FDR's Availability to the Press

FDR held nearly 1000 press conferences during his presidency. From LIFE Magazine, February 13, 1939: "Every Tuesday and Friday, 50 to 200 Washington correspondents herded into the oval Presidential office in the executive wing of the White House to match wits with President Roosevelt at one of his regular press conferences."

Condi Goes on Offense

According to Reuters, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is changing gears after laying low on the European CIA prison scandal: $Q: Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said Rice told him in Washington she expected allies to trust that America does not allow rights abuses -- a sign she will avoid giving Europe a detailed response on U.S. intelligence work. The plan is to bring the European governments on board and get them to sell the White House line to their citizens—the problem is the administration's credibility on the issue is in shreds. A few examples: The Abu Ghraib scandal Then White House counsel Albert Gonzales' comments on the Geneva Convention: "In my judgment, this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions." Cheney's lobbying efforts to get the a CIA exemption to anti-torture provisions Of course there's the larger problem of trusting an administration that has repeatedly spread false information through official channels and continues to do so. The Secretary of State's job must be difficult to do with a straight face these days.

Maureen Dowd on Cheney

MoDo rips into the Vice President in her new column. $Q: When did everybody get the un-American idea that the president is answerable to America?

Losing Hearts and Minds

From a Zogby/University of Maryland Poll released yesterday (conducted in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) 81%----Iraq war has brought "less peace" to the Middle East 78%----Iraq war has resulted in more terrorism than before 58%----Iraq war has brought less democracy 6%-----Iraqi people are better off than before war 77%----Iraqi people are worse off than before war 6%-----Spreading democracy was the objective of the war 76%----Control of oil fields was an important factor

Press Corps Lays Down on Memo

WaPo's Dan Froomkin reports on the White House Press Corps' handling of the memo story that's causing so many waves in Britannia. The WH press is treating it like the case for WMD—in other words they're not on it at all. The claims are serious: the British classified document reportedly contains evidence the President suggested bombing a civilian target in an allied country. How many questions does it merit? One. Froomkin points out the media's obsession du jour is the President's jury duty. Shame there's no room left for real news.

Al-Qaeda Threat Low in US

Good news from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Something here for both sides: "You almost can't define al-Qaida just as an entity that you can put on an organizational chart. It has now expanded to an ideology that has gotten quite dangerous." Imagine no war in Iraq and the resources tied up there applied to OBL and his network. How can the Iraq strategy be effective when it creates an expansion of Al-Qaeda ideology? The other side will argue: the focal point has moved from the United States to Iraq because the various terrorist organizations want to beat the United States there, akin to how jihadists ran the Soviets out of Afghanistan in the 1980s. But in the administration's National Strategy for Victory in Iraq they concede AQ terrorists are the minority in the enemy camp. Surely there's a more cost-effective way—both in terms of blood and treasure—to confront the real murderers of 9/11 than to stage a war in which they play a tangential role.

Samples of Bush Speech Criticism

From Iraq: One mixed Shi'ite-Sunni family that watched the news dismissed Mr. Bush's words. "My mother just said, 'He is stupid, I don't like him,' and my sister said she felt better with Saddam in power because although it was a hard regime, it was organized," said Ahmed, a Sunni in his 40s, whose sisters married Shi'ites. From Iraq: "Most people don't believe Bush. Always he says he will fight terrorism, but there is never any change. Look at what happened in Ramadi," Ahmed said. From Jordan: "That there will be no Iraq pullout without victory is a story that not even children would believe," wrote the Jordanian newspaper Al-Rai. "Washington itself realizes that 'victory' is impossible." From UAE The United Arab Emirates' Al Khaleej said in an editorial that Mr. Bush's promise to pull American troops out of Iraq as the country stabilizes rang hollow, insisting that "neoconservatives" in the U.S. government would never allow a complete withdrawal. "It is not easy to abandon their plan for the 'greater Middle East' and their dreams of controlling the world," the paper said. From Nashville: Wars must be fought with flexibility. Americans understand that. What they don't understand is why, after three years, the administration can't articulate a strategy that will train sufficient troops, repair the damage done to the country and reduce the friction between Iraq's feuding factions." From Lexington: "While he seemed to be declaring victory in Iraq, his larger vision seems to have the country fighting in the Middle East for a long time." Sources: International Reactions: Washington Times Domestic Reactions: USAToday

Heavy Loss in Iraq

Ten US marines are said to be dead and at least as many wounded in an attack on a foot patrol near Fallujah yesterday.

