Craig reported ready to quit Saturday

by James Oliphant

The United States is losing the legal war on terror. So says an American Bar Association poll released today.

The association’s magazine, the ABA Journal, talked to 50 defense attorneys who have represented clients in terror-related lawsuits. Asked what grade they would give the U.S. legal system in its fight against terrorism, the lawyers gave an average grade of D plus.

The magazine says it attempted to talk to 50 federal prosecutors to balance the results, but that the Justice Department refused to allow them to participate.

Only 30 percent of the lawyers surveyed said that terror prosecutions brought in court since 9/11 have made the country safer. Only 14 percent of the lawyers said anti-terrorism laws passed by Congress, such as the USA Patriot Act, have made the country safer.

More interestingly, almost 60 percent said they would take on Osama bin Laden as a client. (Assuming, of course, that he can afford the retainer.)

The Chicago-based association counts more than 400,000 lawyers among its ranks. A release providing more information about the survey can be found here.

Sen. John Warner stands with wife Jeanne Vander Myde, at his University of Virginia announcement that he will not seek re-election. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff)

by Frank James

Sen. John Warner (R-Va), made it official today, announcing he will retire from the Senate at the end of his current term in 2008.

The announcement by the 80-year old Warner throws his Senate seat in play since the state has trended more blue in recent years as the northern part of the state has grown increasingly Democratic.

That, of course, gives Senate Democrats a real shot at increasing their majority if they are able to pick up Warner's seat, which certainly seems doable now that he won't be defending it, as well as a few other Republican seats that are either vulnerable or are being vacated through other retirements.

by Mark Silva

On the occasion of President Bush's announcement of a new press secretary today, the Swamp is offering a reprise of a golden oldie, our profile of Dana Perino, dog-lover, taskmaster and one of the most efficient people to ever enter the halls of the press office.

Perino, "almost 5-foot-1,'' pulled the step out from beneath the podium of the new press briefing room today and prepared to step into one of the biggest jobs in Washington, which she will assume on Sept. 14 -- becoming the first woman to serve as the voice of the White House in the Bush administration. As Bush put it today: "She can handle you all.''

See and hear her remarks above -- note how quickly she gets to the continuing Bush agenda of his remaining time - and read on for her story, written as she stepped in for Tony Snow earlier this year, when he took time out for cancer treatment:

by William Neikirk

WASHINGTON--President Bush offered new proposals today to help many Americans struggling to make payments on risky mortgages to avoid foreclosure and keep their homes.

In announcing his plans, however, the president made this assertion: "It's not the government's job to bail out speculators or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford."

But, in essence, his plan would amount to a rescue. It would help many people who find themselves stuck with higher monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages avoid foreclosure. The government estimated some 80,000 people would be helped, although some 2 million people will see their adjustable mortgage rates rise this year and next.

Bush offered the proposal to show he's on top of the credit crisis in the mortgage sector, a crisis that has spread to other areas of the economy. But he is not alone. Democrats have at the ready even more expensive plans to help out troubled mortgage holders, and are expected to offer them when Congress returns next week.

September will be a critical month for dealing with the credit crunch that has spread across the country and overseas. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Berenanke said at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., today that the Fed stands ready to cut interest rates if needed, although he made no commitment.

By Dan Morain and Chuck Neubauer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who had been a fugitive from a 1992 grand larceny case, was led to jail in handcuffs today after a judge ordered him to post $2 million bail.

Superior Court Judge H. James Ellis ordered Hsu held, although Hsu could post bail later today. Hsu, wearing a well-tailored black suit, turned himself in after news accounts identified him as a fugitive.

President Bush today with Dana Perino, left, who will replace Tony Snow, right, as White House press secretary on Sept. 14. Bush told reporters: "She can handle you all.'' AP photo by Ron Edmonds.

by Mark Silva

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, will leave next month to devote time to writing, speaking and playing a more active public role in combating cancer, a disease which he has confronted for three roller-coaster years.

Dana Perino, the principal deputy press secretary, will take Snow’s place on Sept. 14, marking the first time that President Bush has assigned a woman as voice of the White House.

Snow, battling a recurrence of colon cancer which he had hoped was in remission when he became the president’s chief spokesman in April 2006, maintains that it is not the disease, but rather a financial burden which his work has placed on his family, that will force him to leave.

While paid $168,000 a year as press secretary, it is less than Snow, a father of three who has battled cancer since 2005, made as a host of Fox News TV and Radio.

“Cancer has nothing to do with this,’’ Snow said Friday of his decision to leave. “I ran out of money,’’ he said. “I made more money when I was in my previous career... We took out a loan when I came to the White House, and that loan is now gone.’’

The last time the reins of the press room were turned over, in April 2006, former press secretary Scott McClellan, right, ceded to Tony Snow, left. Today, the transitional photo will feature a woman: Dana Perino replacing Snow. White House photo

by Mark Silva

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, will leave his post on Sept. 14.

Dana Perino, chief deputy, will replace him, an administration official has told the Associated Press. President Bush is to announce the changes during an appearance at the start of the press secretary's televised briefing at 12:45 pm EDT in the White House press briefing room.

Snow, a former host of Fox News TV and radio who is battling colon cancer, already had announced that he would leave before the end of Bush’s presidency due to financial pressures.

Perino has often stood in, during Snow's absences since a recurrence of the cancer that was in remission when he accepted the press secretary's post early last year.

by Frank James

The very helpful people at the National Republican Senatorial Committee were kind enough to inform us that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) who chairs the committee will be on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulous" Sunday morning show with his Democratic counterpart Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.

According to their advisory:

NRSC Chairman Senator John Ensign will appear on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos this Sunday, September 2.

Ensign will appear live with DSCC Chairman Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. The two Chairman (sic) will preview 2008 Senate races and discuss the outlook for the remainder of the year.

Of course, the third senator whose presence will be there in spirit though not on camera is the embattled Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho. If Craig is going to quit, which seems increasingly likely, it certainly would help Ensign if he did so before airtime Sunday.

by Sabrina Fang

The Associated Press is reporting that Sen. Larry Craig is contemplating resigning. Here's an excerpt of AP's report:

By DAVID ESPO and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, Republican officials said Friday, after days of public and private pressure stemming from his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1, and while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode has roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

A maze of security barriers at the Convention Center at Darling Harbor, ready for next week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney, the largest political gathering Australia has ever hosted, with security unprecedented. AP Photo by Rob Griffith.

by Mark Silva

The Pacific Rim summit in Sydney, Australia, next week is likely to mean one thing for the people of one of the world's most beautiful harborside cities: A virtual lockdown.

The security surrounding summits of 21 presidents and prime ministers can make for gridlock, but this one will be Australia's biggest ever, with 16-foot fences raised around some of Sydney's downtown buildings in preparation, and President Bush's motorcade alone is street-clogger.

David Speers of Sky News asked Bush about this as he prepares to depart for Sydney next week. "A lot of Sydneysiders are complaining about the impost of APEC,'' the reporter told Bush, "in particular your security detail and how that will affect the city for a week while you're there, almost a week while you're there. Do you have any message for them?

"Well, first I'm looking forward to coming to the beautiful city, and to the extent that I inconvenience them, I apologize,'' Bush said. "I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about, in terms of ...

"The security lockdown in the city,'' the reporter explained.

"Thank you for sharing that with me,'' Bush said. "I got a lot on my mind, and one of the things that's on my mind is I'm looking forward to coming to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If I inconvenience people, that's not my intent. My intent is to represent my country in an important meeting in a country that I admire a lot and a country with whom we've got great relations..

"I hope people understand why it's done,'' he said of the security, "and I just hope it doesn't disrupt their lives too much.''

President Bush and President Hu Jintao of China last fall, during the last APEC summit. White House photo by Eric Draper

by Mark Silva

As President Bush prepares for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders next week in Australia, the foreign press is most inquisitive about his thoughts on China these days.

“Is China an issue for the world?’’ Bush said in a White House interview this week with foreign reporters. “Absolutely. But I don't view it as a negative issue, I view it as an opportunity to work with a -- one of the really significantly growing economies in the world.

“Here's the way I view it: First, I view that a growing middle class in China is good for U.S. exporters; it provides opportunity,’’ the president said, with the White House releasing the transcript of the interview today. “By the way, it's not only good for U.S. exports, it's good for Australian exporters, and it's good for Japanese exporters, and it's good for Singaporean, Malaysian -- anybody who is making a product somebody wants, it's just a good opportunity.’’

The president will leave Monday for a Sydney summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, an assembly of 21 nations that touch on the Pacific – from Australia and Asia to North and South America.

by Greg Miller and Chuck Neubauer

Money has brought both trappings and trouble for Norman Hsu. Major contributions to the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates have made the apparel executive an insider in elite political circles. He shows up in cozy pictures with politicians, at lavish fundraising events, and on the boards of prestigious organizations.

But Hsu's history includes more unsavory episodes and associations. In 1990, he allegedly was kidnapped by Chinese gang members in San Francisco as part of an apparent effort to collect a debt. A year and a half later, he pleaded no contest to a charge of fleecing investors in what authorities called a Ponzi scheme of fraud. Along the way, he left a bankruptcy filing and bitter investors who accused him of making off with their savings.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senate Republicans increased the pressure on embattled Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho to resign, with the head of the Senate Republican re-election efforts saying that's what he would do if he were in Craig's plight.

The police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig in a Minneapolis airport restroom for allegedly soliciting a sexual act accused the senator of lying about the behavior that led to his arrest, according to a recording of the policeman's interview with the lawmaker.

President Bush will propose some relief for homeowners threatened by foreclosures, including having the Federal Home Administration expand eligibility for its insurance program to homeowners with bad credit records and urging creditors to refrain from some foreclosures.

by Christi Parsons

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware may be a single-digit contender in the early polling of the Democratic presidential campaign, but his book has become a best-seller.

Biden's recent success with a New York Times best seller has given him a new source of esteem. At one point this month, "Promises to Keep " ranked directly behind runaway favorite "Freakonomics" in the non-fiction category.

To be sure, total sales somewhere between 8,000 and 15,000 copies don't promise an uptick in opinion polls. Prominent friends and longtime colleagues have helped promote the book by hosting parties where local booksellers typically offer copies for purchase. But an appearance at No. 15 on the New York Times best-seller list is a valuable achievement for the marketing of a book -- and a candidate -- even if it was there only one week before dropping several slots.

Biden claims to be more shocked than anybody else. But, then, a book seems almost a prerequisite for a presidential campaign -- consider how many there are.

For more on the story, see the Tribune's report today:

Craig might be singing a different tune today if he had fought the charges.

by Mark Silva

"Am I gonna have to fight you in court?'' Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho asked the police officer who arrested him in a Minneapolis airport men's room in June.

"No, no,'' Sgt. Dave Karsnia told him. "I'm not gonna go to court unless you want me there.''

In light of everything that has unfolded since then -- most notably Craig's guilty plea to one count of disorderly conduct in August in a self-professed attempt to make the case "go away'' -- the three-term senator may have been a lot better off contesting the charges against him. Mark Geragos, a celebrity defense attorney, insists that Craig never would have even gone to court if an attorney had gone in and pressed the case with prosecutors -- it would have been dropped.

"I go into the bathroom here as I normally do. I'm a commuter, too, here,'' Craig told the Minneapolis Airport officer. "I sit down, um, to go to the bathroom and, ah, you said our feet bumped. I believe they did, ah, because I reached down and scooted over and, um, the next thing I knew, under the bathroom divider comes a card that says police...''

"OK,'' Karsna said. "I don't want to get into a pissing match here.'

"We're not going to,'' said Craig, who pleaded guilty to one count against him two months later and now faces a call for resignation from Republican colleagues.

Sgt. Dave Karsnia, the airport police officer who arrested Craig. AP photo/ WCCO-TV, Minneapolis

"You're gonna get out of here,'' the officer told the senator in June. "You're gonna have to pay a fine and that will be it. OK. I don't call media, I don't do any of that type of crap.''

"Fine,'' said the senator. ".... I'm not going to fight you in court.''

But it isn't fine, and the choice the senator made has changed the story of his life. See the tape here, and excerpts below:

by David Lerman

Ending months of speculation, Virginia Sen. John Warner will announce today whether he will seek re-election next year or end a 30-year Senate career and put up for grabs a long-held Republican seat.

