Bush ads turning off GOP base
After a Memorial Day spent campaigning in his district, a Republican House member turned on the television Monday night to encounter a positive advertisement by George W. Bush's re-election campaign. To the congressman's dismay, it praised the president's education bill. That was probably the second least favorite ad possible, in the opinion of this lawmaker.
Monday, May 31, 2004
U.S. is lost in Afghanistan
The handful of valiant American warriors fighting the ''other'' war in Afghanistan is not a happy band of brothers. They are undermanned and feel neglected, lack confidence in their generals and are disgusted by Afghan political leadership. Most important, they are appalled by the immense but fruitless effort to find Osama bin Laden for purposes of U.S. politics.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
A fourth star for Gen. Sanchez?
President Bush must make a difficult decision whether to promote Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who recently ended 13 months as top U.S. military officer in Iraq, to full four-star general.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
GOP revolution on its last legs
Dr. Tom Coburn, the plainspoken obstetrician from Muskogee, Okla., was back in Washington briefly last week. Republican senators greeted him with mixed emotions. He is their best hope for keeping an Oklahoma seat Republican in the closely divided Senate. The bad news is, he would be as prickly as he was during his six years in the House (1995-2000).
Monday, May 24, 2004
No lack of warning on Chalabi
The story passed around by military officers at the Defense Department is that Ahmad Chalabi, outraged by the arrest of his associates and the raid on his home by U.S.-authorized Iraqi police, quickly got on the phone to the Pentagon. ''Get me Wolfowitz!'' Chalabi is alleged to have demanded. But it was too late for Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz or anybody else to save the erstwhile American favorite in Iraq.
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Poll boosts Edwards' veep chances
A poll showing the nomination of Sen. John Edwards for vice president would put his state of North Carolina in play for the presidential election has increased chatter about a Kerry-Edwards ticket among Sen. John Kerry's insiders.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Conservative base shows cracks
During George W. Bush's keynote address to the 40th anniversary black-tie banquet of the American Conservative Union last week, diners rose repeatedly to applaud the president's remarks. But one man kept his seat through the 40-minute oration. It was no liberal interloper, but conservative stalwart Donald Devine.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Judicial tinkering swept under rug
Today, on the 50th anniversary of the school desegregation decision, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission -- frozen by ideological deadlock -- will debate something important. Shall it investigate whether the Senate's judicial confirmation process was perverted two years ago to influence a landmark civil rights case?
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Rumsfeld may have to ax an ally
If Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld survives the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal, he may have to lose one of his closest advisers: Stephen A. Cambone, undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Senator airs GOP war discomfort
Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is an old-fashioned conservative and a loyal Republican who happens to be the current chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That's why his Landon Lecture last week at his alma mater, Kansas State University, is a remarkable document. While benefitting from the most highly classified information, he is expressing the concerns of ordinary conservatives and Republicans.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Few friends rush to aid Rumsfeld
Amid the political firestorm after the Army confirmed maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners, Donald Rumsfeld was provided no cover. It was not surprising that partisan Democrats went for the secretary of defense's throat. The shocker was how few friends of the Bush administration jumped to his aid. There were reasons that transcended the atrocities at Abu Ghraib.
Sunday, May 9, 2004
Interest rate boost before election
The Bush administration has been alerted that Chairman Alan Greenspan will guide the Federal Reserve Board to a small interest rate boost before the presidential election, and President Bush is reported to be satisfied.
Wild about Harry