Raw Story: "Phase II is Dead"

Raw Story reports Phase II of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation into the administration's use of pre-war intel has once again become bogged down. $Q : Part of the delay is due to resistance from the Pentagon regarding its ultra-secretive Office of Special Plans (OSP). The group was set up by then Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Doug Feith. OSP was considered by many Defense Department officers and staff to be highly paranoid, secretive cabal of ideologues bent on creating a war with Iraq. The group was tasked with finding intelligence that fit the administration’s anti-Iraq policy. Chairman Roberts alone holds subpoena power, but his history of collusion with VPOTUS to maintain secrecy is troublesome; to get any movement, the Democrats will likely have to publicly shame him and the other Republicans on the committee into performing their oversight responsibilities. This is exactly what Sen. Reid did when he invoked Rule 21 and threw the Senate into Secret Session at the beginning of November. The move was a dramatic shot across the bow, but any attempts to repeat the effort will surely be weaker. Senators who put the interests of the administration above the interests of the electorate are well aware of this—Democrats have to keep coming on all fronts until the truth wins out.

Latest on Rove from NYT

A NYT article this morning ( though Firedoglake, C&L, and Talk Left beat them to the punch) reveals how Viveca Novak fits into the Plamegate investigation. It's not as murky and arcane as it sounds—rough timeline: Rove testifies about a meeting with Robert Novak, mentions nothing about a conversation with Matthew Cooper Viveca Novak (no relation) tips off Rove camp that Cooper will be testifying about his conversation with Rove Rove "remembers" Cooper conversation and testifies again Fitzgerald made it clear at his press conference that motivation and state of mind are determining factors in his decisions to indict. The upshot—Rove could be in trouble if: He was asked but didn't tell the truth about how he came to "remember" the Cooper conversation Fitzgerald believes Rove came forward because he had absolutely no choice - not because he wanted to clear the record If Rove was candid with the grand jury about the role of Viveca Novak it's difficult to see why Fitzgerald is pursuing this angle so late in the game. It sounds like the Special Prosecutor is bolstering a case for perjury.

Karen Hughes on the Move

Embattled ambassador Karen Hughes has finally found a way to reduce anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. The plan involves her staying as far away from the area as possible (State's Karen Hughes To Lead Delegation to Central America). Sounds like a win/win scenario—she'll be helping raise money for local disaster relief.

Cheney's Access to President Limited?

Insight reports the Vice President's influence is waning with POTUS. $Q: Over the last two months Mr. Cheney has been granted decreasing access to the Oval Office, the sources said on the condition of anonymity. Have to take this one with a grain of salt—it seems incredible that Cheney would have any access problems at the Oval Office. Assuming it's true, whose job is it to tell Cheney not to come around so often?

Italian PM Berlusconi Living in Bush-World

Berlusconi said yesterday, "It's important that the international community remains in Iraq to keep public order and so that a democratic and united state can be formed" Remains? The problems all track back to the President's inability or unwillingness to follow his father's example and build an international consensus before invading. It's a little late. Apparently Berlusconi wasn't listening last Saturday when UN envoy Ashraf Qazi "said that the continued violence meant that it was too dangerous for international observers to come to Iraq in significant numbers to monitor the poll." And in more news on the dwindling coalition Bulgaria and Ukraine "are withdrawing forces this month and a half-dozen others are debating possible pullouts or reductions"

KBR Paying Slave Wages

From a breaking story by Pamela Hess that lifts the veil on Halliburton contracts: The U.S. military has paid Halliburton subsidiary KBR about $12 billion so far for so-called logistics support to U.S. military personnel in Iraq, the largest contract of its kind ever... While the United States spends billions on troop support in Iraq, the people serving the meals, scooping the ice cream, and washing the dishes make as little as 50 cents an hour.