The 80-year-old Republican centrist, who first took office in 1979, has called a news conference to announce his decision on the steps of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he received his law degree 54 years ago.

A decision to retire would trigger a mad scramble for an open seat that could instantly become one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.

Former Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner, who is no relation, has been urged to run for the seat, particularly if the senator steps down.

Republicans, meanwhile, could face a bruising nomination contest between U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Fairfax County moderate, and former Gov. Jim Gilmore, a conservative. Former Sen. George Allen, who lost his seat last year, also has been touted by some as a potential candidate.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events for Friday, August 31, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

Aug. 31 - Sept. 2. AHMADIYYA MUSLIM CONVENTION — The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community holds a three-day convention, Jalsa Salana, to discuss peace as taught by Islam and its founder the Prophet Muhammad. Topics to include the proper interpretation of Jihad and whether Islam sanctions punishment for apostasy.
Location: Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center Chantilly, VA

11:45 a.m. BLUE PLANET — Runners in the Blue Planet Run to raise awreness for safe drinking water worldwide stop in Washington.
Location: 3rd St. and Maryland Ave. SW.

1 p.m. APEC-TRADE — U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue holds a news briefing on the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and broader trade issues.
Location: 1615 H St. NW.

All times local in Washington.

by Mark Silva

The airport police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho in a police undercover operation at an airport men’s room accused the senator of lying to him during an interrogation afterward, according to an audiotape of the arrest released today. (Hear the tape above.)

In the tape released by the Minneapolis Airport Police, the Republican senator, in turn, accuses the officer of soliciting him for sex.

“I’m not gay. I don’t do these kinds of things,” Craig told Sgt. Dave Karsnia minutes after the two men met in a men’s room at the airport on June 11. “You shouldn’t be out to entrap people,” Craig told the officer. “I don’t want you to take me to jail.”

Karsnia replied that Craig wouldn’t be going to jail as long as he cooperates. At one point during the interrogation, the officer told Craig: “You’re not being truthful with me. I’m kind of disappointed in you, senator.”

Meanwhile, more of Craig’s Republican colleagues moved away from him today in the wake of his guilty plea earlier this month to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the GOP’s senatorial campaign committee, stopped short of calling on Craig to resign, but suggested strongly that he should: "I wouldn’t put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that’s what I would do.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Fred Thompson, ready to run. AP Photo by Freddie Lee.

by Mark Silva

Fred Thompson, perhaps better known for film and television roles than for his own political career, is poised to formally entered a contest for the Republican Party’s 2008 presidential nomination open for a conservative newcomer who immediately poses a serious challenge for the party’s front-runners.

The former Tennessee senator plans to launch his candidacy on Sept. 6 with a Webcast on his campaign site and then a three-state tour of early primary states, he told supporters in a conference telephone call today.

While Thompson’s public persona may stem from his most recent starring role on television’s prime-time crime-fighting series, Law and Order, and roles in Hollywood feature films such as The Hunt for Red October, the former senator and federal prosecutor has a lesser-noticed career in public office as well.

He served as chief counsel for the Republicans on the Senate Watergate Committee, hired by then-Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee, a friend who sees an opening in the Republican field for Thompson.

“I think the party is looking for the right candidate,’’ Baker has told the Tribune.. “He has character…He has experience. He has personality. He has presence.’’

In a statement released today, Thompson said: "I believe that there are millions of Americans who know that our security and prosperity are at risk if we don’t address the challenges of our time; the global threat of terrorism; taxes and spending that will bankrupt future generations, and a government that can’t seem to get the most basic responsibilities right for its citizens...

"The response that we’ve received makes me confident that we have an opportunity to change politics in Washington and across the country, and take on these challenges the way every generation of Americans has faced the challenges of their time – with unity, hard work and a belief that we will come out on the winning side,” he said.

As for Thompson’s conservative credentials – he opposes gun control and abortion – Thompson has said this of his reading of Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative: “The ideas were as clear as a church bell on a cold winter night.’’

by James Oliphant

The Justice Department's Inspector General, Glenn Fine, says he intends to examine whether departing Atty. Gen Alberto Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony before Congress concerning the U.S. attorney imbroglio and other matters.

Responding to a letter from Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judicary Committee, Fine indicated today that his office's ongoing investigations into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department, as well as its probes into politically-motivated hiring at the department and the legal rationale offered for the administration's warrantless surveillance program, would include an examination of Gonzales' statements to Congress. Some of Gonzales' testimony this spring was contradicted by later testimony of former DOJ officials.

Edwards watches liberal, black support flow to Clinton, Obama.

by Mark Silva

John Edwards campaigned for president last time around with a speech about the "two Americas,'' the one for the rich, and the one for the poor -- and how he hoped to bridge them.

But this time around, Edwards' retooled but indefatigably populist appeal has left him without much apparent support among segments of the voting populace who might alight to it. Or could it be that Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois simply have cornered the market?

"The exceptionally strong support for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama among black voters (and, for Clinton, among liberal Democratic and lower-income white voters as well), may help explain the relatively limited appeal of presidential hopeful John Edwards, whose populist platform has not translated so far into support from these key segments of the Democratic electorate,'' writes Michael Dimock, of the Pew Research Center.

Pew has the numbers to back up the argument:

by Frank James

General David Petraeus, the U.S. commander whose September Iraq progress report is being anxiously awaited here in Washington, is generally accorded high marks for his ideas on counterinsurgency, his leadership skills and his brains.

But it's starting to look like even a general of Petraeus's highly regarded abilities can be caught up by unintended consequences in a place as unruly as Iraq.

Several years ago, when Petraeus was in charge of training and equipping Iraqi security forces, he signed off on a program to speedily supply weapons like automatic rifles and sidearms to Iraqis.

As the New York Times reported Monday :

Over the past year, inquiries by federal oversight agencies have found serious discrepancies in military records of where thousands of weapons intended for Iraqi security forces actually ended up. None of those agencies concluded that weapons found their way to insurgents or militias.

In their public reports, those agencies did not raise the possibility of criminal wrongdoing, and General Petraeus has said that the imperative to provide weapons to Iraqi security forces was more important than maintaining impeccable records.

by Frank James

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.,) the Senate Majority Whip, sat down with Chicago Tribune journalists this week and a lot of the discussion revolved around Iraq. Here are some excerpts.

by Mark Silva

That's a Jaag-you-are, the way the boys at Car Talk talk about it.

And that was Karl Rove's Jaguar plastic-wrapped and "pimped up" with pranksters' extras in the West Wing driveway last night, a little going-away humor for the White House chief of staff who is going away today.

Not only was Rove's ride wrapped in a plastic cover and adorned with stuff animals. An "I Love Barack Obama'" bumper sticker was slapped on the departing deputy chief of staff's car.

For a look at the prank, see the report from CLTV:

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Congressional Republicans moved relatively quickly to deal with the scandal involving Sen. Larry Craig's Minneapolis arrest and conviction following an airport restroom sex sting, with the Senate's Republican leadership stripping him of his seniority on committees and senators John McCain and Norm Coleman and Rep. calling on Craig to quit Congress.

A General Accountability Office assessment found that Iraq had failed to meet all but three of 18 benchmarks of military and political progress and GAO investigators suggested earlier positive findings by the White House failed to account for more negative views within the administration.

President Bush, visiting the Gulf Coast, said it had not been forgotten by the federal government but there was much criticism on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that the government hadn't done more to rebuild New Orleans and other devastated areas in the region.

by Mark Silva and Jill Zuckman

With word that one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's leading fundraisers is wanted on grand theft charges in California, Clinton’s campaign says it will give $23,000 it had collected from him to charity and review thousands of dollars more which businessman Norman Hsu has raised for her.

Another onetime Democratic candidate for president, Sen. John Kerry, also has decided to give a lesser amount of money that he had collected from Hsu to charity. Kerry (D-Mass.), the party's 2004 presidential nominee, "will be giving all contributions he received from Norman Hsu to charity,'' a spokeswoman for Kerry says.

In Kerry's case, it apparently wasn't that much money. Federal Election Commission records show that Hsu contributed $2,000 to Kerry's presidential campaign in 2003 and another $2,000 to Kerry’s “general election legal and accounting compliance fund” the following year.

Hsu also donated $2,000 to Obama’s Senate race in October 2004 - about two months after Obama became a national sensation at the Democratic National Convention

But then Hsu started giving money to Clinton's campaign, and raising money for her as well, and he has steered a lot of money her way.

Bea Arthur, aka "Maude''

by Mark Silva and Jill Zuckman

With the advent of YouTube, campaigns will never be the same again.

Take "the Obama Girl'' -- the video-clip of Amber Lee Ettinger starring in a musical promoting the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama for president. Both she and the Obama Girl's creator, Ben Relles, showed up at a YouTube-CNN-sponsored candidates' debate.

Jay Leno was asking Sen. John McCain, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, to assess the importance of the Internet in the campaign the other night.

"I think every politician's worst nightmare is YouTube,'' McCain told the host of NBC's Tonight Show.

"Will there be a McCain Girl?" Leno asked.

"Bea Arthur,'' McCain quipped, evoking a "Golden Girl" more of his own generation.

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) at Memorial Day ceremonies last year at Margraten, The Netherlands. U.S. Embassy photo.

by Mark Silva

Last year, the House's Republicans had Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, and his courting of Capitol pages scandal, to contend with near an election that would determine party control of the Congress.

This year, more than a year out from the next critical election, in which Republicans hope to reclaim a narrowly divided Senate and Democrats hope to build upon their majority, the Senate's Republicans have Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, who has pled guilty to disorderly conduct following his arrest in an airport men's room.

But this time, the GOP has a long time to recover. And this time, the GOP is responding with lightning speed -- with party leaders stripping Craig of committee assignments and some of the party's senators calling for their longtime colleague's resignation.

For more on why the party is moving so swiftly on the matter of the three-term senator from Idaho, see the story in the Tribune:

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Thursday, August 30, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

The Commerce Department is releasing the Gross Domestic Product report for the 2nd quarter. 8:30 a.m.

The Center for Immigration Studies is releasing a report showing that immigration will add 100 million people to the U.S. population by 2060, and to discuss the impact of different levels of immigration admissions. 9:30 a.m.

By Christi Parsons

Michelle Obama has hit the news pages a few times this summer, but mostly she's been flying under the radar doing grassroots events all over the country -- with a major chunk of her schedule devoted to courting women voters for her husband's presidential campaign.

The summer campaign schedule is over for the wife of Sen. Barack Obama, as she takes a two-week break to get the couple's daughters back in the swing at school and to square away some business at her job.

But after that, the campaign is planning to send its most prominent spokeswoman back out on the trail, slowly ratcheting up her schedule over the fall.

In addition to being a popular speaker at fundraisers and town hall meetings, Michelle Obama is a key component of building something they call "Women for Obama."

She was the headliner at the spring national kickoff of the organization, where 1,200 women attended and raised almost $1 million. Since then, she has spoken at WFO house parties and worked to promote the hundreds of WFO groups forming around the country.

Campaign officials who have been out on the trail with the candidate's wife say she "resonates" with the women they're trying to court.

“Michelle Obama has been an incredible asset for the Obama for America campaign, in terms of reaching women voters," said Betsy Myers, chief operating officer for the campaign. "She's keenly aware of the challenges women face in their daily lives, and she speaks to the realities women face with a rare authenticity."

by Jill Zuckman

Todd Harris, former flak for John McCain, Jeb Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger, will take over immediately as Fred Thompson's communications director, Harris confirmed this evening.

Thompson, the former Tennessee Republican senator, is expected to officially announce he is running for president after a long, drawn out flirtation.

Over the past several months, the Law and Order star repeatedly has reshuffled campaign staff and suffered from poor reviews as he has visited Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other early primary spots.

Most recently, he parted ways with a communications director from the Chamber of Commerce and said goodbye to a campaign manager.

Republican activists have complained that Thompson has had little of substance to say on the stump. But with the GOP nomination fight increasingly competitive, Thompson has shown promise in the polls, leading his competitors in Michigan and South Carolina and edging out McCain in New Hampshire, which was once thought to be McCain's strong suit.

Harris, a California native, got his start in presidential politics as a press secretary aboard the "Straight Talk Express'' in the 2000 election -- helping McCain win an early spree of primary fights before losing the nomination to George W. Bush.

