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Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2006 > May
May 2006
Movie night
White House spokesman Tony Snow says President Bush spent an emotional evening last night in the building’s family theater for a screening of “United 93.”
The audience included family members of people who died on board the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It was an extraordinarily moving event,” Snow said, recalling sobbing as the credits rolled.
Snow’s account spawned questions that resulted in a change of position.
Will you ask the president if he plans to see “The DaVinci Code?”
“No,” said Snow, adding, “You know what he would tell me? He’d say, ‘Snow, that’s a stupid question.’”
Moments later, Snow relented, saying, “If you want me to find out I will go ahead and make the inquiry if this is a searing issue.”
“I’ll ask him about Iran first…,” Snow added.
For the record, here’s the list the White House comes up with when asked for a list of movies Bush has watched in the building since taking office. The press office cautions that the list is a result of its best efforts and might not be complete. And the White House does not announce all movies Bush has watched.
“United 93”, “Voyage to Kure”, “Glory Road”, “Cinderella Man”, “Hotel Rwanda”, “Seabiscuit”, “Chicago”, “The Rookie”, “Submerged”, “61”, “Harry Potter”, “13 Days”.
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Snow job
If you believe President Bush, the selection of Henry Paulson as the nation’s new treasury secretary was a hurry-up effort triggered by the surprising news (despite months of very public speculation) that John Snow was leaving the post.
Here’s what Bush told the nation last Thursday night during a White House news conference:
“No, he has not talked to me about resignation. I think he’s doing a fine job.”
So, for those of you scoring at home, as of about 8 p.m. last Thursday, Bush seemed to say he had no idea he would be in the market for a new treasury secretary.
Friday rolls around and Bush is wheels up for Camp David, with former Commerce Secretary Donald Evans and others in tow. Saturday morning, it’s off to West Point for a commencement speech.
Fast forward to this morning in the Rose Garden, when Bush announced his selection of Paulson. So this means, if what the president told us last Thursday was accurate, he got word of Snow’s resignation sometime since then and was able to come up with a replacement. Maybe he knew a guy who knew a guy…
But wait. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow now tells us that Bush – of course – knew John Snow was leaving. In fact, by last Thursday night the job had been offered to Paulson.
Asked about Bush’s comment, Snow said, “That does not mean that there were not other discussions. It was artfully worded.”
And it had to be so worded out of fear of how a change in treasury secretaries might impact markets, Snow said.
“The one thing you not want to do in a situation like this is to start speculating about changes before the changes are ready to be made,” he said, acknowledging Bush talked to Paulson on May 20, and Paulson accepted the job a day later.
In thanking Bush for the honor of being the nation’s 73rd treasury secretary, Snow today also provided evidence that Bush had engaged in artful wording last week when he made it look like nothing was up at treasury.
“But as you know, I’ve looked forward for some time to returning to private life,” Snow told Bush.
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White House nights
Some things we learned today about evenings at the White House:
King Abdullah of Jordan dropped by last night for what Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino says was a “one-on-one” dinner with the president. The event was not on the schedule published by the White House.
Tonight, it’s movie night in the building for a screening of “United 93,” the film about the plane that went down in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
Perino says Bush will watch with survivors of some who died on board the plane. The president, Perino recalls, has always considered the victims to be heroes.
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Treasury shuffle
The official announcement came on a steamy morning in the Rose Garden. After months of speculation, John Snow is out as treasury secretary, to be replaced by Wall Street bigwig Henry Paulson, chairman of Goldman Sachs.
President Bush, who as recently as last week said Snow was doing a fine job and had made no mention to him of resignation, announced the change this morning.
The shuffle ends one name-game confusion in the administration, leaving new Press Secretary Tony Snow as the only Snow in the White House. But it also sets up another potential confusion. Paulson, if confirmed, will run Treasury. David Paulison is the new guy at FEMA.
Reviewing now: Tony Snow is in as press secretary. John Snow is out at Treasury. Henry Paulson is in at Treasury. David Paulison is in at FEMA.
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Once and future secretary?
Yes, that is longtime Bush buddy and ex-Commerce Secretary Donald Evans getting ready to board Marine One today for a weekend at Camp David with the president.
Yes, Evans is the subject of speculation that he might replace Treasury Secretary John Snow, who is expected to resign soon.
No, the White House says, Evans’ holiday weekend visit should not be linked with a possible job offer. The Bushes and the Evanses frequently spend time together, says spokesman Tony Snow (no relation to John Snow).
All could be cleared up sometime around next Thursday when the next cabinet meeting is scheduled.
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The Tony and George Show
Scenes from an East Room news conference:
President Bush and visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair made opening statements then took five questions from the White House press corps and five from the visiting Brits during the Thursday evening press conference.
Blair, with a friendly smile, said at one point he was not impressed with the Brits’ queries.
One of the visiting journalists asked whether Blair’s recent critique of the United Nation’s was intended as a “job application” from a prime minister who is headed out of office. He denied interest in the post.
Another Brit noted to Blair that “this is possibly your last official visit to Washington as prime minister.”
“Wait a minute,” said Bush, recalling the U.N. question and scoring them as “back-to-back disses” of his British friend.
Bush praised Blair as “a man of resolve and vision and courage.” Blair went with the “Well, what more can I say” response and then offered this side note to the British press corps.
“You guys, come on, … you’re the British delegation, ask a few serious questions.”
Blair also got in one jab at Bush, combined with a poke at himself, when he noted the high turnout at the recent Iraqi elections.
“These people have gone out and voted — a higher turnout, I have to say, I’m afraid to say, than either your election or mine,” said Blair.
“Depends on which one, 2000 or 2004,” said Bush.
“I think both of them,” said Blair.
Later, Bush brought the 10-question news conference to something of an abrupt halt by turning to Blair and saying, “Mr. Prime Minister, can I buy you dinner?”
“Certainly,” said Blair.
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Check your local listings
President Bush and visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a couple of guys feeling the heat at home, will take to the airwaves tonight for a joint press conference at the White House.
The session, set for 7:30 p.m. EDT, comes as the two leaders meet to discuss developments in Iraq. Blair made a surprise visit there earlier this week.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says this will be a “real press conference,” not the kind of two-questions-per-side session often held when foreign leaders drop by. Under the two-question format, the leaders take a pair of questions from the White House press corps (usually one from a wire service and one from a TV network) and two from the visiting foreign press contingent. That format was used earlier this week when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in town.
