Another day, another drop of the polls

Just when you think that things couldn’t get worse for President Bush (‘Scooter’ Libby’s testimony for one, his party’s inability to agree on immigration policy is another, and audience members using their brains in a Q&A is one as well) another poll comes out that shows his ever-dwindling approval ratings are still…well, dwindling.

A new AP-Ipsos poll shows that Bush’s ratings continue to fall, and that news is exacerbated by the showing (in the same poll) that Republicans are beginning to surrender their advantage on national security, which is devastating election-year news for the GOP that is currently fighting to retain it’s majority in both houses.

A paltry 36% of the public approves of Bush's job performance, which makes this his lowest-ever rating in an AP-Ipsos poll. (To give you an idea of how badly his numbers have fallen – his job approval was 47% just before Election Day 2004 and a sky-high 64% in October 2002)

Adding pain to misery, Bush's approval ratings among registered Republicans is down 12 points since a year ago as well… fueling speculation that more administration changes are likely down the road.

Incidentally, the ratings for Bush’s handling or Iraq is now 35%, also his lowest in AP-Ipsos polling… (must not laugh, must not laugh… it’s hard, but must not laugh… lest karma comes back to bite me on the ass)

What makes this story even more appetizing for Democrats is that as bad as Bush's numbers are, Congress' are worse.

30% of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance; with Republicans shouldering (and rightly so) most of the blame. When the respondents were asked which party should control Congress, jaw-dropping margin of 49-33 favored the Democrats over the Republicans, the largest advantage the Democratic party has EVER held in AP-Ipsos polling.

This is welcome news for all the Liberals and Independents who are looking for a nationwide change this November. As long as the Democrats can stay focused and unite behind a single message and agenda, then November should be a very happy month. Having said that, now is not the time for Liberals to be sitting on our laurels. Things need to be done, and we all have to do our part. As georgia10 posted on Daily Kos: "Let's approach the next seven months like we're 16 points down, like we have nothing to lose... Let's have big ideas..."

Wonderfully put.

To find out how you can help, visit the DCCC or the DNC and help make things better.

Random Political Thoughts UPDATE

Hail to the Chief. What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive…My apologies to Sir Walter Scott, but it seems that Commander Cuckoo-Bananas may have been the one who authorized the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name. (Once again, we are shown an example of Bush doing whatever he has to do in order to protect himself and his personal agenda… will it ever stop?)

Stay tuned…

Random Political Thoughts for a Thursday Morning

A day late, but not a dollar short. It’s Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon – Thursday morning edition

No pageantry, no ‘Pomp & Circumstance’, let’s just ‘Get it on’…

If I had a hammer. By now everyone reading this blog knows that former Majority leader Tom “Bug Killer” DeLay has resigned his congressional seat and dropped out of his re-election race (and if you don’t, might I suggest turning off “Wife Swap” once in a while and watching some news…) Rumors and innuendos are swirling around Washington that he was ‘asked’ to step down by GOP leaders, or that the guilty plea of his former Deputy Chief of Staff Tony C. Rudy, played a part. DeLay maintains he did it for the good of the party and the state of Texas. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but expect a spin-cycle from both the Democrats and Republicans saying their own views of his “slithering away…” (I say good riddance to bad rubbish, though I do admit it would have been enjoyable to watch him lose in November. His political career is far from over as I am sure he will become a lobbysit of some sort... mark my words; you haven't seen the last of Tom DeLay)

Bad. The Deputy press secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was arrested yesterday. Brian Doyle faces charges that he used the Internet to seduce a 14-year old girl who turned out to be an undercover Florida sheriff's detective. Ok, the act of soliciting a young-girl for sex is disgusting in itself, but you also have to look at the incredible stupidity of Doyle. What stupidity was that? The fact that he told the detective who he was, that he worked for DHS and gave out the phone numbers to his DHS office and to his government-issued cellphone. (The man obviously has a problem, and stupidity is the least of his worries now, but you have to question his mental capacity if he openly gave his name, title, employer and phone numbers to someone)

Push it. This week’s gratuitous op-ed piece push comes from Molly Ivins. Click HERE to read it. Runner-up comes from the Washington Post op-ed columnist Stephen Barr, click HERE to read that one. (Both are good reads... take a moment to check them out)

Stormy weather. Like the GOP did to the Democrats in 1994, the Democrats may do to them this November as some political pundits think that the GOP may be in the “path of a political hurricane” Three of the five key ingredients that helped turn the tide in 1994 are in place; broad public dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, dismal approval ratings for the current president, and scandal in Congress. Having said that, there is a key difference as well; the amount of House districts that remain competitive is smaller than ’94 and by this time then. (With the news that the Dems are starting to wake up and smell the dissatisfaction with the current political landscape, they are gearing up to craft a single unifying message and promise… let’s just hope it can do what has to be done. Let's light the fires and kick the tires and take care of business)

Burning down the house. The U.S. economy is more dependent on housing than it has been in a half-century, as the sector fuels consumer spending and has accounted for nearly three-quarters of the nation's job growth in the past five years. As a result, economists worry that the housing slowdown that began late last year could hurt the broader economy more than past real estate downturns, although other parts of the economy appear to be accelerating. (Wow, seems to me I've heard this argument before... and I have, from my esteemed colleague Scott who has written about this in the past. If only people would listen to us more...)

