W. Bush: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
Barack Obama: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change. The chicken wanted change.
John McCain: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
Hillary Clinton: When I was first lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.
Pat Buchanan: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
Ernest Hemingway: To die in the rain, alone.
Dick Cheney: Where’s my gun?
Younger voters might not be enough to elect Barack Obama this year, but they will soon have a major impact on elections and politics — and it likely won’t be favorable for the GOP.
“The number of young people in the millennial generation (loosely defined as those born in the 1980s and 1990s) is somewhere between 80 million and 95 million,†columnist Bob Herbert wrote. “That represents a ton of potential votes — in this election and years to come. And the (Center for) American Progress study shows that those young people do not feel they have been treated kindly by conservative policies or principles.â€
According to the study: “Millennials mostly reject the conservative viewpoint that government is the problem, and that free markets always produce the best results for society. Indeed, millennials’ views are more progressive than those of other age groups today, and are more progressive than previous generations when they were younger.â€
The National Portrait Gallery in Washington has a new exhibit of editorial cartoonist Herblock’s cartoons. It’s entitled “Herblock’s Presidents: ‘Puncturing Pomposity,’” and it covers no fewer than than 11 American commanders in chief. Corresponding with the exhibit is an online presentation of “The Dean of American Editorial Cartoonists” works. Anyone interested in political satire should take a minute to view this fun site. Herblock, as Herbert Block signed his cartoons, won three Pulitzers, cartooned for The Washington Post for more than seven decades and, most impressively, ranked a listing on President Nixon’s infamous “enemies list.” When viewing the cartoons on the Web site, you can click on an area of the drawing for an extreme close-up and see the blue pencil lines and the corrections — the next best thing to watching Herblock as he actually drew it. It’s a window into a master’s creative process. The pompous rest a little more peacefully now that this great cartoonist is at rest himself. Thanks for puncturing them for all those years, Herb.
It was an weird week for political appearances on TV, Jay Leno noted on NBC’s “Tonight†show:
– “Well, earlier this week, all three presidential candidates made appearances on the WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw.’ How many think having candidates for president appear on a wrestling show cheapens the political process? How many think the wrestling show was cheapened by having the candidates on?â€
– “And Monday night, President Bush made a surprise appearance on the TV show ‘Deal or No Deal.’ Yesterday morning, first lady Laura Bush was a guest host on the ‘Today’ show. I understand tomorrow, Vice President Dick Cheney is set to play his own evil twin on ‘Days of Our Lives.’â€
Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from his undisclosed location into the spotlight Wednesday, donning his now-famous sunglasses and fishing hat to fill in for President Bush at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. Some of the laugh lines:
“You’d be amazed at how many guys want to go fishing with me these days.â€
“Obviously, you’re not the kind to look down on a bitter man who clings to his guns.â€
“I have no doubt, none at all, that we are in the midst of global warming, or as I prefer to call it, spring.â€
“Every time I’m rushed to the hospital, I insist on a hybrid ambulance.â€
“At breakfast today, I asked Lynne if deep down it bugs her that people have taken to calling me Darth Vader. She said, ‘Not at all. It humanizes you.’â€
Hillary Clinton “confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting.â€
Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigned because of a criminal investigation into whether the Department of Housing and Urban Development directed contracts to his friends and political allies. But that may be just the start, the Washington Post reported. Critics say Jackson played a key role in the housing crisis by ignoring the warnings of HUD staff and helping make it easier for federally backed lenders to make risky loans. At the same time, Jackson had his own chef at HUD and a full-time security detail.
Among the economic casualties of the Bush administration, count former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is having trouble finding work, according to news reports. Gonzales reportedly has sent feelers out to top law firms but has found no takers.It’s a sign of how discredited Gonzales has become, even in Republican circles, largely because of widespread charges that he lied in testimony to Congress about dismissal of top federal prosecutors and surveillance programs.Before he was forced to resign last year, he was widely perceived as someone who prized loyalty to the president more than adherence to the rule of law.
It takes nerve to misuse a government-issued credit card, no matter where the card holder works. But it’s worse when Veterans Affairs employees do it, spending taxpayer dollars that could be serving the nation’s warriors. It’s hard to see how some of the 3.1 million charges for fiscal year 2007 detailed by Associated Press could be justifiable — $26,000 at Las Vegas casino hotels, $21,000 on movie tickets, $8,000 at Sharper Image and $6,000 at Macy’s. And why do 14,000 VA employees need credit cards in the first place? “It’s all being looked at,†said Belinda Finn, the VA’s assistant inspector general for auditing. Taxpayers can hope so.
There’s endless talk about reforming earmarks, although in truth, they represent a fraction of the federal budget. In 2007, Congress approved 12,884 earmarks totaling more than $18 billion in spending in lawmakers’ districts.