He has served Schwarzenegger in California. And most recently, he has worked for the Navigators, a Republican consulting firm led by Mike Murphy, a former media adviser to McCain. Both Todd and Murphy campaigned for former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.

by James Oliphant

Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is waiting by the phone.

Leahy, whose committee would take up the nomination of a permanent replacement for Atty Gen. Alberto Gonzales, sent a letter to the White House today suggesting he be included in the selection process.

To make his point clear, Leahy said he's available anytime after Labor Day, when the congressional recess ends, to meet with the president and his staff. He also suggested that his Republican counterpart on the committee, Sen. Arlen Specter, be included in the confab.

Here's the problem: anyone who has ever survived the slings and arrows of the dating scene in D.C. and elsewhere knows that this is simply no way to get a call back. Saying you're free anytime "after Labor Day" is just a few degrees short of desperate. (Or maybe this is a vein of humor that is best left unmined in the wake of Stallgate, or whatever label is about to hung on the Larry Craig episode.)

The last time Democrats were consulted on a big-time vacancy, the White House listened, ignored them completely, and ended up nominating John Roberts and later Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. But that hasn't stopped Leahy from asking again. Some people never get the hint.

by Frank James

The Senate Republican leadership has requested that Sen. Larry Craig step down, temporarily they say, as the senior Republican on several Senate committees.

This comes a day after they requested an ethics investigation of their fellow Republican senator after the revelation he pled guilty of disorderly conduct in Minneapolis after being arrested in a restroom-sex sting by a police officer at the Minneapolis airport.

Here's the statement of the Senate Republican leadership:

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Statement By Republican Leadership On Senator Larry Craig’s Committee Assignments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following is a statement by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican Whip Trent Lott, Conference Chairman Jon Kyl, Policy Committee Chair Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Senatorial Committee Chair John Ensign on Senator Larry Craig’s Committee Assignments.

“Senator Larry Craig has agreed to comply with Leadership’s request that he temporarily step down as the top Republican on the Veteran Affairs Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. This is not a decision we take lightly but we believe this is in the best interest of the Senate until this situation is resolved by the Ethics Committee.”

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain said today that his longtime Republican colleague, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, should resign from the Senate following his guilty plea on a disorderly conduct charge from his arrest in a men's room of the Minneapolis airport.

"I believe that he pled guilty, and he had the opportunity to plead innocent,'' McCain said, "and so I think he should resign.

"My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, then you shouldn't serve,'' McCain said in an interview with CNN's John King for The Situation Room. "That's not a moral stand. That's not a holier-than-thou. It's just a factual situation.

"I think he should resign," McCain said. "I don't try to judge people. But in this case it is clear that it was disgraceful.''

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) issued a simple statement: "Sen. Craig pled guilty to a crime involving conduct unbecoming a senator."

Senate Republican leaders have referred to the matter to the Ethics Committee.

The White House, too, has voiced "disappointment'' with Craig, who insists that he did nothing wrong and pleaded guilty under pressure.

"We're disappointed in what's going on. It's a matter for the senator and the Senate Republican leadership to address," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said today. "We hope that it will be resolved quickly, as that would be in the best interests of the Senate and the people of Idaho.''

by Frank James

We're seeing an excellent example of what the general election campaign has in store for us if Sen. Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Republican National Committee's opposition-research staff has put out a piece that cleverly misappropriates the title of her autobiography "Living History," headlining its document "Re-Living History" then lists a number of newspaper citiations about shady campaign contributions not just to the senator but to her husband President Bill Clinton and Democrats generally during the 1990s.

The RNC returns us to memory lane, citing names we hadn't heard in years like Johnny Chung and Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, Clinton benefactors whose names were associated with questionable campaign contributions.

The RNC adroitly plays on the fears of many voters when it comes to Sen. Clinton, that what is past is prologue when if comes to Clinton fundraising, that a vote for Clinton is a vote to re-live history, and not a good .

Those fears were stoked by recent stories in the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal about some rather interesting Clinton campaign contributions.

Today's LA Times story, for instance, is about one of Clinton's major campaign contributors, Norman Hsu, who also just happens to be a fugitive from California justice.

That same Hsu is linked to a modest Northen California house where, as The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, the head of household is a letter carrier.

The residents of that house reportedly gave the senator $45,000 since 2005. This is a story sure to bring back to many minds the White House coffees and Buddhist temple fundraiser of the Bill Clinton era. If anyone had forgotten those, the RNC surely wants to help jog your memory.

These stories will do nothing to help Clinton lower those high negatives she has with many voters.

HILLARY'S FUGITIVE FUNDRAISER?
Story Of Fugitive Fundraiser Norman Hsu Another Chapter In Long History Of Questionable Clinton Finance Practices
______________________________________________________________________________

Today, Los Angeles Times Reports 'HillRaiser' Norman Hsu Is A Fugitive From California Authorities:

Norman Hsu Pleaded No Contest To Grand Theft And Vanished Without Serving His Sentence. "For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish." (Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, "Democratic Fundraiser Is A Fugitive In Plain Sight," Los Angeles Times, 8/29/07)

The Op-ed writer, thinking of The Gambler, has taken inspiration from Kenny Rogers in the Florida fight: Know when to hold 'em.

by Mark Silva

The showdown between the Democratic National Committee and Florida's Democrats, ready to stage an early, January primary election in violation of national party rules, is like a game of Texas Hold 'Em, one veteran of party politics suggests.

And it's time for Florida to call the DNC's bluff, says Jacksonville attorney Chris Hand, writing in an Op-Ed piece published by the Orlando Sentinel today. The DNC's hand -- a threat of locking out Florida's Democratic delegates from the party's presidential nominating convention in Denver next year -- is an empty hand, Hand suggests.

It's time that Florida show its cards, says he: Jan. 29 or bust:

by Jill Zuckman

Over the years, Norman Hsu, the low-profile fundraiser wanted on grand theft charges in California, has given a vast quantity of money to Democrats, Democratic state committees and Democratic causes.

The Los Angeles Times reported today that Hsu has been a fugitive for the last 15 years after pleading no contest to grand theft, agreeing to serve three years in prison, and then disappearing. The Wall Street Journal first reported Tuesday that Hsu has been bundling contributions from working class people who don’t ordinarily make large political donations.

According to the Federal Election Commission, Hsu has been a steady and generous contributor over the last several years, making direct contributions to individual candidates such as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Rep. Mark Udall (D-Col.), and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), to name just a few.

In October of 2004, Hsu donated $2,000 to Obama’s Senate race - about two months after Obama became a national sensation due to his speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Obama is now running for president, but the FEC records show Hsu has directed his contributions to his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). He gave $4,400 to Clinton’s presidential exploratory committee, and $5,000 to her political action committee, HillPac. He also gave $4,200 in 2007 to Clinton’s Senate campaign account, Friends of Hillary.

His largesse extended as well to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) for his presidential campaign in 2003 with a check for $2,000. He gave another $2,000 to Kerry’s “general election legal and accounting compliance fund” the following year.

State Democratic Committees have received support from Hsu, too, ranging from Tennessee to Florida and California. And the Democrats’ national campaign committees for the House and Senate have gotten checks.

Still, he did remember the Republicans: He gave $500 to the RNC Republican National State Elections Committee in 2002.

Fred Thompson, the still not formally announced candidate for president, has made the rounds of state fairs this summer, seen here at the Minnesota Fair this week. Photo by Kari Goodnough/Bloomberg News.

By Mark Silva

At least one traditionally influential voice in New Hampshire has had enough of Fred Thompson's fence-sitting in the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

The New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester opined today that if Thompson is serious about this bid, he should sign up for the New Hampshire Republican Party's debate next week.

Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee and television and film star who holds an enviable position in early opinion polls of Republican voters without having formally declared his candidacy, has suggested that an announcement is coming after Labor Day.

The Union Leader is calling him out:

Norman Hsu, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's leading campaign fundraisers, faces more than questions about contributions that conveniently match those of others -- while Hsu's lawyer denies that the wealthy New York businessman has covered for others' donations.

For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish.

"He is a fugitive," Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the state attorney general, said in an interview. "Do you know where he is?"

The Clinton campaign does: Hsu is one of the sponsors of a campaign fundraiser scheduled in Woodside, Cal., on Sept. 30.

See the Los Angeles Times' account of the "fugitive in plain sight:''

The former president and his wife, the senator from New York running for president, at a campaign fundraiser Saturday on Martha's Vineyard. AP Photo by Lisa Poole.

by Mark Silva

Sen. Hillary Clinton will not go it alone as she launches' her fall campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on this long Labor Day weekend.

She is taking Bill.

The Clinton campaign says its fall campaign "kick-off'' will carry both the former first lady and former president through New Hampshire and Iowa.

The Clintons plan to spend Sunday in New Hampshire -- traveling from Concord to Portsmouth.

They will spend Monday in Iowa -- going from Sioux City to Des Moines.

The question will be: Can Bill Clinton get through the weekend without saying something that Hillary Clinton will have to spend the rest of the month explaining.

by Sabrina Fang

by Frank James

Most Americans don't want presidential candidates accepting campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists though most don't seem to mind candidates receiving contributions that collected by wealthy contributors from other wealthy people then bundled into a large donation, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

That's bad news for Sen. Hillary Clinton who at this summer's YearlyKos liberal bloggers gathering in Chicago defended lobbyist contributions and good news for her fellow Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards who argue that lobbyist contributions shouldn't be accepted.

Here's how Gallup frames it:

PRINCETON, NJ -- The issue of accepting campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists has become a significant part of the current campaign strategy of Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama. Both have stated that they will not accept such contributions -- and both have criticized frontrunner Hillary Clinton for not taking the same pledge. As Edwards says on his campaign Web site: "John Edwards [has] challenged the entire Democratic Party to reform itself and end the practice of taking campaign money from Washington lobbyists."

New Gallup Poll data suggest that this has the potential to be an effective strategy for Edwards and Obama. It appears that presidential candidates are closely in tune with American public opinion when they decry the influence of lobbyists and vow to avoid taking lobbyist money…

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Iraqis who've worked for the American military and government are having difficulty emigrating to the U.S. in part because they must first travel beyond Iraq to apply.

President Bush will ask Congress for an additional $50 billion for the military efforts in Iraq, an indication that the Bush Administration believes it is successfully fighting off anti-war efforts to significantly downsize the military effort.

Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki defended his government, saying his efforts at political reconciliation, not the U.S. military surge, accounted for the drop in violence and added that he doesn't expect to be forced out.

From the first anniverary of Katrina: A bit of manufactured British humor, and displayed here with permission, from the blog, Beau Bo D'Or, a name inspired by the Jerry Jeff Walker song, Mister Bojangles.

by Mark Silva, and updated

President Bush landed in New Orleans last night with a slap on the back for Mayor Ray Nagin and a hug and kiss for Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a reunion which belied the discord that dominated the dialog among federal, state and local authorities for months after Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans and the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Today, on the second anniversary of the nation’s most costly natural disaster, Bush will make brief stops around New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Miss., pausing for moments of silence, but also to praise the progress made in two years – on this, his 15th visit to the hurricane-ravaged coast, praising the “quiet heroes who have helped bring optimism and hope.’’

The federal government has committed over $100 billion to the recovery, though critics say the majority of this money remains to be spent. And, even as the Crescent City has been refortified with the strongest levees ever, the federal hurricane coordinator says, much work remains to be done on the internal drainage systems of a city still rebounding two years after the storm.

"Hurricane Katrina broke through the levees, it broke a lot of hearts... but it didn't affect the spirit of a lot of citizens in this community,'' the president said today, visiting a charter school for young children, the first public school to reopen in the city's still stumbling Lower Ninth Ward. "My attitude is this: New Orleans, better days are ahead.

"This town is coming back,'' Bush said. "This town is better today than it was yesterday, and it's going to be better tomorrow than it was today.''

On his way to the school, once inundated by more than 12 feet of water, the president's motorcade crossed the Industrial Canal, where a new white cement flood wall on the levee on the east was painted with large red letters: "Hindsight"

Last night, the president and his hosts flew by helicopter and then proceeded by motorcade to Dooky Chase, a famous eatery that had been shuttered since Katrina and is scheduled to reopen in a couple of weeks. The president sat at a large table with his arm around owner Leah Chase.