Like a rolling stone. People keep rolling out the door at Katherine Harris’ senate campaign as new staffers were to be introduced yesterday. This was to replace the plethora of staffers who left over this past weekend (a top adviser, campaign manager and communications director)… and those that left the week before that… and the week before that… and the week bef –, well, you get the idea. She also had to replace the campaign’s national fund-raising director, field operations coordinator and media consultant. (This campaign is a train wreck… and something needs to be done about it. While it was enjoyable at first, now it’s becoming painful, sad and pathetic to watch. Please GOP… put the campaign out of its misery…)

Get back. Is this opposite land?? The Democrats are starting (albeit slowly) to get their act together while the Republicans remain divided and irresolute. Time magazine has a terrific article online this week. Check it out HERE. (We at TBWA (and many other liberal sites) have been saying for quite a while that the time was right for the Democrats to gather their stuff, get their crap together, formulate a single agenda and message, get behind it and steamroll the GOP into submission in November and in 2008. Looks as though they are starting to listen. Keep it going…)

Money, that’s what I want. “President” Bush has vowed to transform Iraq into a “beacon of democracy” in the Middle East. But the problem is that the administration has been cutting funding for all the primary organizations that are trying to craft this vision by building democratic institutions with security costs receiving an large chunk of funds as democracy and infrastructure goals are cut. (Once again, what Bush says and what he does are two totally different things and prompts me to ask this question: when the hell are more people going to see this man for what he truly is?? A wishy-washy, crony-loving dim bulb who can’t decide what he wants to be... a President... an avenger of his daddy's failure... or a puppet)

Rice, rice baby. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had strong words for Congress about altering the landmark civilian nuclear deal with India, saying any change of the plan could destroy a new partnership that the country is building with the country. (As I’ve said here before, I am sure any nuclear deal with India will NEVER come back to bite us on the ass. It never has before has it? … I mean look at Iraq, oh, wait… never mind…)

The warrior. It seems that the communication in the Bush administration is as effective as ever... and the infighting continues to grow. Defense Secretary Donald “I brake for WMD’s” Rumsfeld doesn’t know what the hell Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is talking about. Last week Rice said that the US had made thousands of “tactical errors” in the war in Iraq (a statement she later try to cover up by saying she was speaking figuratively) In a radio interview, Rummy said calling military tactic changes during the war “errors” reflects a lack of warfare understanding. (Ouch… sounds like Rummy is calling you out Condi, you gonna let him get away with that??? I wouldn’t)

Hot, hot, hot. Scientists that have done climate research for the feds have stated that the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak openly about global warming. Due to this, many researchers fear that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing. Employees for both NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) have said in interviews this past year that Bush administration officials have reprimanded them for speaking on policy questions, have removed global warming references on reports and news releases and sometimes urged them to stop speaking to the media altogether, a point that’s been written about on TBWA before. (Once again, we are presented with an example of this administration putting pressure on it’s own people in order to not have a concept that Republican’s strongly disagree with see the light of day. How much longer can we allow this to continue?)

Break it down again. For the second time in two weeks, a former US general has called for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. Why? Serious mistakes made in the war in Iraq (color me unsurprised). Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, a former leader of the US Central Command stated (on last Sunday’s ‘Meet the Press’) that Rumsfeld (et al) need to be held accountable for all the tactical mistakes in Iraq. When pressed about who in the administration should resign, the General said, “Secretary of Defense, to begin with.” General Zinni went on to say that other responsible parties for the war efforts should also resign. When the military starts questioning your military strategies and tactics… it’s time to worry. Never mind that others have been saying the exact same thing for a very, very long time.

Tax man. We applauded a federal judge for pushing for more explanation on this from the FEC last week. Now the House has approved campaign finance legislation that will benefit Republicans (big shock, right?) by capping “527” committees. The bill passed 218 to 209 in a virtual party-line vote. To learn more about 527 committees, click HERE.

Take them as you will…

Seems that the dots are starting to connect

As my esteemed colleague stated in an earlier post, former House Majority Leader Tom "I seemed to have been caught with my hand in the cookie jar" DeLay (R-TX) will announce that he is withdrawing from his reelection bid.