IRAQ: What Real Victory Looks Like

From the St.Louis Post-Dispatch. $Q: The war in Iraq is not vital to U.S. interests. The war on terror is no more likely to be won or lost in Iraq than the Cold War was to be won or lost in Vietnam. The sooner we can develop a plan to get out of Iraq, rebuild our military and refocus our resources and attention on the terrorists behind Sept. 11, the closer we'll be to real victory.

Einstein on Victory in Iraq

The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.

Richard Nixon November 3, 1969

"We have adopted a plan which we have worked out in cooperation with the South Vietnamese for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat ground forces, and their replacement by South Vietnamese forces on an orderly scheduled timetable. This withdrawal will be made from strength and not from weakness. As South Vietnamese forces become stronger, the rate of American withdrawal can become greater. "I have not and do not intend to announce the timetable for our program. And there are obvious reasons for this decision which I am sure you will understand. As I have indicated on several occasions, the rate of withdrawal will depend on developments on three fronts. "One of these is the progress which can be or might be made in the Paris talks. An announcement of a fixed timetable for our withdrawal would completely remove any incentive for the enemy to negotiate an agreement. They would simply wait until our forces had withdrawn and then move in.

Bush vs Ware

Did the President lie in his speech Wednesday? ThinkProgress has the details.

Iraqi Press Payola Backfires

The New York Times has more on the Lincoln Group payola scandal. The reason for the program to plant propaganda in the nascent Iraqi free press? Citing a "fundamental problem of credibility" and foreign opposition to American policies, a Pentagon advisory panel last year called for the government to reinvent and expand its information programs. No word yet on Plan B.

Neocon Lexicon Running Out of Words

In an LA Times piece that's almost comical Paul Richter traces Rumsfeld and Co.'s efforts to find a workable label for the enemy. "Insurgency" is out these days because it gives them: "more legitimacy than they seem to merit." Iraqis now have a constitutional government that offers them legitimate means of political expression, and the foe lacks broad popular support, Rumsfeld argued. Richter is quick to point out: According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, an insurgent is "a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government." Rumsfeld should take the time he's wasting on script changes and apply it to understanding the real motivations of the enemy. They're killing young Americans no matter he calls them.

Hersh Tips Hand on Secret Prisons

James Wolcott has it. Must read with a bonus— JW can't resist a well-placed dig at Woodward before he hits "Send".

Fair and Balanced in Iraq

The LA Times reports the administration is exporting the Armstrong Williams payola tactic to Iraq. $Q: As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq. Update: Raw Story has a letter from Rep. Henry Waxman calling for an investigation into the matter.

Miller's Mangled Mea Culpa

Judith Miller, in a BBC interview, apologized for her role in spreading WMD misinformation by saying: "I am obviously deeply chagrined that I ever write anything that turns out to be incorrect. I'm deeply sorry that the stories were wrong." No word on how she feels about the larger issue of being used to sell a misguided war—this apology could apply to her getting the breed of dog wrong in a story about the local pound. Even still she should have stopped there because once she got going: ...she defended her journalism saying she was right to publish and had done everything she could to verify the facts. She said: "I'm deeply sorry our intelligence community got it wrong. "I am deeply sorry that the President was given a national intelligence estimate which concluded that Saddam Hussein had biological and chemical weapons and a active weapons programme." There was plenty of information out there contradicting the bogus claims of the White House Iraq Group. Specifically, what did she do to verify the story? If she did anything, let alone "everything she could" it's curious she's not sharing it with the public. And she's also quite good at apologizing for what everyone else did wrong—a transparently pointless sentiment.