“Ms. Chase, thank you for having us here,’’ Bush said last night. “Laura and I are thrilled to be here with the governor, and the mayor, and the senator, the congressmen, members of my Cabinet, distinguished leaders in this community, and quiet heroes who have helped bring optimism and hope to New Orleans.

Historian says the U.S. has built a statement, not an embassy. AP photo

by Mark Silva

The United States has built a "fortress'' in Baghdad in the new American embassy, a building which speaks volumes about the way the U.S. views the situation there, according to a critic of the new diplomatic headquarters writing in Foreign Policy magazine.

The largest, most expensive embassy ever built will be completely isolated from the nation in which is centered, writes historian Jane Loeffer in the September/October issue.

"Walled off and completely detached from Baghdad, it conveys a devastating message about America’s global outlook,'' she reports.

"The United States has designed an embassy that conveys no confidence in Iraqis and little hope for their future,” Loeffler says in her article, “Fortress America.”

Fidel Castro: Rumors of his death greatly exaggerated. Gramma photo

by Christi Parsons

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama together would make an “invincible” ticket, or so says Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

In a new editorial attributed to the ailing leader in Cuba’s communist party newspaper, Castro makes it clear that he’s no fan of the two Democratic contenders for president.

In the piece, Castro took out after Obama and Clinton for their recent expressions of support for democratic reform in his country.

“Both of them feel the sacred duty of demanding ‘a democratic government in Cuba,’” says the editorial, according to an English translation on the Granma newspaper website. “They are not making politics. They are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon.”

The firm that designed the Miami Beach Public Library and many others has been selected to deisgn President Bush's library, museum and public policy institute. Robert A.M. Stern photo.

by Mark Silva

The think tank that President Bush plans to build with his presidential library may be controversial, but there is no question about who will design it: The president and First Lady Laura Bush have chosen the architect for the presidential library, museum and public policy institute planned at Southern Methodist University, the first lady's alma mater.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation announced that Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP will design the Presidential Library and Museum for the 43rd president.

The location is all but settled: The leafy Dallas campus of the school where the first lady studied. The mission of the complex, however, has generated controversy on a campus where many professors worry that the public policy institute attached to the library will become a conservative lightning rod for a university that cherishes academic freedom.

“As we remain in exclusive discussions with Southern Methodist University and hope to announce a final decision on the location of the library later this year, we believe it is important to take this step of naming the architect to allow for the design process to begin moving forward,” said Don Evans, who is leading the library effort. “Robert A.M. Stern brings deep resources and broad experience to this important project.”

Craig was booked on June 11, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (AP Photo/via Metropolitan Airports Commission Police Department)

by Mark Silva, and updated

Sen. Larry Craig – declaring today, “I am not gay’’ – insisted that he had “overreacted’’ in pleading guilty to a misdemeanor after his arrest in a Minneapolis men’s room earlier this year.

“I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport,’’ Craig said.

Craig, a three-term Republican senator from Idaho who faces reelection or retirement next year, pleaded guilty earlier this month to disorderly conduct and paid a $575 fine following his arrest in June in a men’s room at the Minneapolis airport. He said today that he had been under stress because of an Idaho newspaper's investigation into his personal life.

The arresting officer reported that Craig, in the next stall over, had started tapping his toe and waving his hand beneath the divider between the two stalls. The restroom-surveilling officer reported this as signals of sexual advances, although Craig has insisted his actions were misinterpreted.

Craig said in a public statement delivered in Boise today that he had made “a poor decision’’ in pleading to one of the charges lodged against him by the airport police.

“In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision,’’ the senator said. “I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away. I did not seek any counsel… That was a mistake, and I deeply regret it…. I have now retained counsel and I am asking counsel to review this matter and advise me how to proceed.’’

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has asked that the Senate Ethics Committee investigate Craig's June arrest on suspicion of lewd activity and his guilty plea for disorderly conduct. And Republican leaders have quickly summoned the committee.

This joint statement was issued by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Assistant Leader Trent Lott, Conference Chairman Jon Kyl, Policy Committee Chair Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Senatorial Committee Chair John Ensign "on the incident involving Senator Larry Craig:

“Late yesterday we became aware of the incident involving Sen. Larry Craig and his subsequent admission of guilt in a Minnesota court. This is a serious matter. Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Sen. Craig’s incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review. In the meantime, Leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required.”

(Craig has posted his prepared statement on his Senate Web-site.)

And this is a report of the Idaho Statesman, whose months-long investigation Craig today blamed for leading to his poor "judgment'' in pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.)

by David Lightman

The International Association of Fire Fighters Wednesday will endorse Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd for the presidency, an important boost to his underdog campaign.

The 280,000-member union, whose backing was sought by most major candidates, will provide Dodd with an instant network of local workers throughout the country as well as some potential for more fundraising.

The union, which in 2004 endorsed Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, has long been close to Dodd, who wrote major legislation in 1999 to provide more federal dollars for training and equipment. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, he pushed for state and local grants that would allow fire departments to hire more personnel.

IAFF President Harold Schaitberger, a well known figure in political and Washington insider circles, is expected to make the announcement today at a downtown hotel. Dodd will then immediately embark on a multi-state tour with firefighters, who are particularly active in New Hampshire, the nation's first primary state.

by Frank James

The Census Bureau released its annual report on income, earnings and poverty today. It contained no surprises.

The one statistic some Democratic presidential candidates might seize on and run with was the rise in Americans without health insurance. The ranks of the uninsured rose by more than two million in 2006 to 47 million compared with 44.8 in 2005, a trend for which no one would be shocked to see Democrats blame on President Bush.

Other than that, the poverty rate was essentially unchanged in 2006 from 2005. It came in at 12.3 percent for 2006, compared with 12.6 percent in 2005, not a statistically significant difference, according to the Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, median household income rose 0.7 percent to $48,200, still less than what it was before the recession at the end of the Clinton and start of the Bush administrations. The median is the point at which half the U.S. households are above and half below.

The White House claimed the Census report as proof that its economic polices, particularly its tax cuts, are responsible for lifting many Americans' economic boats.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

When we keep taxes low, spending in check, and our economy open — conditions that empower businesses to create new jobs — all Americans benefit. Census Bureau data released today confirms that more of our citizens are doing better in this economy, with continued rising incomes and more Americans pulling themselves out of poverty.

The Census data shows that income gains in 2006 were substantial and widespread across all income categories. And the largest percentage income gains occurred for people in the bottom 20% of incomes.

Clinton in New Orleans this week. Campaign says no reason to suspect anything amiss with leading campaign fundraiser. Photo by Paul Richards/AFP/Getty Images

by Mark Silva and Christi Parsons

How does it happen that the family of a mail carrier who makes $49,000 and his wife, a homemaker – a family that also owns a gift shop, but lives in a 1,280-square-foot house in the flight path of San Francisco International Airport – have donated a combined $45,000 to the state and national campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton?

The Wall Street Journal is asking that question today, and answering with a comparison of the campaign contributions of the Paw family and a wealthy New York businessman which match nearly date for date, dollar for dollar.

The contributions from six members of the Paw family household, the father an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, have placed them on a par with the donations from some tony addresses in Greenwich, Conn., and Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Not only have they donated $45,000 to Clinton’s campaigns since 2005, but they also have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic Party candidates.

William Paw, 64, is a mail carrier, and Alice Paw, also 64, a homemaker, the Wall Street Journal’s enterprising reporter, Brody Mullins, has found. Their grown children hold jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to “attendance liaison’’ at a public high school. One is listed in Federal Election Commission records as a mutual fund executive.

But their donations “closely track’’ those of Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw residence in San Francisco as his own address, according to the Journal’s examination of public records. Hsu is one of the top fund-raisers for Sen. Clinton's presidential campaign and has hosted or co-hosted some of her most prominent fund-raising events.

Hsu's lawyer, E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr., also had this to say to the Tribune: "The WSJ story is crap and they know it.''

(Added Swamp feature: See an invitation to an upcoming fundraiser that Hsu is sponsoring: Download file)

Lance Armstrong, left, and Sen. Sam Brownback, proposing to end cancer deaths in 10 years. AP photo by Charlie Neibergall

by Rick Pearson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Republican presidential contender Sam Brownback today pledged a goal of ending cancer deaths in 10 years while rival Mike Huckabee used a health care forum to suggest that federal food stamp participants get more buying power for healthy foods and less for junk food.

Huckabee and Brownback, each vying among religious conservatives in Iowa to establish themselves as top tier contenders, also said universal health care proposals offered by Democrats would not be as effective to helping the nation as improving the affordability and expanding the coverage of private health insurance.

The two were the only GOP contenders to show up for the second day of a forum on cancer sponsored by cyclist Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation, following by a day appearances by Democrats that included leading contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards.

While 3,000 people attended the Monday event, fewer than 1,000 people attended the forum today, organizers said. "It's unfortunate the other candidates weren't here so you could hear there position and decide," Armstrong told the audience.

Bush at American Legion. Photo by Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

by Mark Silva

With stern words of warning for Iran and Syria, President Bush today asserted that fighting extremists in the Middle East is essential to American national security and that the survival of Iraq’s democratic government is central to that cause.

“The future of the Middle East will turn heavily on the fight in Iraq,’’ Bush said, warning that “the cradle of civilization has become the home of the suicide bomber.’’

“We will do what we have to do to get the job done,’’ Bush told a convention of the American Legion in Reno, Nev., of the battle in Iraq. “We must stay in the fight until the fight is won...America does not give in to thugs and assassins, and America will not abandon Iraq in its hour of need.

"There are unmistakable signs,’’ that the strategy of his military “surge’’ in Iraq is starting to have an effect, Bush said. “Sectarian violence has sharply decreased in Baghdad. The momentum is now definitely on our side. The surge is seizing the initiative for the Iraqis.’’

The president called on Congress to heed the progress reports of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker that will be delivered next month. “In short, it makes no sense, to respond to military progress by saying we have failed because Iraq's government has not met (everything) it said it would… Even we can’t pass a budget on time, and we’ve had 200 years of practice.’’

The U.S. must pursue ways to help Iraq succeed, he said, “not excuses for abandoning them.’’

by Mark Silva

Bad news is good for political fundraising, it seems.

Both the Democratic and Republican Parties are attempting to parlay controversy into campaign dollars, with the DNC pouncing on the resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales as a fund-raising appeal and the RNC portraying the Democrats as "defeatists'' intent on losing the war in Iraq as a means of bolstering party coffers.

(Gonzales: AP Photo by Brendan Smialowski)

“Dear Friend, George Bush's right-hand man at the Justice Department, Alberto Gonzales, just resigned,’’ Tom McMahon, executive director of the DNC, writes in a fundraising email to Democrats.

“When the U.S. Attorney scandal first broke in March, I told you that this scandal could be George Bush's Watergate,’’ McMahon writes. “We're still trying to learn just what George Bush, Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales knew about the political purge of eight US Attorneys -- and when they knew it. But even though Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales are gone, the investigation must continue….

“Make a contribution to the Democratic Party, and help us send a message -- that we're not going to stop until we win the White House back in 2008,’’ he writes.

“Dear (name),’’ writes Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, “The Democrat leadership believes failure by our troops in Iraq – the central front in the War on Terror – is essential for them to win elections in 2008.

“Any positive sign of progress in Iraq is simply a "problem" for them. Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, driven by polls and politics, declared ‘This war is lost,’ even before the president's new strategy began. Reid also has bragged, 'We're going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war.'

(Reid: AP Photo by Dennis Cook)

“America's national security should not be kicked around like a political football'' Duncan writes. "The RNC needs your help to get this message past the liberal media filter and directly to voters. They need to know about the Democrats' "surrender and defeat" politics. Please… make a secure online contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50 or $25 to help spread the word about the Democrats' political rhetoric and defeatist agenda.’’

by Andrew Zajac

It's perhaps a measure both of how rare notions of selfless service have become in Washington and how tall Edward Levi still stands more than 30 years after he served that his name is upon the lips of pundits describing the kind of person needed to patch up the battered, drifting institution that is today's Justice Department.

Levi, a former Univesity of Chicago president, took over a Justice Department wracked by politicization and revelations of domestic spying (sound familiar?) in the wake of Watergate and the Vietnam War.

Levi was credited with quickly restoring departmental morale and in the so-called 'Levi Guidelines', reined in the FBI's domestic surveillance operations and put limits on the bureau's use of informants.

Levi was so esteemed that in November 2005, the department established an award to memorialize his rectitude.