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Presidential inauguration
Like everyone, President Bush is wrapping up details for Friday’s big inauguration of the new president of the Union of the Comoros.
President Bush today picked Frederick Schieck, deputy administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, to lead the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi.
As everyone knows, Comoros is a group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique.
At least that’s what the CIA’s World Factbook reports.
We also learn from the CIA that Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since winning independence from France in 1975.
Population: 690,948
Size: Just over 12 times the size of Washington DC
Religion: 98 percent Sunni Muslim, 2 percent Roman Catholic
Capital: Moroni
Economic overview: ” One of the world’s poorest countries, Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources.”
Only other member of official U.S. delegation to inauguration: James McGee, ambassador to Madagascar.
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Hillary’s Hint?
After her wonkish speech on energy policy at the National Press Club this morning, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton declined - as expected - to address a question about whether she intended to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.
But during her speech, she appeared to take an oh-so-slight shot at a possible rival for that nomination, her husband’s running mate, former Vice President Al Gore. One the one hand, she praised Gore and his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which premieres Friday as part of Gore’s efforts to warn Americans about the catastrophic consequences of global warming. On the other hand, she hinted that it will take more than a Cassandra to solve American’s energy problems.
“Now, thanks to former Vice President Al Gore, who has been a committeed visionary on global warming for more than two decades, everyone can see those consequences for themselves at a local movie theater,” Clinton said. “But this is not a time, I would argue, for handwringing or despair, despite the formidable challenges we confront. We can fix these problems together by changing to a clean energy future fueled by innovation and efficiency.”
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Blair and Bush to meet
The White House announced today that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from a visit to Baghdad, will be in the building Thursday and Friday for discussions “on the full range of issues on our strategic agenda.”
Included will be support for the new Iraqi government, stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, peace in the Middle East, ending violence in Darfur and promotion of free trade.
For now, neither side is saying whether the meetings will lead to any announcement concerning specific plans for troop withdrawals from Iraq. The two leaders, both under heat at home, will hold a joint press availability on either Thursday or Friday.
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Well-fed governor
This exchange from the q-and-a session after President Bush’s speech today to restaurant industry officials in Chicago:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President, Carol Dover, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.
First, I want to tell you thank you, how much we love your brother.
BUSH: I had nothing to do with it. Thank my mother.
QUESTION: Well, he has been very good to the restaurant industry.
BUSH: He has been eating a lot, I noticed.
QUESTION: You said that, not me.
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Upon further review…
Turns out the “private citizen” injured while biking with President Bush on Saturday was Mike Wood, a Bush friend nominated earlier this month to be ambassador to Sweden.
And the “minor injury” announced Saturday by the White House turned out to be a broken collarbone, generally the kind of injury one might consider minor if it happened to somebody else.
On Saturday, White House spokesman Peter Watkins would say nothing more than that there had been a “minor injury to a private citizen who happened to be biking with the president” at a Secret Service facility in Beltsville, Maryland.
Today, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino identified Wood as the biker who went down, though no details were offered.
“It was a one-rider fall. It’s not uncommon for people to fall but that serious of an injury is not common,” Perino said. “He was brought back to the White House. He drove himself home and he later sought medical attention. … The president called him last night and he said he was doing fine.”
Wood, a Yalie like Bush, is chairman of Redwood Investments, a company he founded last year. Wood lives in Washington. He also was a founder of Hanley Wood, which identifies itself as a “business-to-business media network serving North America’s residential and commercial construction industries.”
The morning-after announcement concerning Wood’s injury is reminiscent of how Vice President Cheney’s office handled his accidental shooting of a hunting buddy earlier this year.
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Biker Down
Today’s reminder that recreational activities undertaken with the president and/or vice president can be hazardous to your health:
It appears to be nothing too serious, but one of the “guests” who joined President Bush for his more-or-less regular Saturday morning mountain bike ride suffered an injury.
White House spokesman Peter Watkins said it was a “minor injury to a private citizen who happened to be biking with the president.”
Today’s ride was at a Secret Service facility in Beltsville, Maryland – about a half-hour presidential motorcade ride from the White House.
As usual, pool reporters who accompanied the biking party were held in a small building and saw none of the ride. About a half-hour into the activity, members of officialdom could be heard inquiring about medical attention for a guest.
One official, speaking privately, said a separated shoulder might have been involved.
The White House declined to list the guests who joined the president for today’s ride.
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National language
White House spokesman Tony Snow said today that President Bush supports the Senate-approved amendment declaring English the national language.
The amendment, Snow said, is “consistent” with Bush’s long-standing call for immigrants to learn English.
Why then, Snow was asked, did the White House post Bush’s Monday immigration speech in Spanish on the official website?
Snow went patrially non-English in his response, saying he did not immediately know the answer and that the question would be placed on the “bubkes list.” The list is used for questions that require Snow to check on prior to answering.
Bubkes is a Yiddish term for “nothing.”
Later Friday, Snow took the translation question off the bubkes list by noting that the use of Spanish on the White House website “is guided by (Office of Management and Budget) policies for federal public websites and an executive order by President Clinton.”
Also Friday, Snow voiced a hesitancy to ask what he called “state of mind” questions concerning the president.
“I’m afraid we don’t have the mind meld going yet,” Snow said. “You’ll have to give me a little more time to get the mind meld going.”
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NEW REPORT REVIEWS NSA ACCESS TO PHONE RECORDS
The secret National Security Agency database of billions of phone calls made by ordinary Americans raises a host of thorny legal issues, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.
Secrecy News, an on-line newsletter highlighting government secrecy issues, obtained a copy of the report. The report is timely because the Senate Intelligence Committee is debating today whether to approve General Michael V. Hayden, the former NSA director, to be the new head of the CIA.
“The factual information available in the public domain with respect to any such alleged program is limited and in some instances inconsistent,” the CRS report states. “And the application, if at all, of any possibly relevant statutory provisions to any such program is likely to be a very fact specific inquiry.”
Having said that, the CRS explains that there are several statutes that may be pertinent and that could conceivably entail civil or criminal penalties for telephone companies that provide information to the government without statutory authorization, wrote Steve Aftergood, the author of Secrecy News.
