It’s Gerald Grinstein, CEO of Delta Airlines, who emerged from retirement to lead that company through and out of bankruptcy. According to today’s Wall Street Journal, Delta will come out of bankruptcy this spring with a market cap of $10 billion. Grinstein will continue to collect his annual salary of $338,000 until he leaves the [...]

Bush to Congress: “Go Cheney yourself.” He’s gonna fight, and he doesn’t apparently care how stupid the fight is. Bush kept saying that the “real story” will get out when Gonzales and other DOJ testify next week. Uh, didn’t they already testify? And that’s what got them in trouble? The WH has basically called do-overs. [...]

The White House just released counsel Fred Fielding’s response to the request by the Senate Judiciary Committee for testimony from members of the White House staff — i.e., Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. As expected, Fielding, who was brought back to the job he held under Reagan for the purpose of arm-wrestling with a Democrat-controlled [...]

Do I really have to explain my jokes in each column? Obviously, what I was trying to do here was look at the Republican field–with some irony–as a stalwart Republican might: Moderates like McCain, Newt and Rudy living as Pat Robertson would imagine a liberal to live–having serial marriages, cross-dressing (as a joke), appearing on [...]

Over lunch on the Hill, a few reporters gathered to hear a high-ranking Republican Congressman talk about the issues of the day. They included Alberto Gonzales, Alberto Gonzales, the war, and Albert Gonzales. Some highlights: On Gonzales stepping down: “You guys have been in Washington longer than I have — a leaked list of replacements? [...]

In this very accelerated political season with its very large field of candidates, the media seem to be getting ahead of the voters. What’s the hurry, 10 months before the first caucus, to winnow the field to a few candidates deemed viable–say, three at most from each party? With fewer moving parts, this very big [...]

If I may interrupt the very enjoyable festival of reading other people’s email for a moment, there was a remarkably under-reported development yesterday that demonstrates, I think, President Bush’s loss of authority in the past few months. Elias Zerhouni, the head of the National Institutes of Health, testified to a Senate committee that he favors [...]

“The Department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin.” Uhm, wow. Just… AM I TAKING CRAZY PILLS? It’s like a lie so blatant you have to make sure you’re not wrong yourself. From this group of docs. Pg 10 or so. And, for the have-to-see-to-believe folks: [...]

From his prepared remarks: Attorneys are never — repeat never — removed, or asked or encouraged to resign, in an effort to retaliate against them, or interfere with, or inappropriately influence a particular investigation, criminal prosecution, or civil case. Then, in the margin, marked DELETED: Any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded, and it irresponsibly [...]