Window on Washington
News, analysis, color and photography from Cox Newspapers' Washington BureauRSS feed
What's on this page →
All the entries posted in August.
Categories
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS |
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F
Recent entries
- Mahoney: Honoring Soviet veterans?
- 911 records cited breathing problem for John Linder
- Will Wes Clark hurt Rick Noriega?
- Cornyn losing endorsement of Texas Medical Association
- Pelosi continues praise of Chet Edwards
- Lamar Smith, other Republicans want to amend Constitution on child rape
- Travelers would flock to see this
- More entries...
Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2006 > August
August 2006
BYRD ADMITS HE PLACED A HOLD, NOW LIFTS IT
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd admits that he placed a “secret hold” on legislation that would make uncovering the Byzantine world of federal contracting as easy as typing a Google search.
Tom Gavin, spokesperson for Byrd, confirmed to Cox Newspapers that the senator placed the hold on legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., before voting on the measure.
Byrd joins Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, for holding up the bill right before Congress left town on August 4.
Byrd merely wanted more time to evaluate the legislation that would create a new database of some $2.5 trillion in federal spending on contracts, loans, financial assistance and insurance.
“Senator Byrd wanted time to read the legislation, understand its implications, and see whether the proposal could be improved,” Gavin said.
Byrd has released his hold, now that there “has been time to better understand the legislation,” Gavin said.
“Senator Byrd believes that the bill should be debated and opened for amendment, and not pushed through without discussion,” Gavin said.
“There was an effort to pass a bill on an important subject without debate just before the Senate recess,” Gavin said. Senators have an obligation to their constituents to know what they are voting on before signing off on any proposal, he said.
“On August 2, the last day before a month-long Senate recess, a Senate committee gave its approval to a brand new piece of legislation, cosponsored by Senator Obama and Senator Coburn,” Gavin said. “That same day, there was an effort to rush the legislation through the Senate without any Senator having the chance to ask questions,” he said.
Actually, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously approved the measure on July 27, the record shows. And an oversight committee held a hearing on the measure on July 18.
Gavin explained in a follow up interview that the bill didn’t reach the rest of the senators until August 2.
The bipartisan “secret hold” surprised everyone on Capitol Hill because the measure has the support from heavy hitters of both political parties, including Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
But Byrd is unapologetic about using his hold power.
“The American people ought to demand that bills receive scrutiny by senators before those bills are approved,” Gavin said. “We have seen the consequences of rushing legislation through the Senate without any time for review or understanding.”
Permalink | |
IS BYRD THE OTHER SHOE?
Did Alaska Republican Ted Stevens act alone?
That’s the lurking question in the whodunnit mystery surrounding the “secret hold” placed on legislation that would open up the murky world of federal spending is this.
The answer appears to be no.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., chief sponsor of legislation that would create a searchable database of some $2.5 trillion in federal spending, was informed on August 29 at 6:57 p.m. that a Democratic senator had placed a hold on the bill.
Thanks in large part to the conservative and liberal bloggers who have called every Senate office to determine who is responsible for that hold, it appears that 98 senators have denied placing the hold. That leaves Stevens and Sen. Bob Byrd, D-West. Va., a fellow appropriations king, to blame.
“We believe there is a Democratic hold and we believe Senator Byrd is the likely suspect based on the bloggers’ investigative work,” said John Hart, spokesperson for Coburn.
As for Coburn’s attempts to answer Stevens’ concerns about cost… Stevens’ staff has spurned repeated attempts by Coburn’s staff to meet.
“We have made repeated attempts to sit down with Stevens staff to address their concerns,” Hart said. “So far, they haven’t followed through with any of our requests.”
Stevens staffers did not return phone calls seeking comment.
As for the cost—it’s pretty strange that Stevens wasn’t aware that a Congressional Budget Office report had already predicted that the cost would be $15 million over five years for the database. Strange, because Stevens sits on the committee that has jurisdiction over the Coburn measure.
As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Stevens has overseen the passage of some 40 bills during the the 109th Congress. Those bills are expected to increase federal spending by at least $89 billion over the next five years, according to CBO estimates.
Permalink | | Categories: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington
Stevens is Smoked Out
After much speculation, a staffer to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, admitted to Cox Newspapers today that the senator is the lawmaker who placed a “secret hold” on legislation that would open up the obscure world of government contracting to public scrutiny.