Why now and not months ago? Well it could have something to do with the fact that just last week his former Chief of Staff, Edwin A. Buckman was named as a person who "collaborated with the others" in court papers filed by the Justice Department. Who are the 'others'? Former high level DeLay staffers and Republican lobbyist good ole' Jack Abramoff.

In those same documents, DeLay himself was formally named as "Representative #2". You just know that the RNC has got to be scrambling to figure out a way out of this one, and of course the first call was to DeLay most likely telling him that it is time to get out before he further hurts the party. Too Late !!

Stay tuned as there will be more in the coming days and weeks. Between this and the coming changes in Washington, this should be interesting.

Later.

Oh, in case you're wondering, named as "Representative #1" in the Justice Department documents, Rep. Robert Ney (R-Oh).

Hallelujah!!!!!

Tom DeLay is dropping out of his re-election race. More to come when we have more information...

But the news does bring a smile to our faces here at TBWA... in the grand scheme of all things political, it doesn't mean a lot, but what the hell; champagne is on us....

The Week Ahead: Update

One more thing to keep a close eye on this week...

It was just announced that a federal jury has decided that Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty in the first U.S. trial about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as the jury agreed with the prosecution's case that Moussaoui's lying to FBI agents resulted in deaths on 9/11.

It is now up to the jury to decide whether or not Moussaoui will be executed for his role in the 9/11 deaths.

As I said in last week's Random Political Thoughts: kill the fu****.

He's admitted complicity in the attacks and has (reportedly) shown no remorse.

For more on this 'developing' story, click HERE (CNN.com) or HERE (AP via Chicago Tribune). For a UK perspective, click HERE (The Times of London)

Stay tuned...

The Week Ahead

editors note: For some reason Kemp finds himself unable to gain access and post (maybe the windowless black vans are closing in around him...) so I am happy to post this look at the week ahead on his behalf- Scott

After a Sunday night of storms and sirens, Monday, a gray… cold… wet and windy Monday arrives. Here’s a short list of things to monitor as the week goes on…

• The immigration debate continues…Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) wants a vote on new immigration legislation THIS WEEK. Why? So he has a nice springboard for his 2008 Presidential aspirations. But…
  
• With Republican on the Hill sharply divided over immigration and the budget, the chances of either of the two legislations being passed this week are slim to none. As Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) stated, “There’s a chasm between the House and Senate.” Definitely something that we should all keep an eye on as this week progresses.
  
• The GOP and its strategists have a strategy (goes without saying, doesn’t it?) that foresees the strong economy as their ticket to victory in November’s mid-term elections. Good plan guys… but wouldn’t it work better if the economy was actually… what’s the word I’m looking for?? Ah… good? Let’s see how far this strategy takes ‘em. Having said that, at least they HAVE a strategy… hello?? Anyone home at the DNC or DCCC????
  This is something we all need to keep an eye on this week (and in the months, and years, to come) India, and nuclear weapons.
  
• This week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is poised to defend the landmark nuclear accord that she orchestrated with India. Hard sell is an understatement in my opinion.
  Florida Senate candidate Katherine Harris’ campaign is “leaking” staff faster than you can say ‘Hans Brinker’
  
• From the ‘someone’s been watching too much The West Wing lately’ files. As his approval numbers continue to drop faster than a staff-member in a Katherine Harris campaign, President Bush’s advisors have him adopting a new strategy to re-appeal to votes; Let Bush be Bush. They say it makes him seem plainspoken, folksy and appear as an ‘Average Joe.’ (Personally, it just reinforces my opinion that we have an someone in charge of our country who couldn’t add two and two together) Keep an eye on Bush this week as the roll-out of his new strategy continues in an attempt to boost his numbers. Not gonna happen my friend… but it should be fun to watch the train wreck continue…
  
• Bush is likely to name a nominee to head FEMA this week. Short list (meaning it’s the name that the Bush Administration has leaked) is acting-FEMA chief David Paulison. A Bush-crony, sure, but at least he has some background in disasters as he is a former fireman. (Interesting sidebar to this story, The New York Times reported yesterday that the “President” had to turn to Paulison after several candidates pulled themselves out of the running)

The Weekly Rewind

It... is... Friday...

We all know what that means, right? Payday! Whoo-hooooo!!!

But it also means that it is time for The Weekly Rewind, our attempt to recapitulate the past week in politics... the only way we know how. With attitude! And a good dose of caffeine...

What's that?? It's not normal for me to be flittering around like a hummingbird? Hmmmm, I wonder if it could be the 2 pots of coffee I drank today...

The Rewind for the week ending March 31, 2006... starts... right now... (this is when I wish we had theme music...)

Applaud: to the reshuffling of cards in the Bush Administration that comes with the resignation of White House Chief of Staff (COS) Andrew Card. Anytime we can jettison a piece of Bushcrony crap, it’s a good thing. Having said that though, his resignation also leads to this...

