By way of The Hill and TPMmuckraker, former Deputy AG James Comey confirms that there were, indeed, some underperforming U.S. Attorneys. But they weren’t, with one exception, the ones who got fired.
In the ArenaUncategorized
The Value of Benchmarks
With the NY Times reporting serious obstacles in the path of an Iraqi oil-revenue law–which should be the easiest “benchmark” for the Iraqi government to meet–and the Washington Post reporting that the Democrats have made the first move toward a compromise with the President on Iraq war funding, the question comes: Is the deal favored …
Tonight’s GOP Debate
I will be live-blogging.
Buying “Buying the War”
Yes, I watched the Moyers special and I’m not sure how much I have to add. It’s a depressing spectacle, but nothing about it was was especially surprising. The two darkest moments had to be Walter Isaacson telling Moyers that CNN’s coverage was monitored — and apparently influenced by — advertisers and the administration and poor …
Today on the Trail: Big day for the Republicans
TotT is a daily rundown of campaign events, compiled by Katie Rooney.
The Republican presidential candidates face off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi, California tonight for the first Republican debate this campaign season. No one wants to turn down a personal invitation from Mrs. Reagan herself, so you’ll hear from …
After the Veto: Day Two
Yesterday, many of our commenters here at Swampland seemed skeptical of the sources who told me that the Democratic leadership in Congress was ready to jettison the deadlines from the Iraq war funding bill:
From Lister:
Are these staffers sending out a trial balloon here? Are they trying to diminish expectations, so their bosses can do
…
John Edwards and the Series of Tubes
His question is actually a good one, but — as a Swampland operative pointed out — I wonder if we’re in for a trend of campaign releases touting achievements that are normal for any average 14-year-old girl:
From: Kate Bedingfield
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 5:06 PM
Subject: Edwards Submits Question for MSNBC/Politico
…
Education: You Know, For Kids!
The revved-up primary season has meant an early start for fundraising, for ad-buys, for talk of campaign romances and for large mini-bar bills, but one wonders, when will start to see demands from extraneous bi-partisan interest groups, hoping to attract publicity and attention by hopping on the vaguely topical idea of an election that’s …
The Full Rudy
Greg Sargent burrows into the Rudy-weasel story. Worth reading in full, but a favorite passage:
This conversation is over, David. Thank you. [Mr. Giuliani cuts him off.] There is something really, really, very sad about you. You need help. You need somebody to help you. I know you feel insulted by that, but I’m being honest with you.
…
Let Slip the Blogs of War
Just in time for this week’s “milblogger” conference in D.C., the Army has issued new regulations for active duty blogger-soldiers: basically, stop. All blog updates must be okayed, and personal emails will be subject to scrutiny. This seems like a mistake to me, as milbloggers are generally advocates for their operation and their word …
Despite the Fact that My Job Doesn’t Qualify for Combat Pay….
I’ve agreed to “moderate” this debate.
The Medium is the Message
Two enterprising GOP staffers have come up with a conservative “alternative to YouTube,” since, you know, it’s YouTube’s fault George Allen is a boob. They tell the WT’s Eric Pfeiffer, “We saw a need for a social-networking site for the center-right…They want something that isn’t controlled by our good friends at Google.” And here I …
GWOT R.I.P.
Mike Allen — Time contributor and ace reporter for Politico.com — has posted a great piece on Time.com about the death throes of the phrase “Global War on Terror”. John Edwards leads the way among the candidates. Even President Bush tells audiences now to “call it whatever you want”. Now if only someone would re-name the Department of …