By contrast, the Government Accountability Office just released a report blasting the Pentagon for cost overruns and waste in major weapons systems totaling $295 billion. The report also said that none of the projects had met best-management standards and most were years behind schedule.
Moreover, it’s unclear whether some of the weapons, such as a new $81 billion submarine, are even useful in a war on terror dominated by improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers.
Why aren’t candidates or the media talking more about reining in runaway defense spending?
A resounding majority of Americans — 81 percent — think the country is “pretty seriously†on the wrong track, according to a CBS News-New York Times poll — up from 69 percent last year and 35 percent in 2002.
Only 4 percent thought the country was better off now than five years ago. And two-thirds of respondents said they thought the economy was already in a recession.
That was before Friday’s announcement that employers slashed 80,000 jobs in March — the most in five years. And on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged for the first time that the country might be heading into a recession.
Voters wanting a change in direction, the economy sliding — it’s not a good general election scenario for incumbents.
Maybe, if nothing else, the Democratic debacle over the Michigan and Florida primaries will stoke the fire to reform the whole way the nation picks presidents. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., called last week for six rotating regional presidential primaries, a system that Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh and his colleagues have long advocated. Nelson also wants to abolish the Electoral College, disallow electronic voting machines that lack a paper trail, and establish early voting nationwide. “As to our right to vote, and have that vote count, there can be no debate,†Nelson said in a speech to the Florida Senate. “The goal is simple: One person, one vote.â€
It doesn’t sound like another Filegate, but the State Department said Friday that the passport files of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain had been breached by multiple employees, not all of whom have been canned. Why not? Never mind the invasion of privacy and apparent violation of department policy. If employees, contract or otherwise, have time to check out presidential candidates’ passport files, they have too much time on their hands.
Infidelity update: David Paterson, the brand-new governor of New York, responded to rumors by acknowledging he had an affair several years ago when his marriage was “going sour.†His wife says she was unfaithful, too. Meanwhile, a former New Jersey governor, “gay American†Jim McGreevey, claims he and his now-estranged wife had threesomes with a male aide for two years before McGreevey became governor; she denies it. Why do powerful people think their secrets will stay secret, especially those who live in the floodlight of the New York media? As for why fidelity seems such a rarity these days, this New York Times story notes that “sexual promiscuity is rampant throughout nature, and true faithfulness a fond fantasy.â€
William F. Buckley Jr., in the words of the New York Times, “marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse.†Many people probably know Buckley, who died today at age 82, for being the longtime host of the “Firing Line†TV show — and because of the comedians who imitated his urbane speaking style and slouched posture. But he also wrote at least 55 books and founded the National Review magazine. Buckley’s biggest achievement was legitimizing modern conservatism and shaping its intellectual framework.
Talking to a Topeka crowd last week, Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, sought to gauge the public attitude about the idea of the federal government borrowing money to send Americans tax rebate checks, the premise of Congress’ pending economic-stimulus package. “If you think this should be the policy, if you think this would make a significant difference, let’s see a show of hands,†he said, to no hands.
Then a man called out, “I want it!”
Granted, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has a tricky job, in that he must not only account for his actions in what remains of the Bush administration but also for those of two previous attorneys general. But it’s tragic that Mukasey remains unwilling to define and denounce waterboarding as torture. He ducked senators’ questions Wednesday: “Given that waterboarding is not part of the current program, and may never be added to the program, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to pass definitive judgment on the technique’s legality.â€
To his credit, GOP front-runner John McCain has no doubts about waterboarding: “It is torture,†he said during a fall debate. Why must the attorney general act as if it might not be?
For those who watched both the State of the Union address and the Democratic response, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius likely connected with more viewers than President Bush did. While Bush went through a list of issues he wants Congress to work on, several of which have no chance for progress before he leaves office, Sebelius appealed to a “new American majority†that is tired of leaders who ask nothing of us. Sebelius called for a focus on the common good and repeatedly urged everyone to “get to work.†Sebelius isn’t an exciting orator, but she did well this time.
George McGovern has no admiration for Richard Nixon, the man who trounced him in the 1972 election. But he contended in a Washington Post commentary that the case for impeaching President Bush and Dick Cheney is far stronger and better for the country than the one against Nixon. “The nation would be much more secure and productive under a Nixon presidency than with Bush,†McGovern wrote. “Indeed, has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney era?â€
In another blow to the credibility of the Bush administration’s detention of suspected terrorists, a federal appeals court ruled that the military didn’t have credible evidence to show that a Chinese detainee who has been held for more than six years at Guantanamo Bay is an “enemy combatant.”