“This [CRS] report …summarize[s] statutory authorities regarding access by the Government, for either foreign intelligence or law enforcement purposes, to information related to telephone calling patterns or practices. Where pertinent, we will also discuss statutory prohibitions against accessing or disclosing such information, along with relevant exceptions to those prohibitions.”
See “Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities,” May 17, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33424.pdf
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Border Bucks
President Bush told Congress today that he wants $1.95 billion to pay for the immigration reform package he announced Monday, including the hiring of additional Border Patrol agents.
The money would come from the $92-billion supplemental appropriation package pending in Congress.
Instead of increasing the bottom line, Bush scratched out $1.95 billion previously targeted for the war on terror. Administration officials today said those procurements can be postponed without hurting the war effort.
In addition to more Border Patrol agents, the money would pay for infrastructure (lighting, roads, etc.), additional detention beds, local law enforcement support and temporary use of the National Guard in non-enforcement activities along the border.
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Hot First Lady
President Bush’s standard mention of wife Laura is now getting a new audience reaction.
“Laura sends her love,” Bush said in a Wednesday evening speech at a Republican National Committee gala in Washington. “She’s a fabulous first lady. She’s got to be the most patient woman in America.”
“She’s hot,” an audience member yelled, reprising a line used by the Bush impersonator who appeared recently with the president at the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
“Yes,” said Bush, reprising another line used by his impersonator. “Muy caliente.”
“I hope she’s not watching, you know,” he added.
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Mr. Rove Goes to Capitol Hill
Karl Rove was dispatched Wedneday to Capitol Hill to lobby House Republicans opposed to President Bush’s proposed guest worker program that could lead to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The session, according to White House spokesman Tony Snow, was “hopeful, optimistic and positive.” But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and an opponent of the guest worker idea, offered a less upbeat review of the 30-minute session with the House Republican Conference. “Karl Rove had his hat handed to him,” Issa told reporters. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Rove’s appearance was not a “persuasive event.” “If it was about Karl Rove seeking to convince members of Congress after debate that he’s right and we’re wrong it would have been better not to have the meeting,” King said. Two sources who were at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because it was a private session, said Rove made no progress in luring support for the guest worker concept. “They made arguments prefaced by, ‘Listen, in my district…,’” a congressional staffer said of how some attendees noted that there is no way they could support a guest worker program. Sources at the Wednesday GOP session with Rove, including an administration-friendly adviser, said some lawmakers – including Reps. J.D. Hayworth, R-Arizona, and Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., - stood to voice their opposition to the guest worker provision, but did so in respectful tones. “There was a spirit of we’re all on the same team,” the source said. Rep. Ric Keller, R-Florida, asked the long-term question: What can be done to bolster economies of other nations so that their citizens won’t feel the need to head north. Rove told lawmakers that Mexico’s economy is growing, partly as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the White House after the meeting, Snow, who did not attend the session, called it a positive event. “I’ve seen some talk that maybe this was going to be a highly contentious meeting,” Snow said. “The readout I get is that it was not at all. It was respectful.” Snow added, “People were obviously having exchanges of views on things.”
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White House word play
The new spokesman for the White House has come up with a new way to say nothing.
Tony Snow opted for Yiddish today in continuing the administration’s strategy of not saying anything about top adviser Karl Rove’s potential legal problems stemming from a special prosecutor’s investigation of the leak of a CIA operative’s name.
“What I do know is bubkes,” Snow said, using the Yiddish word for nothing.
And he offered an alibi for why he might not be up to speed on any breaking developments concerning Rove.
“As far as I can tell nothing has changed,” he told reporters this morning, “but I don’t want to give you a steer on it because I was standing out there giving TV interviews this morning during senior staff meeting.”
Out on the South Lawn, President Bush today joined in the White House word play, offering this new term while welcoming Winter Olympic team members:
“We want to thank all the dudes and dudesses of the snowboarders who are here.”
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White House gift list: Bike for Bush, guns for Cheney
What do you get for a president who has everything?
How about a $5,474 bike and two pairs of bike shoes worth $515.
What do you get for a vice president who has everything?
How about something for the family arsenal, including two revolvers and a rifle.
The gifts were among those disclosed by President Bush and Vice President Cheney on annual financial disclosure forms released this week.
Bush’s beloved bike came from John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle Corporation, and is a specially produced presidential version bearing the colors of Air Force One. Trek gave Bush the two pairs of bike shoes.
Also on the Bush gift list:
An iPod from “Mr. Paul David Hewson” (better known as rock singer Bono), who also gave Bush the book, “The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.” Total value, $440.
Binoculars, $400, from Cheney.
Indoor cycling trainer, $1,700, from Saris Cycling Group.
Chainsaw and accessories, $351, from Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli.
Two custom poker chip sets and wood cases, $900, from the United States Playing Card Company.
Highlights on the Cheney gift list included:
Hammock on steel frame, $420, from President Bush.
Leather-bound commemorative edition of the Warren Commission Report, $489, from former President Gerald Ford, a commission member.
Inaugural suit, $1,850, from Suk Im Kwon of McLean, Virginia, who also gave a $5,360 inaugural dress and coat.
Handmade, engraved Lewis & Clark reproduction rifle, $1,000, from Stewart Hines of Vermillion, S.D.
Smith and Wesson revolver, $950, from the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation
Prewar single-action Colt 45 revolver, $6,125, from the U.S. Firearms Manufacturing Inc. Cheney gave the gun to the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming.
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Funny-looking friend
How do you know that President Bush really likes you?
He insults you to your face.
By all measures, Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard are buddies.
And here’s what Bush had to say Tuesday during a White House press availability with his Australian friend.
“Somebody said, you and John Howard appear to be so close, don’t you have any differences? And I said, yes, he doesn’t have any hair,” Bush said of his guest.
Moment later, after reeling off Howard’s positive traits, this from Bush:
“And that’s what I like about John Howard. He may not be the prettiest person on the block, but when he tells you something, you can take it to the bank.”
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Mexican Reaction to Bush Proposal Less Than Favorable
Mexican politicians responded with nearly universal condemnation to a proposal by President Bush to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, arguing that the move threatened Mexico’s sovereignty and would merely increase the profits of human smugglers.
