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Thursday, March 22, 2007
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NewMexiKen: "Most revealing line of the day, so far:
"'You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it in the past. I have to find out what my position was.' - John McCain.
"Oh, Senator, you've taken every position on every issue."
"2008 pres"
6:43:43 PM 
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Political Wire: "Despite earlier reports that John Edwards might suspend his presidential campaign due to his wife's health, he said at a press conference that he will continue. Said Edwards: 'The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly.'"
Andrew Sullivan: "So, despite earlier reports, Edwards will not suspend his campaign. Good for him. The diagnosis is not as dire as it seemed only a little time ago, it seems. And if anyone did not know of Elizabeth Edwards' extraordinary character before, they do now. What I saw in this press conference was the reality of family values - not the rhetoric, not the divisiveness, not the politics, just the reality of an actual family dealing with real issues."
"2008 pres"
6:40:14 PM
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Andrew Sullivan: "It seems to me that the smartest thing for the Democrats to do is simply to echo the Republican candidates. On every occasion possible, the Democrats should cite these Republicans, quote them and agree with them. Micro-managing a war from the Congress is a fool's game. Trying to cut off funds actually helps Bush: it relieves him of the responsibility for the nightmare his incompetence and arrogance have created. The cold truth is: There will be no resolution to this war before the next election, and instead of trying to create one, the Democrats should simply give the president what he wants, expand the broad defense budget to protect the military from being totally broken before the next election, and simply hold Bush accountable for the results. It's his war. Make him own it. If by some miracle, the surge succeeds, then it's good for Iraq and America. And if the Democrats have funded it, they can also take some credit. If it fails, it will be Bush's final, miserable failure."
Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise. - Thomas Gray
Talking Points Memo: "At last minute, liberal House Dems throw their weight behind the leadership's Iraq bill, making passage all but certain."
"2008 pres"
6:20:00 PM
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Don Surber: "Anthony Man of the Sun-Sentinel reported that Florida may move its presidential primary to Jan. 29, a week before the Super Duper Primary. Not to worry. Florida won't have the votes counted until November."
Political Wire: "New York 'is jumping on the bandwagon and joining what is shaping up as the presidential mega-primary next Feb. 5,' the New York Times reports."
"2008 pres"
6:04:52 PM
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TPM Muckraker: "Constitutional scholar Tony Snow on ABC this morning: 'The executive branch is under no compulsion to testify to Congress, because Congress in fact doesn't have oversight ability. So what we've said is we're going to reach out to you - we'll give you every communication between the White House, the Justice Department, the Congress, anybody on the outside, any kind of communication that would indicate any kind of activity outside, and at the same time, we'll make available to you any of the officiels you want to talk to ... knowing full well that anything they said is still subject to legal scrutiny, and the members of Congress know that."
Josh Marshall: "Quite a few people have speculated over whether Tony Snow really meant to say that Congress had no right or ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch. The claim is belied by the US constitution and all US history down to the present day. But I strongly suspect that it was no accident, slip of the tongue or loosely general statement the White House won't stand behind.
"The simple truth, I think, is that there's too much criminality waiting to be uncovered.
"In the US Attorney purge, yes. But that's only the start of it.
"The only and perhaps the best approach for the White House is to fight what in military terms you might call a forward engagement, gumming up the very concept and premise of oversight itself in the courts for long enough to wait out the clock. That's what this is about.
"Late Update: In this morning's gaggle Snow said that Congress can oversee the executive departments, just not the White House. That's a slightly more defensible position constitutionally speaking, but only slightly. It's still basically bogus. What Snow and thus the president is saying is that 'executive privilege' is the rule rather than a seldom invoked veil that the president invokes to guard his own communications and deliberation and thus prevent the balance of power between the branches of government from becoming too tilted toward the legislative branch."
"2008 pres"
5:59:17 PM
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Captain's Quarters: "British authorities have arrested three men in connection to the London subway bombings on July 7, 2005. According to reports, they caught two of them just before the suspects boarded a flight to Pakistan."
"2008 pres"
5:56:30 PM
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Best line of the day so far (reported by NewMexiKen): "'There's a dangerous culture of obedience throughout much of this country that's worse in Utah than anywhere.' - Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson quoted in The New York Times. Anderson supports the impeachment of President Bush."
Update: It looks like Mitt Romney is a big fan of Mayor Rocky Anderson.
"2008 pres"
7:14:33 AM
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Josh Marshall: "Okay, enough. The president fired US Attorneys to stymie investigations of Republicans and punish US Attorneys who didn't harass Democrats with bogus voter fraud prosecutions. In the former instance, the evidence remains circumstantial. But in the latter the evidence is clear, overwhelming and undeniable.
"Indeed, it is so undeniable the president hismelf does not deny it..."
"2008 pres"
7:11:53 AM
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beSpacific: "Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report on Terrorism Enforcement: International, Domestic and Financial: 'An analysis of timely Justice Department records shows that while there has been a sharp decline in the prosecution of individuals the government has identified as international terrorists (see earlier TRAC Terrorism report), criminal cases aimed at domestic terrorists and individuals involved in terrorism-related financial schemes show different trends.'"
"2008 pres"
6:50:43 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 12:45:05 PM.
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