Sen. Larry Craig at a Senate hearing. AP photo by Charles Dharapak

by Mark Silva

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, a conservative three-termer who has voted against gay marriage and opposes special protections for gay and lesbian crime victims, pleaded guilty this summer to misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's room.

Despite paying a $575 fine and pleading guilty, the Republican senator insists he wasn't engaged in inappropriate behavior when he was arrested in June in a Minneapolis airport men's room. The arresting officer, in an adjoining stall, reported that Craig started tapping his toe and then waving his hand beneath the divider between the two toilets.

“At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions,” Craig said. “I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously.”

Craig, who faces reelection next year, hasn't announced his plans for a fourth term yet.

"It's too early to talk about anything about that,'' said Sidney Smith, a spokesman, uncertain if the senator's guilty plea will affect his plans.

But Hannah August, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, says Craig's plea “has given Americans another reason not to vote Republican” next year.

For a look at the police report, click here.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour to some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales surprised the nation's capital by announcing the end of his controversial tenure as Justice Department head following disputes with Congress over his role in the war on terror and the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, with President Bush blaming lawmakers and naming Paul Clement, the current solicitor general, to replace Gonzales on an acting basis.

Democrats said congressional investigations into the Bush Administration's firing of nine attorney generals and its warrantless surveillance would continue despite Gonzales's departure.

Federal agencies are investigating the possibility of fraud and kickbacks in the supply of weapons and materiel to both American and Iraq military and security forces , already producing indictments of several Americans.

Ready for Bush: American Legion in Reno. Legion photo.

by Mark Silva

As President Bush faces the American Legion in Reno today, to deliver the second of two major addresses on the war in Iraq before Labor Day – and before he reports on the progress of the battle to Congress next month – he is returning to the framework of his central argument for the war.

The president will assert, today, in Reno, that the United States will not be intimidated by “thugs and murderers.’’

At a fundraiser for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) in Bellevue, Washington, yesterday, the president reeled out his rationale for the war, spoke about that event which had “deeply affected’’ him – the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 – and his contention that “the central front’’ of the war on terror is Iraq.

“We're a nation at war,’’ Bush said. “I wish I didn't have to say that. No president should ever want to come to any community in our country and say, we're at war, but we are...

by James Oliphant

With the resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, President Bush has a choice to make -- ultimately a choice which the Senate will have to confirm. Here is a look at the pros and cons of some of his possible choices:

Michael Chertoff, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

PROS: Proven veteran, Bush loyalist. Will hit ground running. As former head of DOJ criminal division, no learning curve involved. Reputation for being tough on terror.

CONS: Confirmation could be nightmarish with questions about DHS’s response to Hurricane Katrina and concerns about how far Chertoff is willing to discard civil liberties to chase terrorists. Remember, he was a co-author of the Patriot Act.

Larry Thompson, general counsel, PepsiCo

PROS: Former deputy attorney general and ex-Atlanta U.S. attorney knows department from the inside. Has many friends. Waltzed through his confirmation hearing back in 2001. Would be first African-American AG.

CONS: Makes a mint as Pepsi GC. Why would he give that up for a short-term gig and a bucketful of headaches?

Laurence Silberman, senior judge, US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit

PROS: One of the original “movement conservatives” in the legal world. A well-trod path leads from his chambers to clerking for the likes of Scalia and Thomas on the Supreme Court. An expert on intelligence law who served on the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

CONS: Can be confrontational. Also, has a lifetime appointment to federal bench. Does he really want to give that up and with it, his role in helping to shape future Republican judges and office-holders?

The funeral for Honolulu officer Steve Favela, who died five days after his motorcycle crashed while escorting President Bush's motorcade in November. Another, Albuquerque, N.M.-area motorcyle officer has died escorting a presidential motorcade. Photo by Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

by Mark Silva

Another casualty of presidential travel has been suffered in Albuquerque, N.M., where police officer Germain Casey, 40, died after his motorcycle crashed Monday escorting a motorcade that was returning President Bush to the Albuquerque airport.

The accident was reminiscent of another fatality in Hawaii last fall, where a motorcycle-riding police officer was killed as he lost control of his bike while escorting Bush’s motorcade at rain-slickened Hickam Air Force Base.

The Secret Service maintains that the duty of local police escorts is to clear traffic for the presidential motorcade to maintain a “reasonable rate of speed’’ that enables the president to travel from place to place with less risk to his own safety.

But in truth, the motorcades that carry the president from place to place often move at breakneck speeds – and sometimes there are casualties.

As Bush’s motorcade returned to the airport in Albuquerque, where the president was raising money for Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), officer Casey crashed his motorcycle into a tree at the entrance to the airport, according to a reporter traveling with Bush who saw the episode.

Bush, too, observed the crash scene. Later, as the president arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for another Republican congressman's fundraiser, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said: “The president did see the accident after it had occurred.

“A member of the White House medical staff went to assist,’’ Stanzel reported to the traveling press pool. “Also, the ambulance from the motorcade pulled off to help. The officer, Germain Casey, was taken to the University of New Mexico hospital.

“He leaves behind a wife, Lisa, and two teenage children,’’ Stanzel said. “The president called the deputy director of the Rio Rancho Police Department from Air Force One to express his heartfelt sympathies."

And in his motorcade from the later fundraiser to the Seattle airport, the president also called Lisa Casey, wife of the officer who died, to express his condolensces, according to Stanzel.

Casey had received special training in riding in motorcades and had previously escorted Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on separate occasion, according to the Rio Rancho Police Department, where he had worked since 2005. He previously had served the campus police at the University of New Mexico, having moved there from Chicago.

The president also issued a statement about the officer who had died "while serving as a member of my security detail:.... I am deeply saddened by his death and extraordinarily grateful for his protection. It is a high calling to choose to serve and protect your fellow citizens, and I will always be indebted to Officer Casey’s service.

"He leaves behind his wife Lisa and their two children,'' Bush said. "They are in my thoughts and prayers. May God comfort the Casey family and his fellow law enforcement officials.''

Officer Germaine Casey in 2004. University of New Mexico newspaper photo

One of the dogs which federal agents found on Michael Vick's Virginia property. Photo by Joe Fudge/ Newport News Daily Press.

Andrew Zajac

The Agriculture Department, which has custody of the pit bulls in Michael Vick's Virginia dogfighting operation, has contracted with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to "conduct an assessment of the dogs.''

The ASPCA will spend about three weeks evaluating the 50 pit bulls before making recommendations to USDA officials regarding disposition of the animals.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Tuesday, August 28, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

President Bush is speaking at the 89th Annual American Legion Convention in Reno, Nev.

The College Board is releasing the 2007 College-Bound Seniors Report. 9:30 a.m.

The White House says that Atty Gen. Alberto Gonzales is trying to "put this period behind us'' by moving on. AP photo by Evan Vucci

by Mark Silva

The Bush administration, girding for a political storm in September, has dismantled its two tallest lightning rods before Labor Day.

With the resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales announced today, and with the departure of chief political adviser Karl Rove announced earlier this month, the White House has deprived the Democrat-led Congress of its two highest-value political targets in continuing investigations into the firings of federal prosecutors and anti-terrorism tactics.

The administration is heading into a month of potentially bruising hearings on Capitol Hill, facing not only probes into the Justice Department’s dismissals of U.S. attorneys and the warrantless surveillance of suspected terrorists, but also a renewed congressional debate over the disputed “surge’’ of U.S. military forces in Iraq.

While both Gonzales and Rove are leaving of their own apparent volition, the president’s acquiescence after months of controversy over the roles that the embattled attorney general and chief political operative have played could serve to defuse much of the continuing criticism, analysts say – or at least push it off the front pages.

As attention turns toward continued funding for the war in Iraq – with the president promising a progress report before Sept. 15 – the White House will need all the good will it can muster among congressional leaders searching for ways to force a draw-down of troops.

But the president will have to press his case – most importantly his insistence on patience with the mission in Iraq – without some of the biggest players of his administration.

Armstrong, left, and Edwards, at Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum today. AP photo by Charlie Neibergall.

by Rick Pearson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Democratic presidential contender John Edwards may have a close friendship, but that doesn't mean the cyclist is riding tandem with the former North Carolina senator's view on how to achieve universal health care.

Only a month ago, Armstrong and Edwards were riding together through north central Iowa for a photo-op along the route of the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI. Armstrong is a cancer survivor and Edwards' wife has had a reoccurrence of the cancer she suffered two years ago.

But after Armstrong's foundation hosted a presidential forum on cancer for Democratic contenders in Cedar Rapids today, the cyclist peddled away from Edwards' call to keep the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies away from the negotiating table when it comes to developing and enacting a plan for national health care.

Edwards has continually chided rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for taking campaign donations from lobbyists and said she should know that it was the industry that killed her efforts as First Lady in the early 1990s to enact national health care. Edwards said all Democrats should reject special-interest money.

"I believe that the insurance companies, the drug companies and their lobbyists killed the health care reform that was attempted in the 1990s by Sen. Clinton and we applaud her for her work. But I think they're the people who killed it," Edwards said in the forum.

The White House says Gonzales informed Bush of his decision to resign on Friday, but that the attorney general delivered his resignation at the Crawford, Texas, ranch of the president, where Gonzales and his wife joined the president and his wife Sunday. White House photo by Chris Greenberg.

by Mark Silva

Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales had spent "some time'' this month talking about his future with his wife, the White House says, but it wasn't until Friday night that Gonzales informed the president he would resign.

"The attorney general came to the conclusion that it was in the best interests of the department that he resign,'' White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said aboard Air Force One today. "He called the president on Friday evening and offered his resignation, and the president very reluctantly accepted it and, at that time, invited he and his wife to the ranch so they could talk as friends over lunch yesterday.''

by Frank James

Well, that didn't take long. A Democratic fund-raising communication has gone out which uses Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation as a rallying cry to drum up more campaign contributions..

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an e-mail over the signature of its chairman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen.The e-mail's subject line bore just one word: "relentless."

Today, we saw what can happen when we stand together to hold Republicans accountable.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today because of the relentless pressure that our people-powered Democratic Majority brought to bear. We could not have done it without you. But there is no time to rest - we need to ratchet up the same kind of pressure on those Republicans who continue to obstruct our efforts to change the direction on the war in Iraq

News is out that a group of well-funded Republicans, led by Bush's former press secretary Ari Fleischer and a group of former Bush Administration officials, is planning a massive $15 million blitz on television, radio and the Internet to shore up support for Bush's failed policy in Iraq.

by James Oliphant

Who is Paul Clement, other than the man who has just inherited--temporarily at least--an agency in shambles and under a congressional microscope?

One thing is for certain: the new acting attorney general isn't where he is by accident. Clement, 41, has been solicitor general of the United States since March 2005, heading the office that argues on behalf of the government before the Supreme Court. He's also a conservative wunderkind, the kind of lawyer who could wind up on the high court himself someday.

With degrees from Georgetown, Harvard, and Cambridge, he served as a legal clerk for D.C. appeals court judge Laurence Silberman, a godfather of sorts to Republican lawyers, and later to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Clement joined Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis in 1994, just as one of the firm's luminaries, Kenneth Starr, was leaving to head up the Whitewater investigation as independent counsel.

Frances Townsend at a July press conference. AP Photo/Ron Edmonds.

by Carol Eisenberg

Frances Townsend, White House homeland security advisor, said she declined the offer to consider job of Homeland Security Secretary currently held by Chertoff in a recent conversation with the White House, said a source with direct knowledge of the conversation.

A spokesman for Chertoff declined to comment this morning about whether his boss had been asked to step into the attorney general’s post. Chertoff, a 53-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer, may be a tough sell to a Democratic-controlled Senate because of his department's incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina and his support of the administration's aggressive anti-terror tactics.

He also made key Democratic enemies in the mid-1990s as counsel to the GOP Whitewater committee investigating the business dealings of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is now a New York senator and a leading candidate for president.

But Chertoff also has impeccable legal credentials. He was a federal judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles appeals from New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands. Before that, he was assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice's criminal division from 2001 to 2003.

Gonzales, the embattled attorney general accused of perjury and politicizing the Justice Department, resigned this morning after rebuffing calls for his resignation for months.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat who was the first to call for his resignation, celebrated the news this morning. "It has been a long and difficult struggle but at last, the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down," Schumer said. "For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional and desperately needs new leadership.”