Like every news event in Mexico, Bush’s speech was filtered through the lens of what has become an ultracompetitive presidential election, with opposition parties seizing on the troop deployment to bash Mexican President Fox and his ruling PAN party. Fox’s government has scrambled to take the sting out of Bush’s decision, insisting that it does not amount to a militarization of the border. Many analysts believe Fox is willing to trade enhanced border security for a comprehensive immigration plan that legalizes the status of undocumented workers in the United States.
Roberto Madrazo, candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, called Bush’s decision evidence of Fox’s failed foreign policy and mocked the Mexican president’s inability to influence the immigration debate in the United States.
The left-leaning Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD, whose candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has watched what was thought to be an insurmountable lead in the polls evaporate in recent weeks, issued a blistering statement calling the deployment “xenophobic.”
“President Bush’s decision is unjustified, unacceptable and implies a serious aggression toward a sovereign nation,” the party said in a statement quoted by the Mexico City daily El Universal.
Even the candidate of Fox’s Nation Action, or PAN party, criticized the move, saying such attempts at beefing up border security don’t work. “They increase the human and social costs to the migrants and only benefit the criminal groups that make money off the hopes and suffering of those looking for a new opportunity,” said Felipe Calderon, who has taken a slight lead in the most recent presidential polls.
On the morning news show Primero Noticias, Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez sought to ratchet down the rhetoric, saying “This is not a declaration of war, it’s not an…invasion.”
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Bush border speech
On TV tonight:
President Bush will use his 8 p.m. EDT speech to announce a plan to use thousands – the White House won’t say exactly how many thousands – of National Guard troops to “supplement” Border Patrol personnel.
Press Secretary Tony Snow says the Guard troops will be used in “non-law enforcement” roles such as construction, surveillance and transportation.
Snow also said the move would not compromise the Guard’s current priorities: the war on terror and natural disaster response.
On CBS’ “The Early Show” today, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said the move is not at an attempt to militarize the border, the same message President Bush offered to Mexican President Vicente Fox in a weekend phone call.
Tonight’s speech clocks in at something under 20 minutes, Snow said.
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The Tony Snow Show premieres
First, the news from new White House Press Secretary Tony Snow’s first press briefing: President Bush will address the nation from the Oval Office on Monday night. Immigration will be the topic.
And now some background on today’s first briefing. Snow declared it a failure. Not on substance, but on venue. Snow moved the morning briefing – an off-camera event known as the “gaggle” – out of the briefing room and into his office. Gaggles had been held in the press secretary’s office until 9/11 when the reporter crowd became too large to handle in that room.
Snow thought it was a good idea to move it back to the office. That idea was shot down due to the size of today’s attendance, about 50 who placed about 30 recording devices on Snow’s desk. He now plans to move it back to the briefing room.
Snow also apologized for the timing of the event. It was scheduled for 9 a.m., moved back to 9:30 a.m. but actually started about 9:20 a.m., which means those who showed up at 9:30 a.m. missed the beginning, including the announcement of Bush’s Monday night speech.
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Change of Gaggle Venue
It remains to be seen if it is a harbinger of big changes to come, but new White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has made a significant change of scene.
The “gaggle” - the morning, off-camera briefing for reporters - is moving back into the press secretary’s office in the West Wing. That’s where it was for years until 9/11. After that momentous day in U.S. history the increased volume of reporters showing up for the gaggle forced a move into the White House Briefing Room, the more formal setting where the on-camera midday briefing is held.
The reporter count eventually decreased, but the gaggle stayed in the briefing room.
Snow’s first gaggle is scheduled for Friday morning in his office. His first formal midday briefing will happen Monday. There is no midday briefing scheduled for Friday.
Snow, formerly of Fox News, replaced Scott McClellan this week.
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Graduation day
It was his and her commencement speeches today as President Bush and wife Laura were out on the cap-and-gown circuit.
The president was in Biloxi, Mississippi for the big day for graduates of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, all of who endured the hardships of Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing rebuilding.
Mrs. Bush was in Nashville to speak to Vanderbilt grads and parents, including a familiar face in the crowd.
“And I can’t help acknowledge one Vanderbilt dad who happens to be the governor of my state, Gov. Rick Perry,” she said.
Perry’s son Griffin was among those who picked up a Vandy degree today.
Mrs. Bush drew some laughs with local references.
She acknowledged graduates of Vanderbilt’s school of music.
“For them, a Vanderbilt musical education means Bach and Beethoven, not karaoke at Lonnie’s,” she said, referring to a local watering hole.
She also got laughs by referring to a recent satirical story in the campus newspaper.
“I’m thrilled to see Chancellor (E. Gordon) Gee here, alive and well. To prepare for this speech, I looked through some old issues of The Vanderbilt Hustler, and I was shocked to read that he had died of a heart attack,” she said. “Many students may think that their presence here today is a miracle, but earning a Vanderbilt degree is nothing like coming back from the dead. So congratulations chancellor.”
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Doggett presses White House on NSA
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, signed onto a letter started today by fellow California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren asking for a special counsel to look into the NSA’s expanded telephone call tracking. A special counsel would have to be appointed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The letter follows:
May 11, 2006 The President The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Bush: Recent reports state that the NSA’s domestic eavesdropping on Americans is much more expansive than you previously stated. You said that the NSA eavesdropping program only targets Americans in communications with members of al Qaeda overseas.
Now we learn the NSA routinely collects the call records of tens of millions of Americans from telecommunications companies collectively serving more than 200 million Americans.[1] These reports also suggest that the NSA has equipment on AT&T’s network to monitor all Internet data passing over it.[2] If true, these reports are truly shocking. We urge you once again to direct the appointment of a Special Counsel fully empowered to investigate the NSA’s domestic eavesdropping programs and report its findings to Congress.
It is time the American public and the Congress had more than press reports to establish the facts about NSA’s domestic eavesdropping programs. Several Members of Congress wrote to you nearly three months ago asking for the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate the NSA’s eavesdropping on Americans.[3] We still have not received your response.
Every practical avenue for investigation has been stymied based on the feeblest of excuses. When Members of Congress wrote to the Inspector Generals of the Justice and Defense Departments, they refused to investigate.[4] The Justice Department handed the matter to its Office of Professional Responsibility for an investigation of professional legal misconduct, and then denied security clearances to its own investigators.[5] The Defense Department handed the matter to NSA’s Inspector General, who never responded and who approved the eavesdropping at issue.