Until now, it was a political whodunnit as to who quietly blocked legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., that would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance, worth $2.5 trillion last year.
While speculation centered on Stevens, there was no confirmation. Under Senate rules, the hold remains cloaked in secrecy unless the senator who places it lifts it.
Aaron Saunders, spokesperson for Stevens, said Coburn was informed two weeks ago that his boss had concerns about the bill. Namely, Stevens is concerned that the bill would create more bureaucracy. He wants to see a cost-benefit analysis.
Saunders said there was nothing secret about what Stevens did.
“Senator Stevens has always preferred to handle this at the staff level or member to member,” Saunders said. “He doesn’t like running to the blogosphere or the media.”
“Our reticence in getting out there is that Stevens doesn’t want to be in the media attacking Coburn,” Saunders said. “He has never addressed legislative concerns in the media. It is just not the way the senator has ever operated.”
Placing a hold is a normal part of doing business on Capitol Hill, Saunders said. He noted that Coburn has used the same parliamentary maneuver to block bills coming out of the Commerce Committee.
“Senator Stevens is not trying to show Senator Coburn or any other senator up publicly. Going to the blogs and the media with these concerns is not the way we have ever operated.”
The measure had been unanimously passed in a voice vote last month by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Stevens is a member of. Stevens did not attend the meeting where the bill was approved, according to a vote tally obtained by Cox Newspapers.
The bill has support from heavy hitters like Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. It was on the fast track for floor action before Congress recessed on Aug. 4 when Stevens put a hold on the measure.
Permalink | | Categories: Washington
Oswald’s school
The New Orleans high school at which President Bush spoke on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is the city’s oldest public school.
Warren Easton High School’s more famous grads include jazz musician Pete Fountain and NFL Hall of Fame running back Steve Van Buren.
But the most famous Easton student may be one who was here briefly in 1955.
Here’s what the Warren Commission had to say about Lee Harvey Oswald’s stint at Easton:
“That fall, Lee entered the 10th grade at Warren Easton High School. He had been there for about a month when he presented to the school authorities a note written by himself to which he had signed his mother’s name. It was dated October 7, 1955, and read:
To whom it may concern,
Because we are moving to San Diego in the middle of this month Lee must quit school now. Also, please send by him any papers such as his birth certificate that you may have. Thank you. Sincerely, _Mrs. M. Oswald
He dropped out of school a few days later, shortly before his 16th birthday. After his birthday, he tried to enlist in the Marines, using a false affidavit from his mother that he was 17.”
Let’s see: Lee Harvey Oswald. Warren Easton. Warren Commission. Let the conspiracy theories begin.
Permalink | |
Smoking out the Senator
Leading bloggers are trying to smoke out the senator responsible for placing “secret hold” on legislation that would open up the murky world of government contracting to public scrutiny for the first time.
The story, reported by Cox Newspapers last week has created quite a ruckus during a typcially quiet recess week on the Hill. That’s because bloggers and their readers are calling every senator, Democrat and Republican alike, to find out who is trying to effectively kill the legislation.
The measure, introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance, worth $2.5 trillion last year. The database would bring transparency to federal spending and be as simple to use as conducting a Google search.
So far, 74 senators have denied being responsible for the hold. Click here to view.
But Rumors are flying all around, one Republican aide reports. Why would someone want to kill the measure? Open government types say the senators are averse to making the spending process transparent.
In other words: they want to keep the pork hidden in the fridge.
Permalink | | Categories: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington
The president doesn’t like my suit, Part Deux
OK, so we now know that President Bush does not like seersucker suits (see “The president doesn’t like my suit”).
But we also now know that other presidents were fans of Haspel seersucker suits, such as the one that drew a presidential thumbs-down this week.
“For decades Haspel was a choice clothier for celebrities such as Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Cary Grant,” Haspel reports on its website. “Presidents such as Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman and FDR found that Haspel’s poplins, seersuckers and pincores were correct for any occasion.”
After he left the White House, Truman expressed his appreciation for the suits in a letter to Joseph Haspel, then the company’s president. Click on the image below for a larger version.