Glenn Thrush contributed to this report.

Andrew Zajac

Alberto Gonzales has always understood his rise from exceedingly humble circumstances to high office in the intensely personal terms of someone who, as he has frequently put it, 'has lived the American Dream.'

That self-conscious sense of individual achievement is abundantly on display in his letter of resignation (download file)
and in the very brief statement Gonzales delivered this morning at the Justice Department:

by Frank James

Rumors are flying that President Bush may choose Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to succeed Attorney General Albert Gonzales.

If the president does that, he is guaranteed of having at least one, and perhaps two confirmation battles going on almost simultaneously since he would have to choose a replacement for the Homeland Security job as well.

Since it’s speculated that one of the reasons Gonzales is stepping down is so the president can clear the decks in order to get as much done as possible during the remainder of his lame duck term, that would be a curious move since it wouldn’t do much in terms of deck clearing.

by Mark Silva

President Bush, with an angry denunciation of critics who have hounded longtime adviser and friend Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales "for political reasons,'' said today that he had "reluctantly'' accepted the attorney general's resignation and will name Paul Clement, solictor general, as the interim attorney general until a more permanent successor is chosen.

"After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department,'' Gonzales has resigned and Bush has accepted it, the president said. "It’s sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Al Gonzales is impeded from doing good work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.’’

The president, losing one of the highest profile members of his administration following a spate of departures, faced the newest loss with all the trappings of the presidency: Stepping out of Marine One as it landed at a Texas airstrip, where the president was preparing to fly out West for a round of political appearances and a speech to the American Legion tomorrow.

With the presidential helicopter idling behind him, Bush delivered only brief remarks thanking Gonzales for his long service and announcing the interim appointment of Clement when Gonzales steps down on Sept. 17.

Gonzales had spent "some time this month'' talking it over with his wife, according to the White House. "The attorney general came to the conclusion that it was in the best interests of the department that he resign,'' spokesman Scott Stanzel said. "He called the president on Friday evening and offered his resignation, and the president very reluctantly accepted it and, at that time, invited he and his wife to the ranch so they could talk as friends over lunch yesterday.''

by Mark Silva

Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, saying that he has "lived the American dream,'' announced today that he will step down as attorney general on Sept. 17.

Gonzales, a longtime friend and government associate of President Bush in Washington and Texas, said he had informed the president of his decision at Bush's Texas ranch on Sunday.

Gonzales fielded no questions about the controversies that have surrounded his tenure at the Department of Justice, instead delivering a brief statement of respect for all who work there and leaving with an emotional commentary on his own life's story as a Mexican-American from an impoverished family who went to Harvard Law School and became attorney general.

"I often remind our fellow citizens that we live in the greatest country in the world,'' Gonzales said at the Justice Department. "And I have lived the American dream... Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than any of my father's best days.''

On his worst days, influential senators, including members of the president's own party, have called for his resignation -- saying they have lost confidence in Gonzales' leadership.

by Frank James

The reaction to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is rolling in. Here are two of the most noteworthy, the Democratic chairmen of the congressional judiciary committees, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.

Note they show no indication of calling off the dogs of the probes of the Bush Administration's firings of U.S. attorneys or warrantless surveillance programs.

U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On Reports Of The Resignation
Of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

August 27, 2007

“Under this Attorney General and this President, the Department of Justice suffered a severe crisis of leadership that allowed our justice system to be corrupted by political influence. It is a shame, and it is the Justice Department, the American people and the dedicated professionals of our law enforcement community who have suffered most from it.

“The obligations of the Justice Department and its leaders are to the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people, not to the political considerations of this or any White House. The Attorney General’s resignation reinforces what Congress and the American people already know -- that no Justice Department should be allowed to become a political arm of the White House, whether occupied by a Republican or a Democrat.

Atty. Gen. Gonzales, pictured in March. (Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans)

by Mark Silva

Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, who has faced a storm of controversy over the Justice Department’s firing of federal prosecutors and his testimony about the internal debate over the administration’s secret surveillance of suspected terrorists, will announce today that he has resigned his post, a senior administration official has confirmed for the Tribune.

President Bush, who adamantly had stood by his attorney general, former White House counsel and friend from Texas – voicing confidence in Gonzales at every turn in months of escalating controversy – accepted the resignation that Gonzales submitted on Friday as Bush vacationed at his Texas ranch, sources tell the Tribune.

The president plans to make a statement at 10:50 am CDT today, before departing from Waco, Tex., to head out West today to campaign for Republicans.

The Justice Department is expected to announce the attorney general's resignation this morning, according to a senior administration source, and the president will make his own statement before embarking on a western political tour and an address to the American Legion tomorrow in Reno, Nev.

However, Gonzales' resignation will not end the investigations which Democratic congressional leaders are making of the prosecutor firings and terrorist surveillance.

"Alberto Gonzales was never the right man for this job,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said today. "He lacked independence, he lacked judgment...This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House."

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, having tendered his resignation to President Bush on Friday according to a report in the New York Times.

Iraqi insurgents have been financed in part by U.S. reconstruction money they've extorted from Iraqi contractors.

President Bush is resorting to a familiar strategy in his effort to buy time for his Iraq strategy, a vigorous campaign to win over the hearts and minds of American voters and congressional Republicans.

More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits are choosing to take a $20,000 bonus in exchange for heading off to basic camp by the end of September.

Talk about a swelled head: Republicans expecting Fred Thompson to claim a place on Mount Rushmore? National Park Service photo.

by Mark Silva

The way Mike Huckabee sees it, Republicans are attempting to make Fred Thompson "the fifth head on Mount Rushmore.''

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination, has campaigned somewhat in the shadows of his party's giants, as it is.

And now Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee with prime-time television credentials, is poised to enter the race as a top-tier candidate in the early opinion polling.

"Let's just hope Fred decides it's just too hot this summer to even do this. Maybe he won't get in," Huckabee said Sunday of Thompson's long-awaited campaign announcement.

"If he does, I think he's going to suck a lot of the oxygen out of the room when he first comes in,'' Huckabee said of Thompson on Fox News Sunday. "But I'm not sure I'd want to be in his position where the expectations are simply just sky-high for him to be able to perform.''

by David Lerman

These are trying days for Sen. John Warner.

At the age of 80, Virginia's senior senator has promised to decide by next month whether to seek re-election next year for another six-year term.

The centrist Republican, long one of Virginia's most respected and relatively popular politicians, offered his most reflective public thoughts on the matter so far in an appearance Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.

Presenting himself as a man who is genuinely undecided about his political future, Warner confided that he has been keeping a daily diary for the past six months, assessing how he feels each day about his work-- and whether he is ready to commit to another six-year term.

``What do you think I should do?" Warner asked moderator Tim Russert. ``What would you do if you were 80 years old?"

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, August 27, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

President Bush is making campaign fundraising appearances for Republicans in New Mexico and the state of Washington.

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. GLOBAL WARMING-HURRICANES — The Center for American Progress hosts a presenattion, “Forecast: Storm Warnings,” to discuss the effect of global warming on hurricane severity and frequency. In addition, there will be a discussion of necessary federal, state, and local policies that would increase the resilience of hurricane prone communities. Panelists: Mayor Richard T. Crotty, R, Orange County, Fla.; Dr. Peter Webster, Professor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; John B. Copenhaver, President and Chief Executive Officer, DRI International; Jane Bullock, Former Chief of Staff for Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt. Moderator: Daniel J. Weiss, Senior Fellow and the Director of Climate Strategy, Center for American Progress.
Location: Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, 10th floor.

First Lady Laura Bush, seen her during a cross-continental African journey in June, will forgo President Bush's trip to Australia on the advice of physicians. Photo by Mark Silva

by Mark Silva

First Lady Laura Bush, undergoing physical therapy for a pinched nerve, will skip the nearly weeklong trip that President Bush takes to Australia in early September for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

You heard it here first: You'll have to accept this as mere speculation, but this may well say something about the president's itinerary in the early part of the month leading to his presentation of a new report on Iraq to Congress.

"Mrs. Bush has been treated with physical therapy for a pinched nerve, which she injured while hiking earlier this year,'' said Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, in a statement released today. "Her physicians have strongly advised her to not travel overseas in order to avoid potential complication and aggravation by extended long distance travel.''

This is the first lady who recently completed a week-long trip through Africa, spanning 17,000 miles in the military's Boeing 757 named Bright Star for her voyage. The journey in late June carried Mrs. Bush to Africa and across the continent -- from Senegal to Mozambique, and from Zambia to Mali, before flying on to Kennebunkport, Me., over the course of five days.

Earlier this year, Vice President Dick Cheney also set out for Australia, via Tokyo and Guam, aboard the 757, Air Force Two in that configuration. Just before the vice president's takeoff, Cheney's staff announced his wife, Lynne, would not accompany him because of the death of a family friend.

In Australia, the vice president added a few surprise stops en route to home -- Islamabad, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and Kabul, via Singapore and Oman -- which ultimately carried him around the world.

Perhaps the president, who has made surprise stops of his own in Afghanistan and Iraq, will have a change of course for Air Force One following the Pacific Rim summit in Australia.

by Mark Silva

Sen. John Warner, the Virginia Republican calling on President Bush to start drawing down U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of the year, explained his argument today on national television. He said he is suggesting, “most respectfully,’’ to the president, “that you put some teeth behind your words.’’

“You go back to the Jan. 10th message, when he instituted the surge,’’ Warner said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “He said we will, in partnership with Maliki, we'll do the military part and bring about a lessening of the severe security threats that will enable you to have -- and I quote him, ‘breathing space,’ -- and now, Mr. Maliki, you do the political reconciliation. And with the convergence of those two actions, we hope to bring about a greater stability for Iraq.

“Our troops have performed magnificently under brilliant leadership and have done precisely as the president asks,’’ Warner said. “They have made measurable gains in bringing about a degree of stability in Baghdad and the environs.

“But the government, under the leadership of Maliki and other Iraqi leaders, have totally failed to put the other part of that partnership in place -- namely, deliver greater security and reconciliation,’’ said the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

So this is designed to get Maliki’s attention, Meet the Press host Tim Russert asked the senator.

“That's correct,’’ Warner said. “I put this out as a suggestion and put it into public domain. It's drawn a lot of controversy.’’

Allawi, then interim prime minister, met the press. NATO photo.

by Mark Silva

With the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki losing confidence among not only Western allies, but also leaders in the Arab world, a potential political rival is headed to Baghdad.

Ayad Allawi, who had served as interim prime minister of Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, says he will return to Baghdad in search of a sectarian solution to the nation’s divide.

Allawi, a secular Shi’ite and former Baathist, says he is not questioning the character of al-Maliki, a Shi’ite who has condoned violence against Sunni Muslims in Iraq, but rather his ability to take advantage of the breathing space that the U.S. military’s “surge” was supposed to give his government and foster a political reconciliation in Iraq. Allawi also suggests that a draw-down of U.S. forces in Iraq should start “as soon as possible.’’

“I am not doubting whether he's a good guy or not a good guy,’’ Allawi said on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. “ But I am doubting the system of militias, of sectarianism, of trying to avoid the benchmarks which President Bush and the Congress have laid down for the government in Iraq.

“And I cannot see that this government will implement the benchmarks,’’ Allawi said. “I don't see that we are getting closer to reconciliation.

“It's not the person,’’ he said. “It's the system, the system of running the government on a sectarian basis.’’

by Mark Silva

As a September showdown over the war in Iraq nears on Capitol Hill, senators are lining up for a fight over the Bush administration’s “surge.’’

“I’m frustrated by the slow pace (of progress in Iraq), but I don’t think the solution is to pull the plug,’’ Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said today.

“Eventually, we have to withdraw from Iraq, we have to draw down our troops,’’ said Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). “We’re not going to have stability in that region until American troops are out of Iraq.’’

Webb, left, and Cornyn, above, faced off in a most civilized fashion this morning on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulus, which actually was staged without Stephanopoulus. ABC’s Terry Moran moderated the quiet debate.

Webb, Cornyn, Senate photos

"Four more years:" Fear of the "Hillary-haters." AP photo.

by Jill Zuckman

DALLAS -- Richard Collins, a Texas philanthropist, is one in a vast army of professional "Hillary haters" who are banking on Sen. Hillary Clinton becoming the Democratic nominee for president in 2008.

Like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in the 2004 election who denigrated Sen. John Kerry's military service in Vietnam, Collins and others are searching for just the thing that will crystallize the way voters think and feel about her.