Hillary's Letter to Constituents

Senator Clinton adjusts to the prevailing sentiment with her latest missive to her constituents. No bombshell here as she finesses a turnaround. She accepts responsibility for her vote to authorize the use of force but offers no apologies. Her biggest challenge with the optics on Iraq is the fact that her position has often looked indistinguishable from the administration's; she's well aware of this and tackles it by giving a small laundry list of her criticisms. She finishes: We have to continue the fight against terrorism and make sure we apply America's best values and effective strategies in making our world and country a better and safer place. We have to do what is right and smart in the war against terrorists and pursuit of democracy and security. That means repudiating torture which undermines America's values. That means reforming intelligence and its use by decision makers. That means rejecting the Administration's doctrine of preemptive war and their preference to going it alone rather than building real international support. I know when America leads with its values and fearlessly faces the facts, we make the best decisions. That is what is missing at the highest levels of our government, and what we desperately need now – answers to the questions about Iraq that only the President can provide. I hope he will level with the American people and provide us those answers in his Annapolis speech and give us the plan that has been sorely lacking. Strong close, but is it good enough in light of her record of poor choices on Iraq?

Bush Speech Transcript

up on White House site. A welcome acknowledgement from the President: The third group [of enemy in Iraq] is the smallest, but the most lethal: the terrorists affiliated with or inspired by al Qaeda . Many are foreigners who are coming to fight freedom's progress in Iraq. This group includes terrorists from Saudi Arabia, and Syria, and Iran, and Egypt, and Sudan, and Yemen, and Libya, and other countries. Our commanders believe they're responsible for most of the suicide bombings, and the beheadings, and the other atrocities we see on our television. Trans-national terrorists are the President's bogey-men—finally admitting they are the minority in the battle of Iraq is an indication the President just might be beginning to understand the true nature of the enemy.

National Strategy on Iraq Update

Download the full report at Washington Note Good first take analysis from ThinkProgress More later...

National Strategy for Victory in Iraq

Excerpts from the belated victory plan are up at UPI. Sample: Without victory in Iraq, it says "Middle East reformers would never again fully trust American assurances of support for democracy and human rights in the region—a historic opportunity lost. The resultant tribal and sectarian chaos would have major consequences for American security and interests in the region." Are there any Middle East reformers left who trust American assurances of support for human rights in the region? The main line is "no timetable". But a "conditions based withdrawal" amounts to a flexible timetable determined by the administration— they're the ones assessing conditions; if the public continues to demand less of a footprint don't be surprised if they find astonishing progress is being made in the near future.

Wolcott Demolishes Muhammad Ali Critic

In this corner: Daniel Pipes—Ali smearer In that corner: James Wolcott and the billions that love the Champ around the globe Wolcott comes out with a flurry and knocks Pipes senseless. The haymaker: Pipes firmly supported the Vietnam War, but not enough to enlist or submit to the draft. I believe the technical term is "chickenhawk."

Gen. Pace Tunes Up Rumsfeld

U.S. forces are obliged to stop inhumane treatment wherever they see it in Iraq, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday. This was news to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who told reporters "the United States does not have a responsibility" to prevent abuse of prisoners or civilians at the hands of the Iraqi military or police forces they are training. Pace offered the military perspective, which is less accommodating. "It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it," he said. "But I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it," said Rumsfeld, turning to Pace. "If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it," Pace said. Source:UPI

Good News for Young Iraqis

Forbes has the story: the World Bank has approved a 100M USD credit for education—the first such loan to Iraq in 30 years.