Permalink | |
Wedding protest
Today’s etiquette question:
Is it bad manners to use the wedding of a presidential relative as the centerpiece for a protest against a presidential policy?
No, says Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Gagnon, of Brunswick, Maine, is helping organize Saturday’s anti-war rally in Kennebunkport, Maine.
It’s time to coincide with President Bush’s visit to Maine for the wedding of 29-year-old Walker Stapleton to Jennifer Bertocchi. Stapleton is the son of Craig and Dorothy Stapleton. Ms. Stapleton is a cousin to the president’s dad. Craig Stapleton is now a Bush appointee as U.S. ambassador to France.
The wedding is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church. The Rev. Peter Cheney – unrelated to the veep – told the local Kennebec Journal that somewhere around 300 guests are expected.
Organizers of the Saturday protest expect to draw a larger crowd.
“It is imperative that we speak out loudly and clearly that Bush is not welcome in our state,” said an event invitation.
Gagnon told Cox Newspapers’ Washington Bureau he rejects the notion of giving Bush a break in order to attend a happy family event.
“We have no qualms whatsoever,” he said, noting recent polls showing increasing opposition to the war. “We are speaking for the majority of the people. He is the president and we are the citizens and in a democratic society this is what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to speak out and say how we feel about things.”
Featured speakers will include Deedee Miller, sister of war protester Cindy Sheehan.
Timing a protest to coincide with a wedding is drawing mixed reactions, as gleaned from comments posted on the Kennebec Journal website. Here’s a sampling:
“I would be upset if I was getting married and then all these protesters showed up and took the focus off my wedding and onto their on beliefs. How selfish is this world?”
“I wonder - did the groom have to get military leave to attend his wedding? The best man? Any of the groomsmen? Or was it others who fought for their safety and freedom…. __President Bush claims we’re at war. Has this resonated with any of his extended family, as it has with so many other families???”
“I may not be President Bush’s biggest fan but I do believe that he should be able to attend this wedding with his family. If they feel the need to voice their opinion fine but do it another time. The bride and groom should not be punished this is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives.”
“Being a native of The Kennebunks I honestly think the protesters should be arrested jailed UNDER the jail until this wedding is over!!! How RUDE!! What a shame a family regardless WHO they are cannot enjoy a family day and a FAMILY wedding without some attention grabbing protesters. Some people will do ANYTHING for attention. Ignore them, don’t even talk about them in the newspapers don’t give them ANY attention. Bet they just go away when they realize nobody is watching or hearing or listening to them. It’s ALL about THEM getting the attention instead of the bride and groom.”
“Humm! Isn’t it ironic that Bush can go to Iraq with out anyone knowing but can’t manage a jaunt to K.Port without fanfare.”
Permalink | |
Four more years?
This official White House reaction to Katrina victim Rockey Vaccarella’s call for a third term for President Bush: Forget about it.
There’s the constitutional ban of course. But, says Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino, there are other reasons.
“Believe me, I think staff thinks two are plenty,” she said.
How come?
“Because I’m tired,” Perino joked as she pinch hit for vacationing Press Secretary Tony Snow at the daily White House briefing.
Vaccarella scored an Oval Office meeting with Bush on Wednesday after garnerning publicity by pulling a FEMA-like trailer to Washington to bring attention to the ongoing Katrina recovery effort. Vaccarella thinks Bush is doing a great job. And, like the president, thinks there is much more work to be done.
And, FYI, here’s the transcript of q-and-a about what’s in the White House swag bag in his left hand:
Q: What did you get in your White House goodie bag?
Rockey: I got a couple momentums that I had lost a little bit.
Q What all did you get in there, Mr. Vaccarella?
Rockey: I got a tie pin. I had, like, 30 ties I lost in Katrina, so I’ll go buy some ties, and a bookmarker for my granddaughter Alex. And he gave me a lot of tokens; he gave me a lot of tokens.
Permalink | |
The president doesn’t like my suit
There’s much going on around the world and President Bush addressed most of it during today’s news conference.
But he also found time - thrice - to critique my choice of attire for the day. I went with seersucker in recognition of the ongoing heat and humidity of DC in the summer. (And because my wife advised me that summer’s end is near and it’s time for a final wearing of the summer stuff.)
The leader of the free world/fashion critic was unimpressed.