Heckle: to a shake-up that isn’t really a shake-up (unless you’re one of the countless lemming running amok in this country right now). Replacing Card will be Josh Bolten, who currently works for the Bush Administration... but in a different capacity. Some within the administration are touting this as the first salvo in a massive “second-term overhaul, others think that if you are trying to shake things up, you don’t bring someone in from another part of the administration. This can be seen one of two ways; Card getting the hell out of Dodge before the you-know-what really hits the fan… or he was pushed out because he is starting to garner too much attention with PlameGate. Stay tuned…

Applaud: to more telling it like it is. This time it comes from CNN’s Lou Dobbs, currently traveling abroad with Bush in Mexico. Long and short of it, Dobbs stated that President Bush and Congress are defying the people's will. I could explain it more, but I feel pointing you to the actual article (HERE) and urging you to read it works better in this situation.

Heckle: to bringing up painful memories of the past. I understand the need to release the 911 tapes from the September 11^th terrorist attacks to the families that lost loved ones on that day… what I don’t like is the way the media is playing them over and over and over. Leave it for the families… please.

Applaud: Former US national security advisor (under Jimmy Carter) Zbigniew Brzezinski has put together a four-point plan for the United States to withdraw from Iraq with a plan that would allow BushCo to extricate gradually in Iraq, “without victory, but also without defeat.” Let’s hope the Bush Administration listens and heeds what we at TBWA always say… show respect and practice tolerance for those who disagree with them… and listen to others who may have some very good and very practical ideas. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that to happen, but I won’t hold my breath, lest I lose consciousness.

Heckle: to piss-poor planning and calculation. The Bush administration announced Thursday that the cost of rebuilding New Orleans's levees to federal standards had been miscalculated and has now tripled to $10 billion. So far Congress has only approved $2 billion for the rebuilding effort and will next week will consider a White House request for an additional $1.5 billion. Local leaders are stating that the federal government is backing away from its promise to rebuild the area to better protect it from future storms. The even worse news is that the start of the 2006 hurricane season is only 2 months away and this season is forecast to be as nasty as last season. Now do you want the punch line? Because of the ballooning costs, there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region now. Brilliant… absolutely fuc**** brilliant! Just keep kicking them while they’re down and hope they leave…

Applaud: to the release of hostage Jill Carroll. No smart-ass comments, no ‘snark’, just a big sigh of relief. We’ll ignore her comments that she was ‘treated well’ by her kidnappers and attribute it to Stockholm Syndrome. But… this incident does illicit one:

Heckle: to Don “Old Fart” Imus’ sidekick (or lackey if you want to get technical) for comparing Carroll, on the air, to a suicide bomber. Want to read the exchange? Click HERE. Sounds as though even Imus, who is just this side of senility, is aghast at what his co-host and producer are saying.

Applaud: To Snark-filled radio – Liberal style. Today marks the 2^nd Anniversary of the liberal radio network Air America. Remember that conservatives? The network you all claimed would shut down after 6 months. Today they're heard on 85 stations (& XM Satellite Radio) and you can stream their programming on the ‘internets.’ As BiPM said on his Daily Kos Cheer & Jeers diary today: “It's not just talk radio---it's crack for the reality-based soul.” ‘Karma, baby!’

Heckle: to an issue that will put ally vs. ally, family vs. family, and politicians vs. politicians. Immigration reform is gearing up to be THE hot-button issue for this years midterm elections and beyond. I am still in the middle of the road on this topic, seeing intelligent arguments being made on both sides. What I do know is that it will not go away soon… it will not go away quietly… and the debate will get louder and louder. All I can say about it now is… stay tuned.

Applaud: to the great city of Chicago, who announced that they may “buck” the feds on immigration and will not enforce any immigration law that criminalizes undocumented workers. Tip of the hat to Mayor Daley for standing up for one of your largest ethnic blocs… very, very smart.

Heckle: to SCJOTUS Antonin Scalia. Not for his decisions and opinions, but rather for… how do we say this… for acting like a street punk when he made an obscene gesture and said "Vaffanculo" (literally "Go get f'd up your ass")… did we mention there is photographic evidence? Did we mention it was in church? Nice...

Applaud: to not kowtowing to the current administration. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan rejected requests by the Bush-Cheney campaign to order the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce tougher regulations on "527" political committees. In a ruling issued earlier this week, Judge Sullivan gave the FEC a choice: explain in detail why regulations are not needed… or begin proceedings to develop such rules. Nice… very nice ruling your honor…

Heckle: to nothing good can come of this. Iran announced that it had successfully test fired a new missile. Not only is this new missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but is also claimed to be invisible to radar and is able to avoid anti-missile missiles (Patriot). They already have the Shahab-3 missile that is nuclear capable and can hit not only Israel but also U.S. bases around the Middle East and now they add another to thier arsenal. Clueless George has already lost all credibility here and overseas, so this will be interesting. Three words: cuban... missle... crisis...