And not in a good way.

Armed with new technologies and fueled by animus, they are bent on preventing "four more years" of Clintonism. Every old charge, it seems, is being repackaged and sold as new. Every rumor is given a new, blog-stoked currency.

The rise of the Internet has meant that more people are getting their message out without the expense of paper, postage or manpower. Anyone with a computer can weigh in on the political debate and alter a candidate's course, and Clinton opponents have started early.

For more, see the story in today's Tribune:

Former Sen. George Allen of Virginia, scarred by his own remark, conceding defeat to Jim Webb last fall. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

by David Lerman

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. George Allen, who made ``macaca” a household word and upset his once-promising political career, already shows signs of preparing for a possible comeback.

His new Web site, www.georgeallen.com, touts his travels around Virginia, mostly in Republican-friendly territory. A press account posted on his site of a Republican fundraiser in Harrisonburg quotes supporters urging him to run for governor in 2009.

And last week, Allen took to the airwaves after winning what amounted to four hours of free publicity.

The ex-governor, who lost his Senate seat to Virginia Democrat Jim Webb last fall, served as guest host one morning on WRVA radio’s ``Richmond Morning News” show.

``You gotta get up early in the morning to do these shows,” said the neophyte talk-show host, who anchored the morning drive-time show from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Allen lobbed softball questions at a number of Republican officials and other friends, but the star guest was Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, Hollywood actor and all-but-announced GOP presidential candidate.

The day the federal government removed Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami could be the day that Democrat Al Gore lost the presidential election in Florida. 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the raid the year before, by Al Diaz of the Associated Press.

by Mark Silva

In Florida, where the tumultuous presidential election of 2000 ended with a disputed 537-vote margin of victory for George W. Bush, any one of two dozen reasons could explain the outcome.

But in Florida, the federal government’s removal of young Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez at gunpoint from his relatives’ home in Miami and his forced return to Cuba goes as far as any other reason in explaining how the Democrats lost the state.

In South Florida, where the oldest generations of Cuban-American refugees demand a blood oath of loyalty to the U.S. trade embargo against the government of Fidel Castro among anyone holding federal office or contemplating a campaign for the White House, it seems, on the face of it, that foreign policy toward Cuba ought to be simple for any candidate to navigate.

But times are changing in South Florida and Cuba alike. Castro is ill and perhaps near death, and the youngest Cuban-Americans in Miami have families back home whose welfare may be more important to them than the bigger picture of the decades-old trade embargo.

That’s where Sen. Barack Obama comes in: Proposing something of a compromise between the old hard-liners and the younger, more compassionate crowd. Obama, while supporting the U.S. government’s trade embargo with the island nation, proposes to lift restrictions on what people in the U.S. can send to their families in Cuba.

That’s the line he was selling in Miami on Saturday, in his campaign for the Democrats’ 2008 presidential nomination.

“Just 90 miles from here there is a country where justice and freedom are out of reach,’’ Obama told a crowd in Miami on Saturday. “That's why my policy toward Cuba will be guided by one word: Liberty.’’

by Mark Silva

Democratic Party leaders voted today to strip Florida of its presidential nominating convention delegates, if the state's Democrats proceed with a planned January primary election.

At the same time, leaders voiced some optimism that a compromise might be reached in the next 30 days allowing Florida to send all of its 210 delegates to the national convention in Denver next summer.

"We're Democrats. We're optimist,'' said Jim Roosevelt Jr., co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee, after a vote to allow Florida 30 days to comply with party regulations governing primaries or forfeit all of its convention delegates.

Florida Democratic Party Chairman Karen Thurman did not sound so optimistic, however.

"We'll see,'' she told reporters.

by Andrew Malcolm

Probably a lot of you have become confused about the 17 ongoing presidential campaigns and the other one that's been postponed a few times so it can fall apart before it begins, all preparing for the tumultuous, constantly-changing schedule of primary elections and caucuses to help pick the candidates who will wait around for months until they accept their parties' presidential nominations at conventions that are still a year away to run in national campaigns that come after that and are only two months long but seem like 10 leading up to Election Day on Nov. 4, 2008.

The legal battles come after that because court calendars are generally lighter just before the holidays.

So finally we're going to clarify all of this for you.

First, primary campaigns aren't really primary. They're secondary to general election campaigns which are primary. Primary elections were instituted by the Founding Fathers in legislative earmarks to boost hotel, restaurant and television station revenues in New Hampshire and Iowa at a time of year when no one in their right mind would go to either place. Iowa turned a daytime primary election into a nighttime caucus because the farm chores are supposed to be done by dark and Monday Night Football is over by January.

Everybody knows that neither state matters much anymore, but all the candidates troop there with their entourages and claques of media representatives because both states make quaint settings for news coverage and the citizens act important and look good in flannel shirts and Dockers. They tell candidates fascinating things like, "I saw you on TV last night" and "You look taller in person."

Max Cleland: "I know something about the Vietnam War."
Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images

by Mark Silva

To hear President Bush tell it, Iraqi military forces are the unsung heroes of the war in Iraq.

Max Cleland, a disabled veteran of the war in Vietnam, tells a far different story. Cleland suffered huge personal loss in a war which the president, this past week, attempted to liken to the conflict in Iraq.

"We are still in the early stages of our new operations,'' the president said of the war in Iraq, in his weekly radio address today. "But the success of the past couple of months have shown that conditions on the ground can change -- and they are changing.''

Cleland, a former senator from Georgia and director of the Veterans Administration who lost his legs and an arm in Vietnam, offered the Democratic Party's response to the president's radio address today.

"I know something about the Vietnam War,'' Cleland said in his radio reply to the president. "I know something about the price that was paid for continuing that war long after it was clear we could not succeed.

"There are similarities between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam.'' Cleland allowed. "One of the lessons to be learned from Vietnam is that the commitment of American military strength alone cannot solve another country’s political weakness.''

by David Lightman

The Dodd-for-president campaign has a mascot. A white hare.

Makes sense, because Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has a lot of white hair -- and uses his mane as a reminder that he's been around awhile, and thus is the candidate with experience.

The official hare is named Lancaster, saved from an animal shelter a few months ago.

In one video clip, Dodd sits at a desk and talks to the hare, noting that "you owe me big. You are in such debt. Every Thanksgiving, the president saves a turkey. I just saved you."

And for that, Dodd smiles and reminds Lancaster, "I expect you to vote early and often."

by Mark Silva

Florida knows something about votes not counting.

And Florida’s Democrats could face a tough new lesson today, as the Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee sets out to enforce its rules on party primary elections.

The DNC committee today is poised to vote against the Sunshine State’s plans for a Jan. 29 primary and also strip the state party of delegate votes at its presidential nominating convention in Denver next year, according to party officials.

Florida poses the first test of the DNC’s resolve to enforce a primary schedule it set last year. Florida is not the only state that is attempting to jump the calendar with an early primary.

Florida's highest-ranking Democrat plans to fight the party over any sanction.

Discerning disputed votes in Florida, 2000. AP photo.

By Christi Parsons

For months now, national Democrats have patiently repeated their rules for next year's primaries, reminding trigger-happy party leaders around the country that only a few select states are allowed to hold their events before early February.

But today, the polite reminders could turn into an unpleasant trip to the woodshed when a panel of the Democratic National Committee meets to consider this summer's attempts to flout the rules.

States that do not follow the rules could lose some or all of their delegates, who officially choose the party nominee at the 2008 national convention in Denver -- potentially turning those renegade primaries into little more than a popularity contest. Republicans are threatening to do the same thing.

Party leaders hope any punishment they mete out will serve as a reminder to others: Their frenetic race to hold the earliest primaries in the nation may not be worth the trouble.

"The situation has gotten so chaotic, we have to do something about it," said one member of the DNC's rules and bylaws committee. "It's a problem for the candidates who have no idea when the primaries are going to be."

On the hot seat at the weekend meeting will be Florida Democrats, who have announced plans to hold their party primary Jan. 29. Leading Democrats in that state suggested Thursday that the sanctions might violate state or federal law, making it plain they do not plan to accept a knuckle-rapping without a fight.

Barney: No "lump." White House photo

by Mark Silva

Dana Perino is a dog-lover.

So who better to send, in defense of First Dog Barney than Perino, the White House deputy press secretary.

It seems that Karl Rove, the outgoing deputy chief of staff, had some unkind words for the Scottish terrier that roams the South Lawn -- called the little doggie a "lump."

So the folks at National Public Radio's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! invited Perino to stand up for the presidential pedigree.

Perino knows her way around dogs. Her own beautiful Vizsla, Henry, is a well-trained, partisan pooch, trained to retrieve flip-flops on the command: "John Kerry."

So this is one canine smack-down in which Rove has met his match.

"I wouldn’t call him a lump,'' Perino says of Barney on the radio. And, as for Rove: "Of course... Karl is on his way out the door.''

And, asked if she ever draws pooper-scooper duty at the White House, Perino says: "Well... I deal with the press a lot.''

Tune in today for the show produced by NPR, Chicago Public Radio and executive producer Doug Berman and aired on 425 stations. And here are some excerpts, courtesy of NPR:

Clinton, who says the Democratic nominee will be looking over his or her shoulder next year for Republican attacks, says she's the one ready. Photo by Lisa Hornak/Reuters

by Jill Zuckman

Concord, N.H. -- In the backyard of Gary and Carol Sobelson's Victorian home, a man attending their house party told Sen. Hillary Clinton that his biggest concern is about which Democrat can actually win the White House. What was her strategy for doing that?

In an unusually frank response, Clinton said her battles with the right wing of the political spectrum made her uniquely qualified to survive the likely attacks of a general election.

"I've been through it and I understand their tactics,'' she said. "And I have been subjected to them for 15 years and I have survived them. And there is something to be said for that."

Any Democrat who is nominated can expect to be attacked, she said.

"They are not about to give up the White House without a fight. And they will employ every one of their tools that they have unfortunately used, successfully over the last two elections,'' said Clinton. "Therefore it is important that our nominee have no illusions about the difficulty of this race. I have none. Any that I ever had have long since dissipated in dealing with the other side.''

See what else Clinton had to say below. And for more on how the right plans to take on Clinton's candidacy, read our story about "Hillary-haters'' sharpening their swords in the early and final Sunday editions of the Tribune.

by David Lerman

The White House and Defense Department fired twin shots Friday at a proposal by Virginia Sen. John Warner to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by Christmas, signaling a firm resolve by the Bush administration to beat back a challenge from one of the Senate’s most respected Republican members.

One day after Warner called on President Bush to withdraw about 5,000 troops by Christmas to put pressure on the Iraqi government to reform, officials lined up to attack the plan, albeit gently.

In Iraq, a senior military commander told reporters by videoconference that he can’t afford to withdraw troops until sufficient numbers of Iraqi security forces are trained and equipped.

``And that’s not going to happen between now and Christmas,” said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who took command in April of a large swath of Iraq that includes the Tigris River Valley south of Baghdad.

Sen. John Warner. Senate office photo.

A dog federal agents found on Michael Vick's Virginia property. Photo by Joe Fudge/ Newport News Daily Press.

by James Oliphant

In court documents filed today, disgraced Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick admitted to killing dogs as part of a dogfighting ring in southeastern Virginia. He also said he provided most of the funding for the operation and the gambling that went with it.

Vick, who was also indicted under his dogfighting nickname "Ookie," however denied that he himself wagered on the dogs or was involved in taking side bets. That fact could be crucial when Vick is separately punished by the National Football League for his conduct.

Vick is expected to plead guily to a conspiracy charge related to the dogfighting ring in a Richmond federal court on Monday. He could receive a year to 18 months in prison.

Here is a link to the story on chicagotribune.com.

(Vick AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

New Orleans, after the storm. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration photo.

by Mark Silva

President Bush plans to return to New Orleans next week, for the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. He will return to a city still rebuilding from a hurricane and flooding.

The president, who took four days to reach New Orleans after the storm that overwhelmed the Crescent City and the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, will waste no time making his anniversary appointment. Bush plans to land there Tuesday, on the eve of the Katrina anniversary, spend the night, tour New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region on Wednesday, and then return to Washington from there.

This will mark the president's 15th visit to the region since Katrina.