Hillary MIA on Iraq Issue

Recently Sen. Clinton, with Sen. Lieberman, launched new legislation to tackle video game violence. A worthy notion, sure—thankfully we all know where she stands on pretend violence. But as the front running Democrat, she has a responsibility to be clearer on the issue of the very real-world violence in Iraq. She took a play from her husband's book and has been moving right lately (the video stance is obviously part of it). But now she has a problem—on the central question of the day the country is moving in the opposite direction. In the past she's called for more troops, but with that position looking more marginal by the hour she's in danger of removing herself from the debate. She's dead wrong in thinking she has to take a testosterone driven stance to appear tough enough for the voters—it's condescending and reeks of politics over principles. Criticizing Rep. Murtha's plan was exactly the wrong thing to do—she should have been the one, not him, to crystallize the debate. She would have been hammered far worse than Murtha but would have come out ahead in the long run, because the public respects—some might say demands—courage in their leadership hopefuls. In Edison's opinion the country's greatest political thinker was Thomas Paine. His most famous words?—"Lead, follow or get out of the way". If Senator Clinton thinks the last approach will put her on track for the presidency she's in for a cold awakening. Because she's going to have to clarify eventually, and when she does she'll have to renounce some of her mistakes on Iraq. "Get out in Front on the Bad Stuff" is not only Politics 101, it's advice that's excruciatingly difficult to follow. The longer she waits, the louder the negative resonances will be in 2008.

Porter Goss Explains...

why OBL and al-Z are still at large: Al Qaeda leaders bin Laden and al-Zarqawi haven't been found "primarily because they don't want us to find them and they're going to great lengths to make sure we don't find them," Goss said in the interview broadcast Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

American Research Group Poll

Lowest approval number to date for the President in the ARG poll: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? 36% approve; 58% disapprove Source: American Research Group Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,100 American adults, conducted from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

Lieberman Duped?

Sen. Joe Lieberman "The country is now in reach of going from Saddam Hussein to self-government and, I'd add, self-protection," the Connecticut Democrat said in a conference call with reporters. "That would be a remarkable transformation ... I saw real progress there... The senator said he ate three Thanksgiving meals at different bases visiting with troops, including about 50 soldiers from Connecticut... Michael Ware (TIME) Q: From what you’re seeing, from what you’re hearing from the troops you have been embedded with, do they have confidence in — in the Iraqis they’re training? MICHAEL WARE: Whoever from the White House is saying that is one of two things. Clearly, they have never been in Iraq. And, clearly, they have never been in a firefight with an Iraqi unit. Secondly, they’re clearly lying, whether they know it or not. I mean, a very senior U.S. military intelligence officer, one of the most high-ranking in the country, just in the last few days, said to me, these Iraqi forces will never be in a position to be able to crush this insurgency. On the ground here, no one has no any real illusions about that. I have been in battle with almost every type of Iraqi security force there is, from police commandos, to special forces, to 36 Commando, to the elite counterterrorism force akin to the Delta. I have been with Kurds and Shia and Sunni. And I’m telling you, if the Iraqi security forces are the exit strategy, then get ready to be here for a long time. And your troops know that. They work with them side by side every day. Yes, there are advances. Yes, there are gains. But will this military that’s emerging here ever be able to replace the American military in Iraq? No.

Muhammad Ali Swiftboated

Neo-con nut rubber Daniel Pipes disgraces himself by smearing the Champ in today's New York Sun. Ali's crime? You guessed it—twirling the crazy sign at the President in his medal ceremony earlier this month. Samples: "Ali's unvarnished legacy is an exploitative personality, sordid career, vicious politics, and extremist religion. "Awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Muhammad Ali gratuitously celebrated a man profoundly opposed to Mr. Bush's own, his party's, and the country's principles. It represents, I submit, the nadir of his presidency.

Hersh's Up in the Air is Up

Must read from the New Yorker. The bottom line: the war is likely to get a whole lot bloodier for Iraqis. As the US air war increases and the boots on the ground decrease the concomitant decrease in casualties will give the impression that things are getting better. The script's already been written: "The Administration’s immediate political goal after the December elections is to show that the day-to-day conduct of the war can be turned over to the newly trained and equipped Iraqi military. It has already planned heavily scripted change-of-command ceremonies, complete with the lowering of American flags at bases and the raising of Iraqi ones." Note it's a political goal—the show will go on regardless of whether the Iraqi troops are ready or not. Past Hersh columns have mentioned heavy bombing campaigns that have been underreported—if reported at all—by the western press. They've proven much easier for the White House to hide than the American body count. If Hersh is correct, as he usually is, the goal is now the appearance of winning, whatever the cost.

