The Campaign To Boost Bush's Legacy

The Campaign To Boost Bush's Legacy
A network of aides to former president Bush are working behind the scenes to keep his legacy alive and unblemished, Politico reports.
Pelosi jet use draws conservative fire again

by Frank James

It didn't really work the first time they tried it but that's not stopping conservative critics of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from taking another run at trying to ding her by accusing her of misusing military jets.

Judicial Watch issued a press release yesterday along with copies of official e-mails it secured through the Freedom of Information Act, documents which led it to its opinion that Pelosi is rather high-handed about her use of military jets.

An excerpt from the press release:

"Taken together, these documents show that Speaker Pelosi treats the Air Force like her personal airline," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable requests for military travel, but her office seems unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with last minute cancellations and other demands."

Fox News picked up Judicial Watch's report.

Pelosi's office issued the following statement:

Speaker's Travel between Washington and the District

Following the attacks of 9/11, the Bush White House instituted a policy for the Speaker of the House, for security reasons, to travel on a military planewhenever availableback and forth to their congressional district only.

Use of Aircraft

The availability and size of the military aircraft is determined by the Department of Defense. Typically, when Speaker Pelosi uses military aircraft to travel between her Congressional District and Washington, the military assigns the same 12-seat aircraft used by her predecessor, Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois.

The House Sergeant at Arms asked for an aircraft that can travel between the District and Washington without refueling citing security reasons. See statement below from Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood dated February 8, 2007:

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district. The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi. The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable. This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security. I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker. I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

This myth has been thoroughly debunked and invalidated by researchers at a variety of nonpartisan organizations including Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania, which wrote :

The spread of this rumorand its first debunkingdates back to February 2007. At that time, the speaker of the House had had access to an Air Force craft for about five and a half years. Hastert had been issued a plane after Sept. 11, 2001, for security reasons (the speaker of the House is next in line after the vice president for presidential succession).

When Pelosi became speaker, House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood, according to his own account , worried that the small craft [that Hastert used] would be unable to travel to her home district of San Francisco without stopping to refuel. Livingood, who was first elected by a Newt Gingrich-led House in 1995 , asked the Air Force and the Department of Defense about getting a bigger plane.

Department of Defense makes ALL decisions about military travel

The Department of Defense makes all decisions concerning the use of military aircraft by Members of Congress, and the House has complied with all Department of Defense rules in this area.

It is a function of the Speaker's office to coordinate Congressional delegation travel and act as a liaison between the Department of Defense and Members of Congress.

The Speaker is extraordinarily appreciative of the Department of Defense's efforts to accommodate requests from Congress.

***
Mr. TONY SNOW (White House Press Secretary): I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection in travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert, and so we trust that all sides will get this worked out. (National Public Radio, 2/8/07).

Possible Change To Labor Law Ignites Controversy

Two Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that has stirred up a firestorm of debate between business interests and labor groups. The Employee Free Choice Act would amend existing labor law. If passed, workers could form a union if the majority of them sign cards requesting one.

Obama: "We've Let Our Grades Slip"

Obama: "We've Let Our Grades Slip"
President Barack Obama promotes his education overhaul, pressing methodically forward with stimulus and government reform plans.
Democratic Lawmaker Laments Geithner's 'Mistake'
ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports: Rep. Elijah Cummings, a member of the Joint Economic Committee, told ABC News tonight that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had made a "mistake" in announcing the financial stability plan, because it left critics suspecting that...
Reagan's 'shining porkopolis on a hill?'

President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan at White House on July 12, 1986 en route to Camp David, Maryland. ( Photo/Ron Edmonds)

by Rebecca Cole

Remember that "shining city on a hill" that President Ronald Reagan alluded to in his farewell address to the nation in 1989?

Perhaps it should be changed to the "shining porkopolis on a hill" now that the House voted 371-19 last night in favor of shelling out $1 million to celebrate what would be Reagan's 100th birthday.

The legislation would fund the "Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission" to help various governmental agencies and civic groups plan events to mark the anniversary of Reagan's birth in Tampico, Ill., in 1911.