“By the way, seersucker is coming back. I hope everybody gets it,” Bush told me when he first noticed my suit.
Seeking a reference he would understand, I dug out something that both of us - and maybe nobody else in the room - would get.
“It’s the summertime East Texas county commissioner look,” is what I told him.
And then the news conference continued. He talked about Iraq. And then he talked about Lebanon. And then he talked about Iran. And then he talked about Iraq some more. And then he talked about Katrina.
And then, after a few more topics, he talked about my suit again after, in a reference to the Connecticut Senate election that he is staying out of, I reminded him that Connecticut was his native state.
“I may be the only person — the only presidential candidate who never carried the state in which he was born,” Bush said. “Do you think that’s right, Herman? Of course, you would have researched that and dropped it out for everybody to see, particularly since I dissed that just ridiculous-looking outfit.”
A few minutes later, when Bush called on me for a question, I stood and awaited further sartorial abuse.
“Go ahead,” I said, inviting another jab or two.
“I don’t need to now that you’ve stood up, and everybody can clearly see for themselves,” he said.
For the record, as Bush noted during the news conference, I have been covering him for many years, back to his first gubernatorial campaign. We have traded a good-natured barb or two over the years.
No insult taken to your haberdashery remarks, sir.
And, if I may be so bold as to offer some advice: Give seersucker a chance. It can be a good choice when you’re taking heat.
Permalink | |
Bush to raise money for Allen
President Bush will raise money next week for Sen. George Allen, R-Va., who has spent much of this week apologizing for a racially insensitive comment caught on camera by his opponent’s campaign.
The Aug. 11 comment was about the guy running the camera for his opponent’s campaign. Allen referred to S.R. Sidarth, whose job for Democratic nominee Jim Webb is to videotape Allen events, as “macaca.”
Bush will be the star attraction next Wednesday at an Allen event at the Alexandria, Virginia home of Ed Gillespie, former Republican National Committee chairman.
Allen, a possible 2008 presidential contender, has been playing defense all week for referring to the Indian-American man as “macaca,” a term often classified as an ethnic slur.
The Democrats are eager to link Bush with Allen’s remark.
“By not condemning what George Allen said, the president is giving tacit approval to comments that have no place in the public discourse,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Phil Singer. “It’s not good enough for the president to say Allen apologized. Allen’s remarks were despicable and Bush has an obligation to say so.”
“If the president refuses to condemn Allen’s comments, he should at the very least cancel his fundraiser for him next week or else it will look like he is rewarding Allen’s behavior,” Singer said.
The president has said nothing about Allen’s remarks. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Friday that Bush has no qualms about appearing with Allen, “certainly after Sen Allen’s apology.”
Allen, in a statement, has said he “made up a nickname for the cameraman, which was in no way intended to be racially derogatory. Any insinuations to the contrary are completely false.”
“I never want to embarrass or demean anyone and I apologize if my comments offended this young man,” Allen said. “Even though he has signed on to my opponent’s campaign, I look forward to seeing him on the trail ahead.”
Permalink | |
Cousin Willie and the Wizard
Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, the legendary Wizard of Westwood, now has a Post Office named in his honor.
And so does another Indiana native, this one best known as “Cousin Willie.”
The honors were doled out Thursday when President Bush, prior to boarding Marine One for a weekend at Camp David, signed congressional measures renaming several Post Office locations.
The Coach John Wooden Post Office Building is at 7320 Reseda Boulevard in Reseda, California.
And at 1310 Highway 64 NW. in Ramsey, Indiana, one can now find the Wilfred Edward “Cousin Willie” Sieg, Sr. Post Office.
Cousin Willie made his name in the popcorn business as head of a family operation.
A father of 13, he died of cancer in February at age 76.
Permalink | |
White House: Reading is good
The White House is opting for sort of a generic response to the commercial success of “Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq.” The book by Washington Post reporter Thomas E. Ricks offers a critical look at the handling of the war.
“A lot of people are reading Tim Russert’s book, too,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said today. “It’s nice that people are reading.”
Earlier in the week, Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino also slalomed around a question noting that many people are reading Ricks’ book.
“Am I concerned that American people are reading books? Absolutely not,” she said.
Permalink | |
Vice vs. Vice
The voters in Connecticut may have trouble keeping track of former Democratic vice presidential nominees Thursday.