Applaud: to even more in-fighting among the GOP (hee hee hee). Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has been facing mounting criticism this week from fellow Republicans who have stated that he has proved to be an ineffectual leader whose legislative agenda was predicated by his ambitions for the Presidency. Rumbling about Frist were seen before, but have been exacerbated by his push to debate immigration reform, which some Republicans say put a spotlight on a hot-button topic that caused squabbling within the party. Frist is not a leader… he was placed in his current position of power due to lack of other options. He has a long history of looking out for himself and only caring about his own political ambitions. Now others, including some within his party, are starting to see that. (I think we can now say that his presidential ambitions are on life-support. Let’s hope President Bush can cut short his current trip and rush back to DC to save him… sarcasm is SO hard to convey in a blog)

Applaud: to getting what’s coming to you, and it’s only the beginning. Lobbysit extraordinarie Jack Abramoff, he of the disgraced lobbying fame, was sentenced earlier this week to nearly six years in prison for fraud. As we said on this blog earlier this week, this has nothing to do with his problems in DC… so it’s likely that he will receive more prison time… unless he starts naming names, which is always a possibility. (All together now: ‘Karma, baby!!’)

Heckle: to not knowing the difference between Iraq and Turkey. Howard Kallogian, a Republican candidate in the CA-50 special election, posted a picture on his campaign site (which you can see HERE on Daily Kos) which he claims he took in Bahgdad, in order to show the “good things” happening over there that are being ignored by the mainstream media (msm). Wow, that is a nice picture of Baghdad… except, wait a minute, the women are wearing shorts and t-shirts… that doesn’t sound right. Oh wait, that’s right; it’s not Bahgdad, it’s a suburb of Istanbul… which (hopefully this fact doesn’t really need to be pointed out) is in Turkey. The man is an idiot. The only thing more entertaining than this picture being seen as the fraud that it is? Watching Kallogian trying to spin the story. Karma, baby!

Applaud/heckle: I honestly can’t decide what this one should be classified as. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated in a speech today that the Bush administration has made "thousands" of tactical errors in Iraq. Well, duh. That statement alone would illicit an applaud, but then she had to add that history would judge the strategic decision of invading Iraq favorably… huh? Ya see, that makes me re-think that it’s an heckle. Sigh… I give up.

Applaud: to approaching milestones. We at TBWA have been posting and giving you our unique approach to politics since September 2005. Here we are, the last day of March and we are very, very close to 10,000 visitors… that’s right… 10,000. It boggles the mind...

That's all we got, what are you Applauding and Heckling as this week (and the month of March) comes to an end?

25 years ago today...

Even today, 25 years later… I remember where I was and how I was told. I was 7, attending a Catholic grade school (the only option at that time in the little town where I resided outside of St Louis), and the Priest came in and told us what had happened.

I believe in showing respect and practicing tolerance for those who disagree with me. Having said that, I may not agree with his policies as President… and I may not respect him as a politician… but he was a good man (though only a so-so actor) who I respected as a person. Reading this article from the Washington Post will take you back and make you think, and I highly suggest everyone take a gander...

'Arbitrary' Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

It is with a heavy heart that we at TBWA announce the resignation of Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon. RPTFAWA has served us well, but in an attempt to shake things up a bit, we at TBWA feel comfortable with a change. After an exhaustive search that spanned 1 day, we found our choice to fill this position within our own ranks, not venturing far from the blogosphere. So it is with great honor that we present to you; Arbitrary Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon.

The Democratic National Security Plan. Seems as though the Democratic leadership has been listening to us at TBWA (… along with every other Liberal site) as Congressional Democrats are set to unveil a national security plan today that looks to “eliminate” Osama bin Laden, “immediately implement” the 9/11 Commission recommendations (wow, there’s a concept for ya) and an all-encompassing increase in security, both domestically and abroad. This marks the first major plan provided by Democrats on national security (in what can only be coincidentally in a midterm election year). Strategists hope the ever-deepening discontent with Bush and the Republican-led Congress will lead to Democratic gains in November. (Fingers crossed, but, this almost smells of desperation, but I’ll withhold my final analysis until I hear every detail)

Card shuffling. The resignation of COS Andrew Card is being seen in some circles as the start of a “second-term overhaul.” Others think that if you are trying to shake things up, you don’t bring someone in from, literally, ‘across the street’. I could see hiring someone from outside the current administration to shake things up, but someone who is already working, in some capacity, in the Administration is not shaking things up… it’s simply changing times for their depositions in the Libby and/or Abramoff trials.