The Government Accountability Office refused to investigate, anticipating you would block access to records by designating them foreign intelligence or counterintelligence materials.[6] While the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have held hearings, they have not issued a single subpoena for witnesses or documentary evidence. Instead of investigation, all that emerges is a pattern of resisting investigation into the facts that Congress and the public deserve.
Given the Attorney General’s authorization of domestic eavesdropping by the NSA and his highly public defense of it, a Special Counsel is needed to avoid any conflict of interest in investigating the NSA programs. The Attorney General’s recent testimony in the House Judiciary Committee suggests he has much to hide. The Attorney General acknowledged under oath that the Deputy Attorney General initially disapproved of an NSA eavesdropping program separate from the warrantless eavesdropping you described on international communications with al Qaeda members.
But the Attorney General refused to tell the House Judiciary Committee anything about that separate NSA eavesdropping program. If the news reports cited above are true, the Attorney General also provided highly misleading testimony when asked whether the NSA was eavesdropping on calls entirely within the United States.
Without a complete and impartial investigation of the facts, Members of Congress are robbed of their Article I oversight responsibilities under the Constitution. The American public is robbed of its ability to hold Article II officials accountable for their conduct. While we appreciate the need to safeguard sensitive classified information, existing legal protections for handling of classified information would allow an investigation to proceed without compromising national security.
Mr. President, both our Constitutional duties and yours are to protect the security of the nation from terrorist threats and to protect and uphold the laws of our nation. The NSA’s domestic eavesdropping programs may fail in both. Without a thorough investigation into the facts, we can simply never know. We urge you once again to direct the appointment of a Special Counsel fully empowered to investigate the NSA’s domestic eavesdropping programs and report its findings to Congress.
Sincerely,
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Chuck Norris, Texas lobbyist
“Walker, Texas Ranger,” TV star Chuck Norris pushed Congress Wednesday to fund KICKSTART — a program he started years ago to get kids off the streets and onto the martial arts mat.
Norris said the program helps “at risk children” find their self-worth — something Norris said he struggled with as a kid before finding martial arts.
“I grew up as an ‘at-risk’ child myself,” said Norris, who was raised by a single mom. He was very shy as a kid, and despite his macho roles today, “grew up non-athletic.” He said he could relate to the “lost souls” who if not helped out, end up “in prison or dead.”
“A lot of our kids are potential Columbine-type kids,” Norris said.
Norris and his wife, Gena, used their star power with the Texas delegation to secure between $250,000 and $500,000 in the Health and Human Services appropriations bill to expand KICKSTART nationwide. The program is already in 37 schools in Texas, and over the years has graduated 38,000 students. Norris said 40 percent of his students are girls, and 70 percent of his students are Hispanic.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas (who was a guest star on one “Walker” episode) is backing the money. And, not to make any suggestion that her 5-year-old daughter Bailey is headed in the wrong direction, Hutchison said she’s considering registering her for a martial arts class too.
“All my friends say their kids love it,” Hutchison said.
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Abramoff’s White House visits
Secret Service records released today under court order show that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff made only two visits to the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001.
On March 6, 2001, Abramoff entered at 4:23 p.m. and left at 4:49 p.m. On Jan. 20, 2004, he went in at 10:42 a.m. and left at 11:29 a.m. The records do not show who he saw or what the topic was. Bush delivered a State of the Union address on Jan. 20, 2004.
The records were sought by Judicial Watch, a public interest group curious about Abramoff’s White House connections. A federal judge ordered the records released.
Judicial Watch noted today that Secret Service records it procured while President Clinton was in office also showed “visitee” and room number, information not on the records released today.
“At first glance, these documents seem incomplete when compared to other White House visitor logs obtained by Judicial Watch. We therefore have reason to believe there are additional details about Jack Abramoff’s visits to the White House that have not been disclosed,” said Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch president. “However, now we know there are at least two visits by admitted felon Jack Abramoff that the White House must explain. What was Jack Abramoff doing at the White House? With whom did he meet? The public deserves to know answers to these questions.”
White House spokeswoman Erin Healy declined to offer any further information concerning the visits.
Abramoff, once one of Washington’s top lobbyists, pleaded guilty in January to federal corruption charges linked to his congressional lobbying work. He raised more than $100,000 for Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and had boasted about his close links to the White House.
The administration has downplayed those ties. Spokesman Scott McClellan last week said the Secret Service records should not be viewed as a “complete historical record” of Abramoff’s visits to the White House. McClellan offered no details or explanation. He previously had said Abramoff’s only visits were for “a few staff level meetings” and Hanukkah receptions in 2001 and 2002.
Abramoff told Washingtonian magazine he had nearly a dozen meetings with Bush.
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McClellan Seeks Brownie Points
On the last leg of his last trip on his last day as White House press secretary, Scott McClellan toured Air Force One bearing gifts. After offering them around elsewhere on the plane, McClellan ventured into the press cabin with a tray of brownies, made by his wife, Jill, and always a quick-disappearing favorite in the West Wing.
As usual, the free food was appreciated. Brownies, you’re doing a heckuva job.
McClellan talked about the number of farewell events held in his honor. Another was set for tonight, hosted by the White House Correspondents Association.
McClellan accompanied President Bush this week on a three-day trip to Florida that will mark the end of his stint as White House spokesman. The microphone now passes to Tony Snow, late of Fox News.
Next week, McClellan will show up on network TV as a Tuesday guest on “The Tonight Show.” Speechmaking and perhaps bookwriting also are in his future.
For the record, McClellan’s last Air Force One flight as press secretary was from Orlando to Andrews Air Force Base and landed at 12:43 p.m.
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Bush and the hurricane solution
This just in from the Kings Point Clubhouse in Sun City Center, Florida, where President Bush absorbed another lesson in what can happen when you open it up to audience q-and-a:
Q We put out a patent to control hurricanes, and we sent it to Senator Byrd, and he thought it was great, and he —
THE PRESIDENT: Give him a mic that works, please.
Q We sent it to Senator Byrd, and he thought it was great, and he gave it, I understand, to Karl Rove.
THE PRESIDENT: What now? I missed your question, sir.
Q A patent to control hurricanes.
THE PRESIDENT: To control hurricanes?
Q Right.
THE PRESIDENT: Where were you last year?