John Edwards, who had the second spot on the Democratic ticket with John Kerry in 2004, will be in New Haven today to campaign for Democratic senatorial nominee Ned Lamont.
That means Edwards will be campaigning against the man who immediately preceded him as the Democratic vice presidential nomination - Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
Lieberman, who was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000, lost his party’s nomination to Lamont in the Democratic primary earlier this month, but is now running as an independent for a fourth term in the Senate.
Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, voted just like Lieberman in 2002 in support of the war in Iraq. But Edwards was the first of those potential 2008 presidential candidates who voted for the war to express regret for having done so.
Lieberman, on the other hand, has remained steadfast in his support for the war, part of the reason he lost his party’s nomination to Lamont, the anti-war candidate.
Permalink | |
Snow makes face, funny noise
White House spokesman Tony Snow went with the non-verbal and the unspellable verbal in response to a couple of questions at today’s White House briefing.
The unspellable verbal came up in response to a question following up on Snow’s insistence that President Bush is not frustrated by developments in Iraq.
“And I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it because it’s true: The president is somebody’s who’s intensely practical about these things, and not somebody who sits around and goes” … and then Snow made a noise, with an accompanying face, that kind of sounded something a little like “ewwwww.”
Realizing he had made a weird noise, Snow said he would eagerly wait to see how it turned up in the official transcript to be issued by the White House.
Here’s how it came out in the first unofficial transcript, as produced by Congressional Quarterly, that made the rounds. CQ chickened out of taking a shot at the spelling:
“And I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it because it’s true: The president is somebody’s who’s intensely practical about these things, and not somebody who sits around and goes (POUTING SOUND).”
Federal News Service, another vendor of transcripts, also ducked the spelling issue:
“And I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it because it’s true, the president is somebody who’s intensely practical about these things, and not somebody who sits around and gets — (groans.)”
The official White House transcript took a stab at it:
“And I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it because it’s true: The president is somebody who’s intensely practical about these things, and not somebody who sits around and goes, ‘Nnnnyoo!’
Snow’s non-verbal response came in response to a question about The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s offer to head to the Middle East and straighten everything out. Snow could of shook his head dismissively in a gesture that more than anything else said “not so much.”
“Sometimes a picture says a thousand words,” he said.
A few minutes later, the question came up again and Snow opted to go verbal.
“The United States has duly appointed and delegated and congressionally confirmed diplomats,” he said. “They’re the proper people to handle the work.”
Snow Iraq Jesse Jackson author=Ken Herman
Permalink | |
The Connecticut peculiarity
President Bush, who routinely supports GOP nominees, will not routinely be supporting his party’s nominee for Connecticut U.S. Senate seat that has attracted so much attention.
Spokesman Tony Snow danced around a bit today when asked if Bush will back Alan Schlesinger, the longshot GOP nominee for the seat now held by Democrat Joe Lieberman, whose support for Bush’s war strategy contributed heavily to his defeat in last week’s Democratic primary.
Lieberman lost to Ned Lamont, a political novice who based his campaign on his anti-war message. Lieberman, who counts Bush political strategist Karl Rove as a friend, is now running as an independent.
Here’s today’s q-and-a with Snow about the race in Connecticut, Bush’s native state:
QUESTION: Does the president support the Republican candidate for Senate in Connecticut?
SNOW: The president supports the democratic process in the state of Connecticut and wishes them a successful election in November.
QUESTION: Wait, wait, wait. I realize he supports democracy, but I’m wondering, does he actually support his own party’s candidate?
SNOW: I know that’s not news.
QUESTION: Why aren’t you committing your — why wouldn’t the president commit to support the Republican candidate in that…
SNOW: I don’t know. Why do you ask? Is there something about the candidate that I should know about that would lead to judgments?
QUESTION: I’m just asking you…
SNOW: No, I mean…
QUESTION: It seems like a very natural thing that — why wouldn’t he support a member of his own party? Is it because he’s well behind in the polls? Is it because the president likes Joe Lieberman? What’s going on?
SNOW: There may be a whole host of reasons the president — I’m just not going to play.
QUESTION: It’s not really a game. I mean…
SNOW: It’s not a game, it’s not a game, but, OK, I’ll tell you what. I’ll refer you to the political office to give you the full judgments on that. I think you know the situation in Connecticut.