This week’s shameless Op-Ed Plug. Read this gem from WaPo columnist David Ignatius. Hopefully, the leaders of the Democratic Party read it as well.

An ‘outside’ chance? Nope. Earlier this week the Senate voted down (67-30) the plan to set up an independent office that would investigate any ethics complaints against Senate members. This clears the way to pass a broad-based ethics and lobbying bill this week.that would be overseen and ran by… can you guess? That’s right, the Senate itself. Well sure, having an outside office overseeing corruption and ethics lapses would force them to be… well… ethical… and we can’t have that now, can we? Note to all the Senators on BOTH sides of the aisle: It will catch up to you all, via a little something we at TBWA like to call, ‘Karma, baby!’

More card shuffling. Andrew Card’s replacement as Chief of Staff (COS), Josh Bolten, is a Bush loyalist (read: crony) who is known up and down K-Street as someone who is modest, competent and non self-promoting. Unmarried, Bolten likes to unwind by riding his Harley, bowling in the White House alley, or singing with his band, Deficit Attention Disorder. (Yeah… seems as though someone is trying too hard to prove he’s not a geek, but we all know better, don’t we?) See a few earlier posts by Scott and me for more on this train-wreck waiting to happen.

The antagonizing continues. Just when you thought “President” Bush couldn’t antagonize Iraq any more, he goes and surprises you. The American ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, told Shiite officials that the President doesn’t want Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to stay as the country's leader in the next phase of the Iraqi government . Naturally, this is increasing the already tense relationship between the US and Shiite leaders, but why should that surprise anyone. Bush has shown, many times in the past, his elitism with foreign potentates and prime ministers…

Trailing… trailing… gone? A new poll shows that weeks of turmoil in Katherine Harris’ campaign have not hurt her popularity with the voters. The problem is, it hasn’t helped either. For nine months, Harris has HHatrailed her Democratic opponent, Sen. Bill Nelson, 35 percent to 51 percent. The new poll shows the same spread. What part of ‘we wouldn’t vote for you Katherine if you were the last politician on earth’ does she NOT understand??? Maybe she’s hoping the pity vote will catapult her to Washington… though that seems less and less likely with every give day. Remember her actions during the 2000 voting recount and her campaign for Congress? Seems Karma is coming back to bite her in the ass… big time.

Immigrants? What immigrants? The Senate will take up a (very) broad revision of the country’s immigration policies today, Wednesday. There are signs everywhere that point to the fact that conservatives may be ready to do a little give and take on efforts to give illegal immigrants new ways to gain lawful employment. Yeah, protest after protest after protest can have that effect on people… (editor's note: You noticed that we at TBWA have not taken a position as of yet on this issue, that is because we are not prone to knee-jerk reactionary thinking. While we agree that drastic reform is needed, we want to have more facts before rendering an opinion on what the proper reform should be.- Scott)

The 5th plane? Convicted al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui's said in court this past week that he (along with would-be "shoe bomber" Richard Reid) were to hijack a 5th airliner and fly it into the White House in the September 11,2001 terror attacks. This confession has now undermined his attorneys' arguments that he shouldn’t be sentenced to death. That seems unlikely now, and, being a Liberal who supports the death penalty in some cases, I say kill the fu****.

And this is only the beginning… Jack Abramoff, he of the disgraced lobbying fame, was sentenced today to nearly six years in prison for fraud. Nice. And btw, this has nothing to do with his dealings in Washington; this is all about the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line, so more prison time is likely on its way for the one-time über-lobbyist. (All together now: ‘Karma, baby!!’)

Son of a bi***. Want outrage of a Republican lying to make things in Iraq look rosier than they are? Then trot on over to Daily Kos and check out this tasty tidbit. Im – be –cile.

Put the resolution down and take 1 step back. Due to this week’s FEC decision that the nation's new campaign finance laws won’t apply to most political activity on the internet, House Resolution (HR) 1606 has been put away by the House leadership. The resolution isn’t completely derived of life, but it has been locked away for now, to which I give a Homer Simpson-esque ‘Whoo-hoo!’

Downing Street Memo: The Sequel. In the weeks leading up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, “President” Bush offered up an ultimatum to Saddam Husein: Disarm or face war. The story behind closed doors was very different as Dubya was positive that war was certain. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, Bush stressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that he was determined to invade Iraq even if the arms inspectors failed to find WMD’s, second resolution be damned. This all according to a confidential memo about the meeting written by one of Blair's top foreign policy advisers. (editor's note: I've said it since before the 'war' began, Bush came into office looking for an excuse, 'any' excuse to invade Iraq. My feeling is that he was looking to get even for making daddy a 'one-termer'- Scott)

Take them as you will…

We changed the first mate but the 'ship' is still sinking

This morning on the Today Show, Mary Matalin was discussing the resignation of Andrew Card as White House Chief of Staff and commented that this White House has been historic in the things that they have accomplished. In her words we have a “robust economy” (the average American is still waiting for that to arrive) and made the comment that Bush is a ‘big, bold President’. (maybe a big, bold liar..)