Q I’m here this year, okay. And Senator Byrd thought it was good enough, from North Carolina, and he gave it — I understand it was given to Karl Rove, okay. We tried to get in touch with you, and we hope you get the description of this patent, because we feel sure it’s the one thing that can stop hurricanes when they’re young and vulnerable, okay. We can get them, and we’re using the coldest thing in the universe to do it. And planes, it’s all planned on just how to do it, from MacDill, or anywhere. And so we hope you get to read this. I gave it to a guy named Ryan here, that’s an associate of yours, and I hope he gives it to you.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good. What’s his name?
Q My name is Luther Hoffman. We sent you a letter, but I guess it may not have gotten through.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know ….
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Bush on soccer, rugs and George Washington
Kai Dickmann of the German newspaper Bild dropped by the Oval Office for an interview with President Bush last week.
Some highlights, from the transcript released by the White House:
On the Oval Office: “I’ll give you a quick tour before our interview. So, the first thing that a president does, which I didn’t realize, was pick a rug. I’ve have no idea about rugs. And so in this job you’ve got to delegate. The American president is in a position where there’s just unbelievable complexities to the job — Darfur, Iran — a whole lot of issues. So I delegated the decision about the rug to my wife.
The second thing a president has got to do is have a strategic mind. In order to be successful, in my judgment, as the president, you’ve got to constantly think strategically. And so I said to her, you pick out the colors, you be the tactical person, but I want it to say ‘optimistic person.’ That’s all I wanted it to say. Here is the result. Isn’t it beautiful?”
On change: “The interesting thing about Washington is that they want me to change … and I’m not changing, you know. You can’t make decisions if you don’t know who you are, and you flip around with the politics. You’ve got to stay strong in what you believe and optimistic about that you’ll get good results.
And so —the other thing I want you to know about me is that no matter how pressurized it may seem, I’m not changing what I believe. Now, I may change tactics, but I’m not going to change my core beliefs — a belief that freedom is universal, or the belief that private markets work, a belief in ownership — when people own something, society is better off; a belief that there’s a role for government, but it’s limited in nature. And I’m not changing. I don’t care whether they like me at the cocktail parties, or not. I want to be able to leave this office with my integrity intact.”
On legacy: “That’s George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three or four books about him last year. Isn’t that interesting? People say, so what? Well, here’s the so what. You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you’re gone. If they’re still analyzing the presidency of George Washington… (laughter.) So Presidents shouldn’t worry about the history. You just can’t. You do what you think is right, and if you’re thinking big enough, that history will eventually prove you right or wrong. But you won’t know in the short-term.”
On Oval Office decorum: “Anyway, this is the Oval Office. It’s a shrine to democracy. And we treat it that way. When people walk in here, they don’t come in here in bathing suits and flip-flops. They come in here dressed like they’d come to a shrine.”
Worst moment in office: “The most awful moment was September the 11th, 2001.”
Best moment in office: “I don’t know, it’s hard to characterize the great moments. They’ve all been busy moments, by the way. I would say the best moment was when I caught a seven-and-a-half pound large mouth bass on my lake.”
On soccer: “Up until recently, didn’t understand how big the World Cup is. And we’re beginning to understand. And the reason why is, a lot of us grew up not knowing anything about soccer, like me. I never saw soccer as a young boy. We didn’t play it where I was from.”
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Goss for Senate?
The rumor mill has been in overdrive this afternoon with speculation that Porter Goss is giving up his CIA post to run for the Senate in Florida against Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Goss, who served in the House from 1988 until he took over as CIA director nearly two years ago, would become an instantly credible candidate with obviously solid national security credentials.
An Army intelligence officer and CIA field officer, Goss also served as mayor of Sanibel, as a Lee County commissioner, and was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when picked for the CIA post.
It’s all rumor at this point.
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McClellan’s farewell
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was ready with some semi-reflective comments this morning on his final day at the briefing room podium:
His feelings: “What an honor it’s been to work with you all and to serve the American people and to help the president advance his agenda. This is a day of gratitude from my standpoint, appreciative of the opportunity to have been able to serve in this position and be a part of a really good team of people.”
His future: “There are a lot of interesting opportunities that are coming in, speakers bureaus and the speaking circuit, other opportunities from various organizations. And I’m going to take some time to think about it. There have been a couple of book opportunities that I already have been approached about.”
His future address: “Eventually I want to get back to Texas. I’m not rushing off. Eventually I want to get back to the greatest state in the world. The greatest country, some people say.”
His favorite moments on the job: “I think the thing that I’ll remember most about being here is visiting the troops. … And some of the most memorable moments are also some of the toughest moments. Being with the president when he visited with families of the fallen or went to Bethesda or Walter Reed and visited with the wounded. I’ll always remember those moments.”
Though a generally genial spirit prevailed in the briefing room – where McClellan was scheduled to do his final briefing later today – the morning session was not without its moments.
Helen Thomas: “Did you make any mistakes?”
McClellan: “Did I make any mistakes? I’m sure if I did you’ve pointed them out.”
Thomas, a longtime Bush critic, also had a remark when McClellan said he has worked “to get the information I need to provide you all with information.”
“And misinformation,” Thomas added.
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El jefe and the national anthem
Despite published reports to the contrary, the White House today said there’s no way President Bush ever has sung the Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish.
“It’s absurd,” said spokesman Scott McClellan. “The president can speak Spanish but not that well.”
Bush last week declared that the national anthem should be sung only in English. His comment came on the day that a Spanish-language version debuted. Days later, some newspapers reported that Bush may have sung along when the anthem was sung in Spanish at an event during the 2000 campaign.
“Not only was that suggestion absurd,” McClellan said, “but he couldn’t possibly sing the national anthem in Spanish.”
McClellan’s comments came in advance of today’s Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Casa Blanca.
“You may have noticed this celebration is not on the Cinco de Mayo. It’s on the cuatro de Mayo. It’s such an important holiday we thought we would start early,” he said.
Bush, who offered a few lines in Spanish, also used the occasion to praise Mexican-Americans’ contributions to the U.S. And he urged all immigrants to learn the local language when they come to the U.S.
“Becoming an American is a great privilege and it carries with it responsibilities. Those who come here to start new lives in our country have a responsibility to understand what America is about and a responsibility to learn the English language so they can better understand our national character and participate fully in American life. That’s what we want,” he said.