The majority of Republicans and Democrats alike voted overwhelmingly in support of the measure. Earmark-buster Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Ron Paul were the only two members of the GOP who voted "no."

In the days of trillion-dollar stimulus packages, $1 million may be a drop in the bucket. But Democrats voting to spend taxpayer dollars honoring the patron saint of tax cuts, limited government and deregulation -- which some argue chart a straight line to the current economic crisis -- is interesting.

Why not hit up the pro-business groups that Reagan showered love upon during his tenure in the era of Gordon Gekko, as the nonpartisan Washington Independent suggests?

'Time Stands Still': A War Portrait, Unretouched

Donald Margulies' play follows a photojournalist who's nearly been killed covering the conflict in Iraq — and who, even at home in New York, can't escape the photos she took on the battlefield.

Obama Ends Stem Cell Research Ban
President Obama said he is allowing federal taxpayer dollars to fund significantly broader research on embryonic stem cells because "medical miracles do not happen simply by accident."
Warren Buffett: Obama carbon-tax idea 'regressive'

by Frank James

During his three-hour appearance on CNBC today, Warren Buffett, the world's most famous investor, described the cap-and-trade plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions which President Barack Obama included in its recent budget proposal as a "pretty regressive" tax.

Buffett, an Obama ally, is clearly not synched up with the White House message. He has given opponents of the proposal a powerful bit of ammunition to work with.

And by describing the taxes that would be imposed as eventually regressive since they would be passed along to consumers, Buffett has said, not in so many words, that Obama would hurt the low and middle income Americans the president sees himself championing since a larger share of their incomes would go towards paying higher utility bills than would be true for the more affluent.

But Buffett has long been outspoken, which is one of the reasons the Obama people liked him when he sided with them during the presidential campaign.

The relevant excerpt from the CNBC transcript:

BUFFETT: Well, yeah. As you know, that hasn't been enacted yet or anything. But it is part of the budget that was put out the other day that--giving effect to it. Anything you put in that effectively taxes carbon emissions is--somebody's going to bear the brunt of it. In the case of a regulated utility, the utility customers are going to pay for it. I mean, it's going to become, in effect, a tax which we have decided is needed because the market system doesn't really appropriately penalize something that hurts the future but doesn't really hurt us tomorrow morning. But that tax is probably going to be pretty regressive. It'll be determined by individual public utility commissions state by state what customers it gets passed through to. But if you put a cost of issuing--putting carbon into the atmosphere, it--in the utility business it's going to be born by customers. And it's a tax like anything else. If--in terms of ConocoPhillips, it would be less direct, anything of that sort. Or in terms of industry generally.
Who Should Be Able To Seek Assisted Suicide?

Members of Final Exit, a group that provides counsel to people who want to take their own lives, were arrested in February. State laws governing assisted suicide vary greatly. 36 states outlaw it, but two states allow physician-assisted suicide, with many stipulations.

Move To Rewrite Law On Appointed Senators

Move To Rewrite Law On Appointed Senators
The recent appointments of several U.S. senators are prompting a move to amend the Constitution. The proposed amendment would require a special election anytime a Senate seat is vacant and would prohibit governors from appointing senators.
'The Rock' Obama

by Frank James

Saturday Night Live did a humorous riff on the notion that President Barack Obama is so cool and slow to anger.

It's a temperament that earned him the nickname "No Drama Obama" on the campaign trail.

Anyway, the skit's conceit has Obama getting angry and Hulking out and becoming The Rock Obama. Not bad.

The opener, satirizing Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner as essentially clueless, is also worth viewing.

Republicans Betting On Opposition

Republicans in Congress seem to have settled on a message this past week: No. No to the omnibus spending bill. No to the earmarks in it. No to big government. Is this a winning strategy?

Obama to visit Turkey

Obama To Reverse Stem Cell Restrictions
President Obama will announce that he is undoing the Bush administration ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research on Monday, White House sources confirm to CBS News.
U.S.-Tied Truck Hit Zimbabwe PM's Car
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The truck that hit Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's car today belonged to a contractor working for the U.S. and British governments, ABC News has learned from three sources. The truck hit a pothole in...
Obama to visit Turkey

by Mike Dorning and Christi Parsons

President Barack Obama is planning a trip to Turkey as part of his administration's ongoing outreach to the Muslim world, a senior administration official said this morning.