Of incoming Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, she commented that he has a long time girlfriend but brings his mother to White House events. She said of Josh, “He’s a good boy”. (Wow I guess any other credentialing aside, that is a stamp of approval that we were all looking for on an advisor to the President)

Like was said yesterday by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), "Simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic by replacing Andy Card with Josh Bolten without a dramatic change in policy will not right this ship" . How right you are Senator….

Demonstrating that the HUGE shortcomings of this administration are not lost on the youth of this country, we want to give a shout out to Shelley! We at TBWA applaud a teenager with the ability to think for themselves. It’s also nice to know that we are one of her favorite websites. Like we have said before, spread the word-tell a friend about us. Oh, by the way Shelley, we are not sure if Dubya has difficulty with counting, but yes, we would agree with you about the lying part.

Later...

Aw crap...

You can put this under the ‘This can’t be good’ file.

Undercover investigators (in a report by the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, the Congressional watchdog) put radioactive material in the trunks of cars and drove to Canadian and Mexican border checkpoints on Dec. 14, 2005. When Homeland Security radiation detectors went off, the investigators gave the border agents falsified government licenses and receipts. Agents searched the cars, reviewed the documents and promptly gave the investigators the ‘wave through’ and the OK to bring the materials into the US.

Some solace can be taken in the fact that the Homeland Security Department's equipment worked properly, but that goes for naught when the agents (who, according to the report, acted in the way they were trained) let them in anyway.

The GAO also criticized the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for failing to require companies that sell radioactive material to verify who is buying it, with the report stating that there is no way for border agents to verify NRC licenses or other documents.

A NRC spindoc- , sorry, I meant 'spokesman,' said the GAO bought a small amount of radioactive material (is any amount 'small' when talking about radioactive materials?) and stated that the company selling it wouldn't have been required to ask for proof of licensing from buyers because the amount of material purchased was too small to pose a safety or security threat.

(Now, I see a quite a few problems with all of this; first, the fact that the investigators were able to bring the materials into the country in the first place is troubling. Second, that the radioactive materials were purchased so damn easily. Third, that the NRC would respond so flippantly about the ease of purchase of radioactive materials. Yes, the amounts they bought were small, but the fact remains, they were able to make up a company name and get the materials, and if someone did that enough, they would be able to amass enough to make something that would pose a safety or security threat)

Or, to borrow a line from my esteemed colleague, am I oversimplifying this too much?

A new hand has been dealt at the White House

This week just got interesting…

With debate about immigration reform continuing (I am currently conflicted about this and have not yet formed an intelligent opinion. If you want knee-jerk reaction to this story, look to a Republican), the GOP received some news today that may make their week go by a little faster and make them forget about that for, at least, a minute or two.

White House chief of staff Andy Card resigned today, and will be replaced by Joshua Bolten, who for the last three years was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Bolten was praised by Bush who called him a man with broad experience on Wall Street and in Washington.

Bush announced the changes that are coming amid escalating calls for a White House/ Administration shakeup during a nationally broadcast appearance in the Oval Office

(Nice… the putz didn’t even have the balls to have a real press conference… lest anyone ask him a question. This action of having an Oval Office press conference gives this WaPo story absolutely NO credence whatsoever… Dubya is not making any inroads with all the media. There are still some out there, quite a few actually, who see the man and his actions for what they truly are. Want an example? WH Press Corps Icon Helen Thomas. He’s may be making inroads with the Post, but that’s because they have been a Bush Mediawhore for years… but I’m getting severely off subject)

Standing stoically as Bush lauded his years of service, Card, gripping the podium like it was a life preserver, stated in his farewell: “You're a good man, Mr. President.” (Andy, I think you can stop sucking up to him now…)

During a presidency, especially in its second term, it's not unusual for top-level staff to change. What’s interesting in this case is that up until last week, the President was insisting (stubbornly some, including myself, would say) that a shake-up was not in the… cards… (sorry, I can never resist a bad pun)

The fact that Bush has all of a sudden accepted Card’s resignation shows (yet again) that this President is weak and that his administration seems to be on wobbly legs. Add to that the fact Bush has been forced to listen to some very scared GOP leaders who are being threatened with losing their majority status come November’s midterm elections.

There are also parallels between Card and Scooter Libby, the Vice-President's Chief of Staff who resigned because of the Valerie Plame/CIA scandal. Card is in the midst of another scandal, that of warrantless domestic spying. Why? Let’s keep in mind that it was Card (along with current AG Alberto “Torture is Fun” Gonzales) who went to former AG, Singin’ John Ashcroft's, hospital bed in 2004 to get the approval to keep the (illegal) program alive.