Protests to Dog POTUS in Denver

The Denver Post reports anti-war groups are mobilizing for the President's fundraising visit on Tuesday. Must be a pretty hefty price per plate to make it worthwhile for Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave.

Fitzgerald Honing in on Rove

Raw Story reports Patrick Fitzgerald will present evidence to a new grand jury this week. Leaks from attorneys close to the case suggest the Special Prosecutor has the goods to discredit Rove's "memory lapse" alibi.

Condi to Smooth Over Prison Scandal

Reuters reports the Secretary of State will try to sell Europe on the necessity of human rights abuse for suspected enemies. The Euros know a little something about what happens when due process gets tossed— it's going to be a severe test of her charm. $Q: "Rice's planned approach on next week's trip matches the U.S. response to a weeks-old scandal that has fueled -- rather than defused -- concerns among European governments and the public."

Randy "Duke" Cunningham

AP reports the eight-term congressman resigned Monday under a deluge of bribery and corruption charges. To his credit his confession and remorse appear genuine—his professional and his private life are both ruined. Political opponents should rein in the schadenfreude and leave the personal tragedy of one man's greed alone—the attention is best focused elsewhere. On the company that bribed him, for instance: MZM does classified intelligence work for the military. It had $65.5 million of contracts for intelligence-related defense work in fiscal 2004, ranking No. 38 on the Pentagon's list. The company has established a presence in Iraq, fielding a small team of interpreters shortly after the invasion. Are these contracts now being revisited? And more importantly, is this case emblematic of the way millions of dollars are bandied about in the awarding of defense contracts? These avenues are more difficult to explore and less conducive to the sound-bite sell than the easier road. That easier road, of course, is to create linkage between this case, Delay, Frist and Libby. If there are any connections with hard facts, no problem. But if Democrats try to manufacture a Culture of Corruption out of a series of unrelated incidents the electorate may well see it as just politics. There are enough serious charges out there that at this point spin could be counterproductive.

Rumsfeld Rant on Al-Jazeera

An article by the Times on Line provides additional mens rea for the President's alleged suggestion to bomb Al-Jazeera in Qatar. Donald Rumsfeld described the network's broadcasting as “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable” the day before the Blair/Bush meeting. But the station was on the Pentagon radar long before that: In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, the Pentagon awarded the Rendon Group, a public affairs firm, a $16.7m contract to monitor media in the Islamic world. It was assigned to track “the location and use of Al-Jazeera news bureaux, reporters and stringers”, and was asked to “identify the biases of specific journalists and potentially obtain an understanding of their allegiances”. Put in context, this isn't as dark as it seems. Shortly after 9/11 it was incumbent on the Pentagon to learn as much as possible about Arab voices and to "potentially obtain an understanding of their allegiances”. At the same time, it's a legitimate question to ask how any information collected was used. Al-Jazeera's offices have been hit in both Kabul and Iraq; in the latter incident a reporter was killed. The Pentagon says they were accidents and there's been no evidence to suggest otherwise. But the notorious memo is extremely problematic for the administration—it will continue to feed conspiracy theories until it sees the light of day. British MP Boris Johnson put it more succinctly: "sunlight is the best disinfectant".