Moments later…
QUESTION: Following on Keith’s question, so we should not routinely assume that the president is going to support Republican nominees around the nation?
SNOW: I think that there are some peculiar characteristics going on in the Republican Party with the Republican candidate. And why don’t you wait and see what happens?
QUESTION: What are those characteristics?
SNOW: Well, I think I was asking you and you wouldn’t play, so…
QUESTION: Are there any other states where there are peculiar characteristics, or is this one unique?
SNOW: I think this one may be unique. But we’ll find out.
I mean, look, I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s great and it’s great fun, but…
Permalink | |
Timing
The White House’s Wednesday attack on Democrats as weaklings in the war on terror came as administration officials knew of the pending British arrests of terror suspects who allegedly planned to down several planes.
White House spokesman Tony Snow today said Bush had ” been extensively briefed over the last few days as the operation that took place became more and more imminent.” Bush also spoke twice with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to Snow.
Vice President Cheney and top GOP leaders on Wednesday ripped into the Democrats after war supporter Joe Lieberman’s loss in the Connecticut Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday.
Snow was asked today if the administration knew on Wednesday that the story was going to break today.
” I don’t want to get into operational details. This was not — however, it was not explicit — let me put it this way, I don’t want to encourage that line of thought. I don’t think it’s fully accurate, but I also don’t want — I know it’s frustrating, but we really don’t want to get too much into who knew what, where, when,” he said.
The White House and the GOP, in a coordinated effort, had moved quickly on Wednesday to portray Democrats as weak on national defense. Cheney, in an extraordinary procedure, took questions from wire service reporters during a conference call as he was in Wyoming. Cheney rarely, if ever, takes questions from groups of reporters.
Cheney said Lieberman’s defeat indicates the Democrats “dominant view” is “the basic, fundamental notion that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won’t — we can’t be. So we have to be actively engaged not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, but on a global basis if we’re going to succeed in prevailing in this long-term conflict.”
Bush, upon arrival in Green Bay today for several events, said the arrests are a “a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.”
“It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America, and that is why we’ve given our officials the tools they need to protect our people,” Bush said
Permalink | |
Kleptos beware
President Bush today put in place a new strategy to attack the “culture of corruption,” but not the one that Democrats say has infected Washington under GOP control.
The governmental wrongdoing Bush is targeting is international in nature.
“For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world. High-level corruption by senior government officials, or kleptocracy, is a grave and corrosive abuse of power and represents the most invidious type of public corruption,” Bush said in a statement issued from Crawford, Texas.
The president announced his National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy, a multi-point plan that includes international cooperation, vigorous prosecution and denial of safe haven for “kleptocrats” who use high office to line their pockets.
“Our objective is to defeat high-level public corruption in all its forms and to deny corrupt officials access to the international financial system as a means of defrauding their people and hiding their ill-gotten gains,” said Bush.
Permalink | |
Moving out
It’s moving day at the White House press room as journalists head out to the temporary quarters in which they will work during the remodeling process.
By mid-morning, the familiar blue chairs were gone from the briefing room. A temporary briefing room is being set up in the White House Conference Center that will be the press room while the remodeling goes on. It’s supposed to take about nine months.
Take a close look to the right of center in this photo and you will see a head peeking up out of the trap door that leads to where the White House swimming pool used to be. It’s now a tangle of cables under there.
The remodeling process will allow for more up-to-date wiring, as well as Internet access at each seat in the briefing room.
Permalink | |
Press room farewell
Several former press secretaries – including the one the White House Briefing Room is named in honor of – showed up today for the final briefing in the facility that is scheduled for a major overhaul.
James Brady, who was shot in the 1981 attempted assassination of President Reagan, was wheeled into the room as the day’s briefing ended.
President Bush and wife Laura also dropped by as a large crowd gathered for the landmark day.
The ceremony included echoes and personalities from the past. Former White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson screamed a question from the rear of the room, seeking Bush’s opinion about Mel Gibson.
Bush, recently turned 60, feigned hearing loss and declined to reply.
The White House press corps is moving to temporary quarters nearby while the long-overdue overhaul is completed. It is scheduled to take about nine months.
Permalink | |