The trip is meant to continue dialogue with leaders in Muslim countries, the official said. But it will not include the speech from a Muslim capital that Obama spoke of during his presidential campaign.

"Planning for the Turkey visit is just the beginning," the official said. "It will be an important opportunity to visit a NATO ally and discuss shared challenges."

Obama said in an address in the summer of 2007 that he would deliver an address in a "major Islamic forum" during the first hundred days of his administration. He said he would make it clear that "we are not at war with Islam" and that "we'll stand with those who are willing to stand up for their future."

But in an interview with the Tribune in December, Obama said he wasn't sure about the timing of that speech.

Earlier this week, the White House announced that the president is planning a trip to Europe the end of this month, and that he will be at the NATO meeting in Germany in early April.

Week In Review With Daniel Schorr

This week, more sobering economic news from the Labor Department. The country's unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent last month, the highest since 1983. Meanwhile, President Obama held a day-long summit on health care at the White House. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making the rounds with visits to the Middle East, Brussels and Geneva.

Clinton Hits Wrong 'Re-Set' Button With Russia

Bribery Charges Stick To Ex-Ala. Governor
A federal appeals court upheld most of the bribery and corruption charges against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and all of the charges against former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.
Clinton Hits Wrong 'Re-Set' Button With Russia
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The Obama administration has said it wants to "reset" relations with Russia, which have again become strained in recent years, but an attempt to illustrate this was sidetracked by a translation error. Secretary of State...
Clinton's 'reset' button: 'Overcharging'

by Mark Silva

What's a little humor between Doomsday players?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went for a little joke today about resetting relations with the Russians, but it turned out the joke was on her.

Clinton, presenting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a gift-wrapped "reset" button, called the "little gift" symbolic of what President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been saying about the U.S. and Russia.

""We want to reset our relationship," she said.

Yet something may have been lost in translation in the gift before closed-door talks in Geneva. The word on the button was meant to say "reset" in Russian.

"We worked hard to get the right Russian word," Clinton told Lavrov. "Do you think we got it?"

"You got it wrong," Lavrov repliedthe word actually means "overcharge.''

"We won't let you do that to us," Clinton said, with the two laughing.

Growing more serious, Clinton told Lavrov: ""We mean it and we look forward to it." Lavrov, smiling, said: "Thank you very much. It's very kind of you." And on the serious side, see the National Security Network essay on the Obama administration's idea of resetting U.S.-Russian relations:

(Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured above, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after presenting him with a "reset'' button. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini / )

The Reset Button is Pushed on Russia: What Next?

Washington, D.C.In the first year of his presidency, George Bush famously looked into Putin's "soul" and found a man he could trust. The results have been disastrous. Putin was able to use his personal friendship with Bush to insulate himself from American criticism as he undermined Russia's fledgling democratic institutions, restricted civil liberties, and consolidated power. When the warm personal relationship unraveled, little serious attention to either our important shared interests of areas of friction with a leading energy, nuclear and geostrategic player remained. The failure to develop a more thorough understanding with Russia, combined with the administration's push for NATO expansion along Russia's border, helped facilitate the Russia-Georgia conflict.

Today, Secretary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov withliterallya "reset button" for the US-Russia relationship. Her gesture at their first meeting capped forty days of positive signals to Moscow on the need to forge a new relationship based around "mutual respect" and the urgent need for cooperation on a range of issues including Iran, Afghanistan, nonproliferation, and EuropeanRussian relations. Under Secretary of State Bill Burns had already visited Moscow, and President Obama had earlier sent a letter to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev offering to forgo missile defense in Europe for Russian help in addressing Iran. This, along with other gestures signaling the Obama administration's willingness to pursue a new relationship, was received warmly in Moscow. But a reset button is not a new soul. Moscow remains determined to project power, limit human rights at home, play politics with oil and gas and exclude the US from a sphere of influence in its surrounding countries. The challenge ahead is in maintaining perspective and signaling Russia clearly both on our disagreements and where we are willing to work together.