Seymour Hersh: Up in the Air

Selected passages from the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist's new article: "A key element of the drawdown plans, not mentioned in the President's public statements, is that the departing American troops will be replaced by American airpower. Quick, deadly strikes by U.S. warplanes are seen as a way to improve dramatically the combat capability of even the weakest Iraqi combat units." "The prospect of using air power as a substitute for American troops on the ground has caused great unease. For one thing, Air Force commanders, in particular, have deep-seated objections to the possibility that Iraqis eventually will be responsible for target selection. 'Will the Iraqis call in air strikes in order to snuff rivals, or other warlords, or to snuff members of your own sect and blame someone else?' another senior military planner now on assignment in the Pentagon asked." "'The president is more determined than ever to stay the course,' the former defense official said. 'He doesn't feel any pain. Bush is a believer in the adage, "People may suffer and die, but the Church advances." ' He said that the president had become more detached, leaving more issues to Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney. 'They keep him in the gray world of religious idealism, where he wants to be anyway,' the former defense official said." "Current and former military and intelligence officials have told me that the president remains convinced that it is his personal mission to bring democracy to Iraq, and that he is impervious to political pressure, even from fellow Republicans. They also say that he disparages any information that conflicts with his view of how the war is proceeding." Source:CNN

An Out of Touch White House

The New York Daily News reports on the atmosphere at the White house. $Q: A card-carrying member of the Washington GOP establishment with close ties to the White House recently encountered several senior presidential aides at a dinner and came away shaking his head at their "no problems here" mentality. The portrait of a leadership completely insulated and out of touch rings true on a number of fronts. A few examples, though there are many more: Seymour Hersh has written a devastating piece for the Dec. 5 New Yorker asserting the President "doesn't feel any pain" over Iraq; his religious conviction blinds him to the reality of both the political and military situation The sharp personal attack on Rep. Murtha was a business as usual approach to what was clearly a seminal moment in the war debate; the inability of the White House to grasp the importance immediately is worrisome: if they can't understand the dynamics of the argument here how well are they assessing the political situation thousands of miles away in Iraq? The military assessments are clearly suspect as well. What other conclusion can be drawn when respected GOP Sen. Warner finds it necessary to do an end run around official Pentagon channels and seek the "ground truth" elsewhere? Add Cheney's preposterous contention that any questions about the scores of misleading statements used to sell the war are "reprehensible" and the picture of an ivory tower mentality emerges. The administration is reeling on a number of fronts —the leaders are now following, reacting to and not setting the agenda, and there's precious little sign the President is even aware that any of it is his responsibility. From Time, a good illustration of how things are working in Washington right now: After months of denying that it was even considering plans to withdraw some troops, the Bush Administration last week shed first light on a possible timetable for trimming America's presence in Iraq. Pushed by newly assertive politicians at home as well as an eyebrow-raising statement from Iraq's leaders, and with a view toward congressional elections next fall, senior Bush officials began openly debating just how fast a withdrawal might proceed.

Frank Rich: Dishonest, Reprehensible, Corrupt ...

Rich delivers again. Sample: Instead of falsely claiming that they've been exonerated by two commissions that looked into prewar intelligence - neither of which addressed possible White House misuse and mischaracterization of that intelligence - they should just release the rest of the President's Daily Briefs and other prewar documents that are now trickling out. Instead, incriminatingly enough, they are fighting the release of any such information, including unclassified documents found in post-invasion Iraq requested from the Pentagon by the pro-war, neocon Weekly Standard.

Fox's Gibson vs the Fact Checkers

John Gibson delivers a Thanksgiving jeremiad over all the nasty e-mail he's been receiving. Gibson, of course, plays the role of MiniMe next to Bill O'Reilly in the latter's Global War Against Fact Checkers—he proves himself as clueless as his mentor when he repeats the distortion that caused the barrage of complaints in the first place. "You wouldn't believe how many e-mails I got from people complaining that the loud and contentious Iraq vote a week ago in the House of Representatives was not on Murtha's proposal but Rep. Duncan Hunter's. "Look, it doesn't matter which House resolution was voted on. The fact is they were debating Murtha's call to pull out of Iraq. Of course the record says otherwise. Murtha's plan: "It would establish a quick-reaction force and a nearby presence of Marines in the region. It also said the U.S. must pursue stability in Iraq through diplomacy." Republican resolution: “It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.” The move flopped politically because it was such a transparent mischaracterization of Rep. Murtha's stance. Sure as one of the administration's official spokesmen Gibson was only doing his job when he equated the two positions. But he should at least have the grace not to complain when he gets called on it.