Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• Paul Wolfowitz participated in an interview with the BBC this past weekend. In the interview, he took full responsibility for his forced resignation and said he would never again use his political clout to get things for others… I’m kidding, he blamed the media for his downfall and claimed he had been vindicated over ethics accusations… to that I ask him; what color is the sky in your world Paul??
• Besides taxing the nerves of voters, the incrediblly-early presidential campaign is also putting a burden on the US Secret Service as they are expecting to “borrow” more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard the ever-growing presidential fields. Because of the additional security, the department has had to cut back on efforts to combat counterfeiting and cyber-crime. This is definitely not good news. The Secret Service needs to be fully-staffed and refreshed in order to do their jobs most effectively)
• AG Alberto Gonzales is still hanging on to his job, but now he’s starting to lose his Hispanic support.
• And another Bush aide bolts the White House. No, not that one… no, not that one… sigh, no, not even THAT one. It’s Sara Taylor, the White House political director. Rumors are that she’s heavily involved with AttorneyGate but the “official” reason is she wants to explore new opportunities. The fact that she doesn’t have a new job or any plans lined-up already speaks volumes in my opinion… but what do I know?
• This Washington Post article by Andrew Bacevich is stirring and emotional, I definitely suggest everyone gives it a read.
• A recent Gallup poll shows that “despite the remarkably early start on this year's presidential campaign and the high-visibility presence of the major candidates on television news shows and in televised debates, the name identification of the leading candidates or potential candidates has not changed much so far this year.” (Well duh… did we really need a Gallup poll to show us this? The obscenely early start of the campaign has already made people tune out what the candidates are saying, and it’s likely to only get worse as we get closer. Perhaps if we stopped the campaigning, the asinine-early debates and all, people might care a little more… or not)
• And have we mentioned? That former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has withdrawn his name from consideration for World Bank president to take a break from political work. (To that I say; ‘whew!’)