Busy week marks turning point in U.S.-Russian relations. Obama, Clinton and other officials have reached out to Russia on multiple fronts, signaling a new tone and pragmatic possibilities for cooperation. The New York Times reports that "President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia's president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday." Additionally, the administration "set Moscow's security community abuzz by signaling Washington's willingness to work up a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which would otherwise expire at the end of this year... The high-level meetings ahead between the US and Russia are likely to be followed by intense activity as the two sides strive to map out a fresh accord by the Dec. 5 deadline," reports the Christian Science Monitor. The reports that "Seven months after breaking ties with Russia over its invasion of Georgia, the NATO alliance moved Thursday toward resuming formal relations despite lingering concerns about Moscow's approach to reasserting its regional influence." And Clinton's first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at which she handed over a small red button marked "reset," made the agenda clear. [NY Times, 3/2/09. CS Monitor, 3/5/09. Associated Press, 3/6/09. NY Times, 3/06/09]

Cooperation with Russia is essential for addressing core foreign policy challenges such as Iran's nuclear development, nuclear proliferation, energy security, and the crisis in Afghanistan. As a 2006 Council on Foreign Relations task force report says, "U.S.-Russian cooperation can help the United States to handle some of the most difficult challenges it faces: terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, tight energy markets, climate change, the drug trade, infectious diseases, and human trafficking. These problems are more manageable when the United States has Russia on its side rather than aligned against it." Additionally, Russia is a necessary partner in America's efforts in Afghanistan. This issue was "underscored this month when the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan announced that a crucial American military base that supplies forces in nearby Afghanistan would be closedapparently at Moscow's urging. At the same time, the Russians said they would let nonlethal cargo for the American-led NATO mission be transported across Russia," reports the New York Times. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer recently expressed the importance of the West working with Russia, saying: "Russia is a global player. Not talking to them is not an option." [CFR, 2006. NY Times, 2/21/09. Reuters, 3/05/09]

For years, U.S. policy towards Russia has lacked strategic direction and has been based on maintaining a personal relationship, not advancing national interests. The Obama administration has inherited a derelict Russia policy. President Bush based his approach to Russia on his personal relationship with Putin. In 2001, when President Bush and Vladimir Putin met for the first time, Bush infamously declared, "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul." While the Bush administration viewed the close personal relationship as signaling a new alliance and common understanding with Russia, Putin used the personal relationship to insulate himself from American criticism as he consolidated his power, undermined democratic institutions, and suppressed civil liberties. Furthermore, having misread the relationship, the Bush administration withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic missile treaty and pushed for NATO expansion without having reached a broader understanding with Russia. This latter choice disastrously contributed to the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. As the New York Times notes, the "exuberant support of the United States for President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, a figure loathed by the Kremlin on both personal and political terms," helped foster antagonism between the two counties that led to the conflict. This not only soured the relationship with Russia but undermined NATO expansion efforts. Now the US faces a steep challenge with few good options. [BBC, 12/13/01. NY Times, 3/15/08. The Times, 7/16/07. Vice-President Cheney, 5/4/06. NY Times, 8/10/08. NSN Russia Policy Paper]