“Making this effort is also key to unlocking the opportunities of America, allowing new folks to rise in society and realize the American dream.”
Bush wrapped up the event by introducing Graciela Beltran, who, backed by mariachis, sang three traditional Mexican tunes.
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WHITE HOUSE ROAD TRIP
Road trip
The White House annnounced today that President Bush will hit the road next month for a trip to Vienna, Austria, for the annual U.S.-European Union summit on June 21. The agenda includes the usual topics of international concern, including nuclear proliferation, terrorism, Iraqi reconstruction, international trade and world peace.
No immediate word on whether Bush will visit any other countries on this trip. The president’s summer schedule also includes a July trip to Russia for the G-8 meeting in St. Petersburg. The meeting is July 15-17, but no dates for Bush’s travel have been announced. The president today, however, spilled the beans about a sidetrip in conjunction with the visit to Russia.
“I’m going to come to Germany before the G-8,” Bush told German Chancellor Angela Merkel during an Oval Office visit during which she asked when he would be dropping by.
“Am I supposed to say that? Breaking news,” Bush joked.
A Bush trip to Vietnam this year also is in the planning stages, but no dates have been announced.
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Quote of the Day
“Democrats want to drain the swamp … Republicans want to take out a few drops of water and say, ‘We lessened the height of the water in the swamp.’ The stench is still there, the poison is still there, the corruption is still there, the incompetence is still there, the cronyism is still there. The Republicans must be stopped so that the American people have a chance.”
—-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
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NARP Urges Amtrak to Revive Sunset Limited Service to Florida
The National Association of Railroad Passengers’ board of directors urged Amtrak Wednesday to restore service between New Orleans and Orlando, with connections to Palm Beach and Miami.
The Sunset Limited, the only direct connection to western states from Florida, has been cancelled east of New Orleans since Aug. 24, 2005, days before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast.
In its resolution, the board said Amtrak has in effect “discontinued” this service without following the rules and regulations for this procedure. Its refusal to restore this part of the line, it said, “is an affront to the people of this region, adding further insult to catastrophic storm-related injuries that the people of this region have already borne.”
The tri-weekly Sunset Limited, which ran from Orlando to Los Angeles, was notoriously late, often arriving at destinations five to six hours behind schedule due to issues ranging from freight congestion, track work and track outages along the CSX Gulf Coast Line.
The line was permanently disrupted when Hurricane Katrina ripped apart the CSX mainline along the coast. CSX has since rebuilt the line at an estimated cost of more than $250 million. Amtrak has remained quiet on the disappearance of the Sunset, despite the fact that CSX’s track, according to the passenger association, is in better condition today than it was before to the storm.
Amtrak intercity spokesman Mark Magliari said that many of the stations are not yet usable.
“In order to run rail service you need a rail route and station access,” he said, adding that no decision has been made on what services should be offered and that Amtrak has been speaking with transportation officials in Florida, Alabama Mississippi and Louisiana and the southern rail commission.
Before its suspension, the Sunset Limited’s run between Orlando and New Orleans, which accounts for 28 percent of the line’s miles, generated 41 percent of its revenue.
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Road trip
The White House annnounced today that President Bush will hit the road next month for a trip to Vienna, Austria for the annual U.S.-European Union summit on June 21. The agenda includes the usual topics of international concern, including nuclear proliferation, terrorism, Iraqi reconstruction, international trade and world peace.
No immediate word on whether Bush will visit any other countries on this trip. The president’s summer schedule also includes a July trip to Russia for the G-8 meeting in St. Petersburg. A trip to Vietnam also is in the planning stages, but no dates have been announced.
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Bush bikes
Nice day in DC. Nice enough for President Bush to knock off early and head out for a bike ride.
Bush arrived around 3:25 p.m. at the Secret Service facility in nearby Beltsville, Md., that is one of his favorite places to ride. The motorcade headed back shortly after 5 p.m., getting the boss back to the White House at about 5:30 p.m.
The weekday ride was a relative rarity for Bush, who usually rides his mountain bike at least one day on weekends when the weather permits.
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Jeb Bush Doubts Harris Can Win
Gov. Jeb Bush told reporters that while Katherine Harris has “every right to run,” he wants someone else to enter the race against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
“I hope so,” Bush said. “I’ve not made any suggestion about her getting out of the race, but I do think Sen. Nelson is vulnerable. I have doubts about whether she can win. There may be other candidates that aspire to the job that have a better chance of winning.”
Former Florida GOP chief Al Cardenas also urged Harris to withdraw.
“It’s highly unlikely she can succeed,” Cardenas said. “Katherine Harris being our sole nominee is not in the party’s best interest.”
“The tea leaves are pretty easy to read at this point,” Cardenas said.
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Austin vet takes a stand on the retired generals’ outcry
This November, two of Austin’s Republican representatives face Democrats who are military veterans: Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, faces Ted Ankrum. a retired Navy Captain who served in Vietnam; Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, faces John Courage, who served in the Air Force from 1971 to 1975. On Tuesday, Ankrum was published as a guest columnist on a widely-circulated military Website, military.com, where he took a hard line on the current situation in Iraq, and those who are criticizing it, when he says they should have prevented it: “I have very little admiration for the cadre of generals now speaking out about the quality of decision-making from the security of retirement. Where were they when it could have made a difference? … I continue to believe that if Colin Powell had chosen to resign, rather than peddle lies to the UN Security Council, we would not be in Iraq. I believe that if our senior military commanders had chosen to resign, rather than attempt to execute a foolish plan, we would not be in Iraq.”
On the web: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,95916,00.html
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TV Time for Katherine Harris
With pressure mounting for Rep. Katherine Harris to drop out of the U.S. Senate race, or another GOP candidate to jump in, Harris plans to take to the airwaves Wednesday with her first statewide television ad.
“The spot demonstrates Katherine Harris’ commitment to this race and to the people of Florida,” said campaign spokesman Chris Ingram. “It’s a substantial buy. It will run in every market in the state.”
The ad could be directed as much at potential Republican candidates as incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
“Katherine is tough, capable, and tested in the fire of the public arena,” Ingram said in a statement announcing the ad. “We need a fighter in Washington, D.C. — someone who is willing to take on the beltway boys for the citizens of Florida and be an advocate for common-sense. That person is Katherine Harris, and the spot reminds voters of her determination and willingness to fight for Florida’s families.”
