Bush Gets Props—for Exit Planning

Transition moving quickly between president, successor

(NEWSER) - President George W. Bush will meet with Barack Obama early next week to discuss plans for transition, the Washington Post reports. Obama received his first intelligence briefing this morning, and key staffers have been given expedited security clearances. “We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in,” the President said, explaining the hasty measures. More»

Reportedly told a group of Brits he wouldn't vote for McCain, too

(NEWSER) - George Bush's stop-the-presses revelations just won't stop , though the latest comes by way of a dusty anecdote that's finally seeing the light of day. Alex Barker, writing for the Financial Times reveals that in an Oval Office meeting with Gordon Brown and other British dignitaries during the 2008 campaign season, John McCain came up in conversation. Bush reportedly told the group (according to two who were there): "I probably won’t even vote for the guy. I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me." More»

Ex-Treasury sec says Mac risked putting US economy in freefall for 'political gambit'

(NEWSER) - With the US economy in utter freefall, John McCain suspended his presidential campaign, jetted to Washington, called a meeting to fix the crisis—then did nothing, according the Henry Paulson's new book, On the Brink . In an excerpt in the Wall Street Journal, the former Treasury secretary recounts McCain's odd refusal to speak at the emergency meeting he called, and how the Democrats and Barack Obama pounced. More»

Every modern president succumbs to the National Security State, writes Wills

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush expanded executive power to an extreme degree, but he wasn't an exception, writes historian Garry Wills. Since World War II, the presidency has accrued massive, unintended authority—controlling nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, and a worldwide military network under "the cult of the commander in chief." Barack Obama swore to reverse some of this, but as soon as they were in the White House, "the Obama people grabbed at the powers, the secrecy, the unaccountability that had led Bush into such opprobrium." More»

In new book, ex-prez discusses Lewinsky, Yeltsin's drunken caper

(NEWSER) - Between 1993 and 2001, historian Taylor Branch met regularly with then-President Clinton for a series of taped interviews. The transcripts form the basis of a new book, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, to be released next week. USA Today got a look and singles out some highlights:

• Secret Service agents had to corral a drunk Boris Yeltsin trying to hail a cab on Pennsylvania Avenue—wearing only his underwear. The Russian leader, who was bunking at Blair House, told them he wanted a pizza.