Bush & Co. refused to open report mandated by Supreme Court
New York Times Jun 25, 08 9:34 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The White House didn’t like the findings in a Supreme Court-mandated report on pollutants from the EPA—so it simply refused to open the email, the New York Times reports. Instead, the administration has successfully pressured the agency into releasing a watered-down, recommendation-free report. Among the omitted sections: analysis showing that tougher automobile regulation could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits.
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Margin grows to 15 with Nader and Barr in the mix
Los Angeles Times Jun 24, 08 7:22 PM CDT
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Barack Obama has a 12-point lead (49%-37%) over John McCain in a new Los Angeles Times/ Bloomberg poll. With Bob Barr and Ralph Nader in the mix, the margin grows to 15 points (48% to 33%). The poll suggests that both Democrats and independents think Obama will do the best job of fixing the economy, the top issue among voters. The candidates are tied among white voters with 39% each.
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analysis
Political heat worth the contact office, however small, would bring
Washington Post Jun 23, 08 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush is considering opening a small US office in Iran, Fred Hiatt writes in the Washington Post , a move that could spur contact with citizens—and perhaps the hostile regime. "It's not a softening," one official said of the proposed interest section, steps below a full embassy. "It does allow us to reach out to youth groups, to talk to dissidents. It's something the regime wouldn't like."
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opinion
Label for 'reckless'
President maligns
real cowpokes
Texas Monthly Jun 23, 08 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The word “cowboy” doesn’t deserve the derogatory treatment it’s received in recent years, Elmer Kelton writes in Texas Monthly. With critics labeling President Bush’s foreign policy “cowboy diplomacy,” the term that was once a sign of respect is now used to evoke a "shoot-from-the hip" individual who makes reckless decisions—the opposite of working cowboys like Kelton’s father, he writes.
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GLOSSIES
But Venezuelan leader receives steadying advice from Castro
New Yorker Jun 23, 08 3:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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With the US distracted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy amassing a Latin American power bloc to blunt Washington’s influence. But the firebrand leader, who calls President Bush “the devil” and the US “the empire,” is receiving level-headed advice from none other than Fidel Castro, writes Jon Lee Anderson in a New Yorker profile.
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OPINION
High fuel prices offer chance to change our ways
New York Times Jun 22, 08 6:32 AM CDT
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The American thirst for oil is like a drug addiction, and George Bush wants another hit, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . Bush’s irresponsible energy plan involves getting a little more oil from Saudi Arabia to keep prices low, and then drilling in Alaska—simply prolonging our addiction instead of allowing high fuel prices to push us toward better sources of energy, adds Friedman.
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Bush lacking 'openness and candor' by not coming clean in leak case, on Iraq run-up
TPM Muckraker Jun 20, 08 12:48 PM CDT
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Scott McClellan took to Capitol Hill today, and in what one Republican dismissed as “book-of-the-month club” meeting, took on the CIA leak case and the Iraq war, among other topics. The former White House press secretary said he didn’t know if a crime had been committed in the CIA outing, but “suspicion still remains” because Bush administration brass won't open up, Talking Points and AP report.
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OPINION
His oil plan is economically daft and politically naive
New York Times Jun 20, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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It's nothing new for the Bush administration to blame environmentalists for energy shortages, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . As early as 2001, Dick Cheney blamed green laws rather than rapacious energy companies for the California electricity shortage. But it's disappointing that John McCain has joined the bandwagon—especially as he, unlike Barack Obama, voted against Bush's "really terrible, special-interest-driven" 2005 energy bill.
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OPINION
Bush goes and ruins McCain's opportunism on oil, writes Collins
New York Times Jun 19, 08 7:32 AM CDT
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The offshore drilling ban has been in place since 1981, but George W. Bush—who is still the president, Gail Collins reminds us in the New York Times —wants it overturned in two weeks. Watching his speech in the Rose Garden, where he said Democrats would be to blame for high gas prices if drilling in heretofore verboten places was not immediately authorized, the columnist wonders why the president waited until now to call the Dems' bluff, and how unfortunate it is for John McCain.
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Political pressure mounts for major
flood relief
Reuters Jun 19, 08 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush will visit flood-hit Iowa today to inspect the damage and consult with officials, Reuters reports. The state, along with much of the Midwest, has suffered the worst flooding in at least 15 years. Millions of acres of farmland have been flooded. Pressure on politicians to provide relief is growing. John McCain also plans to pay struggling Iowans a visit today.
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Also, open Alaska refuge to oil companies
CNN Jun 18, 08 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Bush formally asked Congress today to allow drilling for oil in the deep water off America's coasts, as well as repeating his demand that Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened for drilling, CNN reports. "In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said.
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OPINION
Dowd wonders why Bush was so giddy on his farewell tour?
New York Times Jun 18, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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George W. Bush was in "one of his oddly chipper moods" during his awkward final trip to London, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd observes—but why? Perhaps, she opines half facetiously, "W. simply feels more at home in a monarchy" after years spent confessing to "Torquemada Cheney." Or maybe it's that he got to hang out with Gordon Brown, one of few world leaders "more unpopular than he is."
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