I'm sure the conservative pundits, like Michelle “Insert own nickname here” Malkin or Ann “Rhymes-with-Witch” Coulter, will be aflutter about how this shake-up is going to help invigorate the President's second term.

No matter how you slice it, it’s still baloney as there is no way, no matter how much ‘new (old) blood’ Bush brings in, to prevent him from going down in history as the worst president to ever hold office.

Poll Position

It’s that time of the month (no, not that time), it’s that time of the month where we at TBWA change our bi-weekly poll and announce the results of the previous poll.

The last poll question posted was: What do you think of the Presidents low approval ratings?

Well, it’s obvious that all of you definitely have an opinion on this subject as this question drew a heavy response from our readers. In fact, it has drawn the largest number of votes since we started doing the poll…thank you.

Here are the results:

Coming in last, each with 1% of the vote, are people who either don’t care about the President’s ratings or those who are certain his numbers will bounce back (I, personally, hope they do not…)

3% of respondents wanted us to know that they were upset about the ratings and were curious if they were only polling Liberals (BTW, to the 3% of you who voted for that – no, they didn’t just poll Liberals… sorry. I’m not really sorry, but that looks better than writing nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah)

16% don’t think that polls mean anything. To that we say, ‘wake up and smell 21st century politics people)

19% believe that it’s karma firmly biting Bush in the ass that are causing his approval-ratings downfall. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that we are ALL about the Karma…

Having said that, the winner, with a vast majority of you selecting it (60% of you to be exact), is that President Bush is going to go down in history as the: Worst. President. Ever. (sorry to trot out an overused and trite bloggerism like that)

That’s all I got. Scott and I thank all of you who took the time to vote. Our new poll is up, so take a moment and vote for the new question: Do you agree with the FEC's decision to not regulate political activity on the Internet?

The Week Ahead

Things to pay attention to and keep an eye (or two) on this week…

• As more and more information on this comes out, it's sure to make this week very, very interesting. It seems there is a new memo rattling around out there that (allegledly) shows that Herr Bush was intent on invading Iraq in January 2003 (personally I think it goes back even further than that – like when Daddy lost his re-election bid, but that’s just my opinion…). He was intent even though the White House had knowledge that Saddam Hussein had no WMD’s. ‘Nuff said.
• The Federal Election Commission (FEC) decided today, in a 6-0 vote, that the nation's new campaign finance law won’t apply to most political activity on the Internet with the commission deciding to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's Web site. Good times.
• The public is losing confidence in the war… and losing faith in lawmakers that supported it (expect to see more backpeddaling on this – by both Democrats & Republicans – than there was on XX) Experts believe “this might mark a turning point in public perception” and may help the Dems in November’s mid-terms. As we’ve said on this site before… this will work to our advantage only if the Dems in power can strike a single chord and agree on one message and one strategy. Get it in gear already guys…
• The last few weeks have seen some (very) large rallies in major towns across the US to show support to immigrants. All this while lawmakers confront legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigrants. This could very well be THE biggest story to keep an eye on this week as there are sure to be more rallies, more debate and more bickering. Stay tuned…
• Pressure is mounting on politicians to make full disclosure of any and all dealings with lobbyists… the proposals being made are also demanding they be held accountable. Yeah, like that’s gonna work…
• Continue to keep an (very close) eye on Jack Abramoff this week. A judge has approved subpoenas for him and one of his (many) business partners to answer questions about the mob-style slaying of Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis a few months after the Abramoff and his partner bought SunCruz Casinos from him. (Well, that story does go along with the Mob-look that Abramoff is going for with the black trench coat and black fedora…)
• This is important news to monitor if you’re a convervative looking for a job… News is coming out that First Lady Laura Bush goes through staff faster than the rise in Dick Cheney’s bloodpressure if his motel-room TV isn’t set to Fox ‘News” (even faster than her husband… I know there’s a sexual performance joke in there somewhere, but I’ll refrain from that today) Well hell, would you want to work for that ball-busting, you-know-what?? Remember her steel glance at Corretta Scott King’s funeral?? I think I would prefer to work for Ann Coulter or Michele Malkin… ok, that’s a lie, but you get the general idea.
• As always, keep an eye on the weekly goings-on of Smilin’ Tom DeLay. On tap this week? One of his former aides has been enriching himself through a non-profit agency. The judge presiding over his trial is expected to decide on the motion before the court about whether a felony charge of conspiracy to violate the Texas Election Code should be reinstated against DeLay.
• One last thing to keep an eye on this week is the trial of September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. He’s taking the stand today in his sentencing trial that will determine whether he is executed or not, so things could get interesting as this week continues.

Stay tuned...