Even a "reset" relationship will still pose significant challenges, disagreements. Russia and the U.S. will each pursue their own national interests, but should work together on areas of mutual concern and attempt to mitigate areas of disagreement. So far, Russian behavior toward the new Obama administration has been mixed. Russia has signaled its willingness to work with the U.S., but it has also taken action to constrain U.S. options. For instance, just a few days into Obama's presidency, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced "that Moscow was ready to help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan by allowing cargo destined for U.S. and coalition forces there to be shipped across Russia," according to the Associated Press. But a few days later, "Russia announced a financial rescue fund for a group of ex-Soviet allies and won their agreement to form a military rapid reaction force in the region that it said would match North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards. That came a day after Kyrgyzstan announced, at Russian urging, that it planned to evict the U.S. from the base it has used to ferry large numbers of American troops into Afghanistan"a move that appeared calculated to make the U.S. more dependent on Russia's offer of assistance with supply routes. Russia's economic strength has declined significantly as a result of the economic crisis and forecasts predict a 2.2% contraction in GDP. Nevertheless, Russia's huge energy wealth means that it retains considerable capacity to project influence in the region, something it demonstrated this winter as Vladimir Putin "ordered natural gas shut off to Ukraine, in the process cutting supplies to Europe." These signs indicate that to forge agreements with Russia on issues like Iran, nonproliferation, and energy will be challenging. At home, there is little near-term prospect of improvement on human rights concerns that many in the US have raised. While it is good that the Obama administration has sought to move toward a Russia policy based on interests instead of personal feelings, partnering with Russia will not be without friction, requiring a realistic and consistent approach. As Secretary Clinton said today "We are entering into our renewed relationship with our eyes open." [Pravda, 2/18/09. NY Times, 1/29/09. , 1/23/09. WSJ, 2/05/09. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 3/06/09]

An Emotional Time In The American Workplace

People who are left standing after a corporate bloodletting often report feeling a wide range of emotions — including survivor's guilt.

Michelle Obama's soup-kitchen duty

Obama: "No Sacred Cows" In Health Reform
President Barack Obama summoned allies, skeptics and health care figures of all stripes to the White House Thursday to debate ideas for overhauling the nation's costly health care system.
Army Suicides Remain High in February
ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: The Army has had another bad month for suicides within its ranks with 18 suspected suicides during the month of February. That is a decrease from January's record-high of 24 suspected suicides, but one Army...
Michelle Obama's soup-kitchen duty

by Mark Silva

First Lady Michelle Obama stopped in at Miriam's Kitchen, a soup line for the homeless just seven blocks from the White House.

Tucked in the basement of Western Presbyterian Church in Foggy Bottom, and recognized for its work with the homeless for 26 years, the kitchen serves breakfast for 200 to 250 a daymainly men, according to Sara Gibson, director of development. The privately funded kitchen has the help of more than 1,200 volunteers.

The homeless here are called "guests''"because it's all about dignity,'' Gibson says. On average, the guests have been homeless for nearly five years.

Today, Obama became the first first lady to volunteer here, Gibson says, though Karen Hughes, a senior aide to former President George W. Bush, had pitched in at the kitchen. The first lady made it clear that she hopes to set an example for other volunteers.

"We're really just thrilled that our new neighbors took notice of what we're doing," said Gibson.

A White House-wide food drive yielded several cases of fresh fruit, delivered the night before, enough to offer fruit at almost two weeks of meals, according to executive director Scott Schenkelberg,

The first lady ladled Mushroom Risotto cooked in chicken stock from a steam table in the kitchen, the men and women lining appearing "genuinely delighted by her presence,'' pool reporter Paul West of the Tribune Washington Bureau tells us.

"We are facing tough times in this country,'' Obama said, and it is important to help those who have no place to live. Miriam's Kitchen "is an example of what we can do, as a country and as a community, to help folks when they're down... We're all going to need one another in these times. We're going to need to keep lifting each other up, in prayer and in hope.

"We're going to continue to be a part of Miriam's Kitchen, and other facilities just like this across the country, and we urge everyone listening . . . to think about ways they can become involved, too,'' the first lady said.

A wheelchair-bound Pierre D. Carter, 61, suggested that homelessness "is getting worse, and there's more people coming in here every day. Carter, wearing a well-worn Obama cap which he said he had owned for some time, clasped the first lady's hand: "God bless you," he told her. "I guarantee you four more years."

(With thanks to Paul West of the Tribune Washington Bureau for superb pool reporting from Miriam's Kitchen).

Backers Of Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Face Backlash

Since California voters passed a ban on gay marriage, some supporters of the measure have found themselves squarely in the bull's-eye of angry gay rights activists. Some businesses have faced picketing and the directors of two arts organizations resigned to avoid more controversy.