The Next Open Thread - Slacker's Edition

by DemFromCT

This is catch-up with the weekend news edition. From First Read:

ETHICS
The Wall Street Journal calls the CIA leak investigation the "most threatening" problem facing the White House right now because of the effect it may have on Bush's "architect" Karl Rove.  "Some Republicans even link the administration's recent setbacks on Hurricane Katrina and Harriet Miers to Mr. Rove's legal distractions -- and say they fear worse if he were forced to leave the White House over the investigation." 

Speculating on the potential political repercussions of DeLay's troubles, the Dallas Morning News notes, "Democrats hope that voters will be alienated against the party in power in next year's congressional elections rather than alienated from voting."  Also: "Political experts and GOP officials interviewed around the country concede that DeLay's problems compound what has been a bad stretch for Republicans...  But they also warn that it is premature to predict an electoral advantage for Democrats because of the unpredictability of events of the next year, a widespread public belief that both parties' lawmakers have ethical shortcomings, and the fact that few House seats are competitive..."

And on Miers:

The Los Angeles Times' Brownstein puts forth "an alternative explanation" to the CW that Bush picked Miers out of political weakness: "Bush picked Miers because he felt strong...  Remember that Bush, throughout his presidency, has repeatedly demonstrated that he believes leadership is more about following his personal convictions, regardless of outside opinion, than building consensus.  When he has the power to implement his ideas, he usually does...  The backlash against Miers last week makes clear that not all conservatives agree; Bush simply overestimated their willingness to defer to him."

This is an open thread.

 

Comments

[emptypockets]

my own personal open thread dedicated to me.. thanks!

[DemFromCT]

this was fun reading:

Unfortunately for the Bush Administration, these two story lines (Fitzgerald and Miers) have been mixed in with Iraq, Social Security, poll ratings, gas prices, and Katrina to produce a one-way news cycle trajectory as the week begins.

To say the political press corps has gotten hold of a narrative they can and will milk for some time is to understate the current political moment.

Time Magazine's Joe Klein has a Republican Senator saying: "'This Administration has been excellent at politics and spin. . . It hasn't been very good at governance. Perhaps it's time for Bush to do what Ronald Reagan did to shore up his White House in the final years — bring in a team of terrific managers, people with credibility from Day One.'" LINK

[Meteor Blades]

As much as I can't stand him, Joe Klein does a good job of reminding us that presidential down-in-the-dumpsism can swiftly turn around under the right circumstances.

On the other hand, Bush has a lot going against him, not the least of which is his stubborn unwillingness to do what Klein recommends - jettison the mismanagers in his current crew and replace them so that his last 1200 days in office - gasp! - will "resurrect" him and put the country on a better track.

Unless Rove and Delay get off the hook, I think we're going to find out just how lame and lame duck can get.

[DemFromCT]

reporters and old media are coming to grips with the concept that Rove and, at least by Abramoff, DeLay are not getting off the hook.

It's an interesting dance.

[jonnybutter]

[Bush's] last 1200 days in office - gasp!

hey MB, just think of it as his 'final days' in office. ; ) Let's just not compute it in hours shall we?

Joe Klein does a good job of reminding us that presidential down-in-the-dumpsism can swiftly turn around under the right circumstances.

Alas, yes. But Klein is also rather obtuse in his reasoning here. He continues to insist that Bush's SS reform was a 'good idea' which was merely handled the wrong way, and says that the Bush administration has nothing on the scale of Iran-Contra to worry about. What?! Bush has a failed war and scandals galore, which reach both the WH and congress.

I think the water in DC has some sort of bug in it which gives you sort of a cognitive Montezuma's Revenge: it makes you feel sick at first, but then you get used to it. Or something. It makes you write weird paragraphs like this (Klein again):

Clinton had to insist that he was "still relevant" in a city that had fallen in love with Newt Gingrich's Republican revolution. But a few days later, he was a hero again after his eloquent handling of the Oklahoma City tragedy. George W. Bush's own presidency was limping along until it was transformed on Sept. 11, 2001. But you can't order up an act of God—and even another terrorist attack on American soil might only serve to reinforce the doubts about Bush's leadership that Iraq and Katrina have raised.

Darn it! You can't order up an act of god AND even a terrorist attack might not work out in your political favor! Being president really *is* hard work!

[wineandroses]

In my opinion, the Miers appointment is a very ominous sign for the administration. I mean why, after a scandal of cronyism in the LA crisis, would you appoint your own lawyer to the Supreme Court, a woman who has never even been a judge, and in the process alienate yourself- possibly permanently- from the your entire political base (I mean.... even George Will is now claiming that the President doesn't have a consitutional right to govern anymore). Why would the President do this unless he is preparing to be called out as a co-conspirator in the Plame investigation? In the face of this, his only hope would be to put a stooge like Miers onto the Supreme Court, in advance preparation of the inevitable(i.e., any investigation which leads to accusations against the President or the VP would invariably elicit invocations of "executive privilege," appeals would be filed, and it would go straight to the top, just as we saw with the 2000 election). He is preparing for the worst.

Wouldn't it be ironic if this cabal which got swept into power by the Supreme Court got put behind bars by them as well? That would make a very pretty set of historical bookends for our grandchildren to muse over.