It might also remind potential primary challengers that Harris has vowed to put $10 million of her own money into the campaign. The final deadline to qualify for the race is May 12. Coincidentally, that’s about the same time the spot produced by Wilson-Grand Communications is scheduled to end.
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Amtrak Looks Beyond Its First 35 Years
Amtrak celebrates its 35th anniversary today, an occasion that few Americans may even notice. In truth, Amtrak itself isn’t hosting any official birthday ceremonies today; a few rail advocacy groups spotted throughout the country are holding small birthday bashes at local stations, however. Not so coincidentally, the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, long critical of Amtrak, today held an open forum in Washington, DC, entitled “Amtrak: Thirty Five years of Subsidies, Waste, and Deception.” Headlined by Joseph Vranich, the author of a book entitled, “End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future,” the forum largely explored reasons as to why Amtrak, in the speakers’ views, should be dismantled entirely. Said, Vranich, a former supporter of Amtrak at its inception,
“If I knew then what I know now…I would have gone back up to Capitol Hill to reverse the arguments that I had been making in support of Amtrak, because the law of unintended consequences took over and what we have today is not what a lot of us had wanted and hoped for.”
Amtrak, to its credit, is looking beyond Vranich’s criticisms, which amount to what many consider to be “old news.” In an effort to directly address problems with budget, reliability, and passenger comfort, the corporation has spent the last several years rebuilding its infrastructure along the northeast corridor, training employees in customer relations, and generally returning the railroad to a state of acceptable stability. Amtrak recently announced that as of March 2006, it had achieved an on-time performance rating of 90% on its northeast corridor between Washington, DC and New York-an unheard of record that the line has never seen. The railroad is also in the midst of reorganizing its onboard food and beverage services on its long distance trains serving cities like Atlanta, Austin, and Palm Beach. The new service, which will be completely overhauled in approximately four years, will bring in new, redesigned and refurbished diner-lounge cars, and food that is plated in stations, rather than on the train itself.
Of good news to passengers living along long distance routes is the realization that those trains will continue to run for the foreseeable future, following a period of uncertainty last year when the Bush administration recommended a zero dollar budget for the national carrier. Says David Johnson of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, “We believe that long distance trains do have a future and that Congress responded loudly and clearly to the Bush $0 budget request last year in approving adequate funding. Long distance trains provide a travel choice to millions of Americans and in many towns is the only mode of public transportation available. Some Amtrak critics claim that you can ‘buy a everyone a plane ticket cheaper than the Amtrak subsidy’ which is problematic at best…especially since hundreds of cities that Amtrak serves have no access to air service and hundreds more have no access to discount airline service. For example, airfares from Havre, Montana to Meridian, Mississippi clock in at well over $1500.”
In a move that signifies a look toward the future, Amtrak, for the first time in its 35 years of service, will unveil a mission statement. While the full statement has not been announced as yet, its tone is that of a “safe, reliable intercity passenger service in an economically sound manner that will exceed customer expectations,” according to the Associated Press.
The railroad continues to be a popular method of travel, especially during the summer months. Long distance trains are regularly sold out between major destinations, and its Auto Train service continues to be one of its most profitable routes.
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Bush aide headed back to school
Another top presidential aide – one of the closest to the top – is about to ride off into the sunset.
Blake Gottesman, special assistant to the president and personal aide, says he is returning to school, heading to Harvard in the fall.
Gottesman, 26, made the transition from Austin to Washington when Bush took office in 2001. His first, unofficial role in the Bush family was as high-school steady date of Jenna Bush back in Austin.
As personal aide to the president, Gottesman has loaded iPod One, been ready with the Purell after Bush works a crowd and shows up at the presidential podium to give the two-minute warning and put Bush’s remarks in place.
Gottesman formally signed on with Bush in 1999 during the presidential campaign.
Notoriously publicity shy, Gottesman flashed a sharp sense of humor during an August 2004 “Ask the White House” online chat from aboard Air Force One.
“Why is the White House white?” somebody from Australia asked the personal aide to the president.
“The very first ‘personal aide to the president’ made that decision long, long ago,” Gottesman replied. “Not sure why he chose white, though.”
No date for Gottesman’s departure from the White House has been announced.
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Uncle Sam Hangs Out the Help Wanted Sign
Looking for work? Uncle Sam wants you – now. The Office of Personnel Management launched a major media campaign today to attract new workers to offset an expected exodus of federal employees in the coming decade. About 60% of federal workers will be eligible to retire in the next ten years, and the agency expects roughly 40% to do just that. That amounts to more than 700,000 vacated jobs that the current hiring rate can’t fill. The solution? Four commercials featuring government workers doing – and enjoying – their jobs, all carrying the tag line “What did you do at your job today?� The ads will start running in parts of South Carolina and Michigan immediately, then spread to other markets.
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Quote of the Day
“This Rose Garden is one of America’s historic treasures. I spend a lot of time mowing out here,” President Bush, at ceremony honoring winners of preservation awards.
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Rose Garden strategy
As makeovers go, this one is somewhat subtle. But at the White House - where nothing happens by accident - it’s worth noting that the staff is putting President Bush in slightly different settings in one of his most familiar settings.
No official word on the reason for the changes, but it could be part of an effort to get Americans to look at Bush in a new light.
On Friday, when a statement on the economy turned into a Rose Garden press conference, Bush spoke at a podium set up on the garden’s east side, allowing him to stroll across the garden from the Oval Office. In the past, this kind of statement happened at the bottom of the five stairs on the colonnade on the west side of the Rose Garden, just a few steps from the Oval Office.
Friday’s setting allowed Bush to walk to the podium with Al Hubbard, director of the National Economic Council, and, Edward Lazear, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The two aides bookended Bush - who never introduced them - as he dealt with a variety of topics lobbed at him by reporters.
When it was over, the three men made the walk - about 30 paces - back to the Oval Office side of the garden and into the West Wing. The tableau offered an image of three buddies headed back to work, with Bush smiling and wrapping his left arm around Lazear’s shoulder. The image said casual, an image top White House aides say they want to be associated with Bush.
Today, at a ceremony honoring preservation award recipients, the presidential podium was set up on the north side of the garden, an arrangement not previously seen. Added to the scene today were 19 U.S. flags. Presidential tea-leaf readers note that the mor