"The president continues to follow through on his commitment to help local citizens rebuild their lives and communities on the Gulf Coast,'' spokesman Gordon Johndroe said today. "The federal government has provided more than $114 billion for relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts, over $96 billion of which has been disbursed or is available for states to draw from.''

The Democrats also will be marking the anniversary of an event which they maintain revealed the ineptitude and lack of compassion of the Bush administration. A series of town hall-styled events are planned, featuring Democratic congressmen from the region.

On Tuesday, the president will be competing with a town hall meeting in New Orleans with participants from all three Gulf Coast states hit by Katrina. It's the first in a region-wide commemoration that includes residents of the three most affected states, according to the Gulf Coast Collaborative for Recovery and Renewal.

The Tuesday session at Dillard University’s Lawless Memorial Chapel will be moderated by Derrick Johnson, head of the Mississippi NAACP.

The first panel from will focus on housing and economic development issues and will feature Reps. William Jefferson and Maxine Waters. Community leaders participating: Sam Arnold, STEPS Coalition (Mississippi Gulf Coast organization); Rhonda Feeley, New Orleans small business owner; Carlton Brown, housing developer in New Orleans and Mississippi; Dominique Diop, Policy Link (Louisiana organization); and Zack Carter, Alabama Arise.

The second panel will focus on health, safety and environmental issues and will include Reps. Bennie Thompson and Sheila Jackson-Lee. Community leaders: Monique Harden, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights; Paul Nelson, South Bay Community Alliance; Thao Vu, Boat People SOS; Mary Troup, Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities of Mississippi; and Rev. Tyronne Edwards, Placquemines Parish community leader and organizer.

Leonardo DiCaprio. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

by Mark Silva

Al Gore may have an Oscar.

But John Kerry has Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film-star is using the Kerry e-mail list to tout his new film about a looming environmental crisis, The 11th Hour.

"Hello...,'' the email from DiCaprio, via the Kerry for Senate operation, johnkerry.com, goes.

"I'd like to thank John Kerry for giving me this opportunity to tell you about something that's very important to me. I'm writing to tell you about my new environmental film, The 11th Hour. The film documents the environmental crises we face and the solutions we must begin to implement.

"Please click here to take a look at the trailer.

Major Gen. Rick Lynch at a June press conference. AP Photo/Mohammed Ameen.

by Frank James

The U.S. military in Iraq has a message for Iran: knock it off or we'll do it for you.

Of course, it's a message Iran will likely read as its activities in neighboring Iraq are having the desired effect on U.S. forces.

Major Gen. Rick Lynch, the general who briefed Pentagon-based reporters by videoconference from Iraq today, repeatedly hit one of the key points: there's an Iranian Connection to the death and maiming of many of his soldiers and he wants it to stop.

Lynch, commands Multinational Division-Center and the 3rd Infantry Division which have responsibility for an area around Baghdad the size of W. Virginia.

For many months, U.S. commanders have complained about weapons from Iran that are being used with lethal effect against U.S. and Iraqi troops so that wasn't new.

But it took up much of today's briefing from Iraq and clearly weighs heavily on the U.S. commanders. Lynch's growing exasperation with the situation was almost palpable. So it shouldn't be ignored.

Here's a large chunk of what Lynch said about the Iranian influence on the violence he's seeing in his sector.

We see Iranian activity through our area in three levels. First, U.S. soldiers are coming under attack from deadly weapons originating from Iran; specifically, Iranian rockets and Iranian-manufactured components for explosively formed projectiles. Second, we believe some, not all, Shi'a militants are being trained by Iran to use these weapons and then they're passing that training on to others inside of Iraq.

by Mark Silva

In New Hampshire, the newspaper that once made Ed Muskie cry -- or maybe those were just melted snowflakes on the cheek of the candidate standing outside the Manchester Union Leader in 1972 -- the editorial board has pounced anew on Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Union Leader editorialized today on Clinton's apparently shifting stances on the efficacy of the U.S. military "surge'' in Iraq.

"Come on, senator,'' the newspaper opined today. "The American people are not that stupid.

"The surge clearly is producing some positive results, so it cannot be said to have failed,'' the newspaper continued. "What can be said is that Sen. Clinton yet again gives the impression that she will say whatever is politically expedient to say and then deny it with a straight face if it comes back to bite her later.''

And Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd's campaign was happy to talk about this today as well.

"It's unnerving that a would-be Commander-in-Chief can't, or won't, make up her mind on something as fundamental as the success or failure of Bush's surge,'' said Jim Jordan, senior advisor for the Dodd camp. "Really, it smells like more poll-driven straddling."

by Jill Zuckman

Manchester, N.H. -- Even before former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had delivered his power point presentation to the Florida Medical Association laying out his ideas for health care, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) had pounced.

"What I would like for Gov. Romney to do is come here to New Hampshire and explain to the people I just met with why universal health care was good for the state of Massachusetts, but it's not good for the people of New Hampshire and it's not good for the people I met with today,'' Edwards said outside Elliot Hospital, where he had just finished speaking with seniors struggling to pay for their medical care.

Romney is proposing that the federal government help states to lower premiums by deregulating their insurance industries.

Edwards criticized Romney for taking a state-by-state approach, rather than addressing the health care crisis with a uniform, national plan.

"It doesn't solve the problem,'' Edwards said, "We have a national, dysfunctional health care system.''

by James Oliphant

A new front could be opening in the abortion wars.

A federal judge says he will decide Monday whether to delay implementation of a new Missouri law that regulates abortion clinics set to go into effect next week.

The law heralds a new tactic from a state that has earned a reputation for pushing the limits on regulating abortion procedures. It would classify abortion clinics as outpatient surgery centers, requiring them to meet certain state health and safety standards to remain open.

Supporters of the law say it ensures the safety of the patients. Opponents, such as Planned Parenthood, say it will make abortions less available. Planned Parenthood insists it would have to close its clinic in Kansas City and renovate its clinic in Columbia, Mo., making St. Louis, for the time being, the only clinic in the state that could remain open.

Planned Parenthood argued Thursday for an injunction to block the law from taking effect. Missouri federal judge Ortrie Smith says he'll rule on the request by 5 p.m. Monday. (Smith was nominated to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1995.) If he doesn't side with Planned Parenthood, expect an immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Some U.S. Supreme Court observers believe that last term's "partial-birth" abortion decision has dulled any interest in the justices taking another abortion controversy this coming term. But down the road they may not be able to dodge a decision on a new wrinkle like the Missouri law presents.

by Christi Parsons

For months now, some of Barack Obama's campaign staffers have been short-handing his young supporters -- without irony -- as "Generation BO."

Conjuring up more pleasant connotations is the updated nickname, "Generation Obama," also known as "GO."

The fortunate revision comes just in time for this weekend's kickoff of a youth organizing drive, which Obama will launch at an event in Miami on Saturday. Twenty other GO chapters will hold their own parties this weekend in Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Salt Lake City and other cities around the country.

The Obama campaign has devoted a lot of its resources to youth outreach for some time now, for instance with a Students for Barack Obama network that is organizing dozens of campus chapters around the country.

Campaign manager David Plouffe talks about the Obama clubs in grand terms.

"GO chapters are a clear indication," he argues, "that Sen. Obama has created a nationwide movement for change."

by Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half, potentially creating a rift with top White House officials and other military commanders over the course of the war.

Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military. This assessment could collide with one being prepared by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, calling for the U.S. to maintain higher troop levels for 2008 and beyond, as we report in today's Los Angeles Times.

by David Lightman

Remember those good old-fashioned FHA-backed loans? The ones your parents probably used to help buy their first house? They may be coming back.

From the early days of the New Deal until the early part of this century, the Federal Housing Administration rolled along, serving about 15 percent of the nation's mortgage market. But in recent years its influence has ebbed - its market share is now about 4 percent - as it has been overtaken by an aggressive conventional sub-prime mortgage market and burdened by excessive red tape.

But now, as a way of helping to ease the mortgage affordability crisis, influential congressional lawmakers want to rewrite some of the laws governing the FHA and make it a meaningful player again, as I write in today's Hartford Courant.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace is expected to advise President Bush to call for U.S. troop cuts across Iraq to reduce levels to 100,000 from the current 160,000 in order to prevent further overstretching the military, advice likely to conflict with senior White House and military officials who support the current surge.

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community on Iraq was that the military surge has improved the Iraq security situation but that the war-torn nation's political progress remains stalled and is likely to remain fragile, according to an unclassified part of the National Intelligence Estimated released Thursday.

Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi demanded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shi'a led government meet a number of demands, including the release of some detained Sunnis, before his Sunni faction would return to the government.

Sen. Hillary Clinton with doctors at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. Aug. 23, 2007. AP Photo/Jim Cole.

by Jill Zuckman

LEBANON, N.H. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has returned to the stage where the former first lady rolled out the Clinton administration's proposal for health care reform.

It was nearly 15 years ago that Clinton came to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to help launch the push for universal health-care coverage. "The status quo is not acceptable," she declared at the time. "Standing still will not protect what we have."

Now, years later, she is running for president, and it was deja vu all over again as she returned to this state's premiere teaching hospital Thursday in her continued quest for a system of universal health care -- in her campaign for the Democrats' 2008 presidential nomination.

For more, see the story in today's Tribune:

John Edwards in Hanover, N.H., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007. AP Photo/Jim Cole.

by Jim Tankersley

John Edwards 2.1 – a more fiery version of the more populist update on the North Carolina smooth-talker from the 2004 presidential race - hit the campaign trail in New Hampshire on Thursday, with a speech that hit Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) fairly hard by implication.

Edwards took some not-so-subtle swipes at the "third way" politics of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, in a Dartmouth College speech. And with an obvious nod to the junior senator from New York, he warned the party against "a vision for the future that is rooted in nostalgia."

Among his barbs: "Those wedded to the policies of the 70s, 80s, or 90s are wedded to the past;" "the trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn’t;" and "we cannot triangulate our way to real change; we cannot compromise our way to real change."

Edwards trails Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) – neither of whom he mentioned by name on Thursday – for the Democratic nomination in national polls and several recent surveys show him slipping. He still tops most polls in the critical early caucus state of Iowa, but he's struggling to match Obama and Clinton in fundraising.

Clinton spokesman Isaac Baker dismissed Edwards' remarks. "Angry attacks on other Democrats won't improve Senator Edwards' flagging campaign," Baker said in an e-mail statement. "Senator Clinton has been fighting for America's families for 35 years and has the experience to lead on day one."

Read on for the full text of Edwards' speech:

Andrew Zajac

Wan Kim, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, turned in his resignation Thursday, effective at the end of the month.

Kim, 39, was not one of the senior Justice officials caught up in the U.S. attorneys firing scandal, but his Federalist Society pedigree put him in step with many of the Bush Administration's top legal appointees, and he oversaw a civil rights division under fire for pursuing what some observers regarded as a politicized agenda.

Under Kim and his predecessors, R. Alexander Acosta and Bradley Schlozman, the civil rights division filed a number of religious discrimination cases critics said were intended as a sop to the Christian evangelical voters assiduously courted by the White House.

In recent years, the division also has signed off on redistricting plans in southern states which some civil rights advocates say would undo gains made by minority voters.

The last few years also saw the departure of a number of senior career attorneys disheartened by the direction the division had taken.

Schlozman acknowledged in congressional testimony earlier this year that he factored political leanings into hiring decisions for career positions when he headed the division in 2005. Schlozman recently left the department.

The division's defenders say that the circumstances of religious and ethnic minorities change and the Justice Department has needed to adjust its legal strategies accordingly.

by Mark Silva

In the continuing series of reasons why Hillary Clinton may have more durability within her own party’s contest for the 2008 presidential nomination than Rudy Giuliani has within his party, the Pew Research Center has run a large survey that looks closely at voter attitudes.

Clinton, the Democratic senator from New York, draws higher praise among her own party’s voters than Giuliani, the Republican former mayor of New York, draws among his party’s voters.

While 88 percent of the Democrats surveyed who offer a rating of the candidates hold a favorable view of Clinton, 38 percent say they hold a “very favorable’’ view of her.

And while 84 percent of the Republicans offering an opinion hold a favorable view of Giuliani, just 21 percent hold a very favorable view.

Not so much waiting in the wings as waiting to pounce is former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, viewed favorably among nine in 10 Republicans who have an opinion of him -- and viewed very favorably among 31 percent.

Among the leading Democratic rivals, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois holds a 64 percent favorable rating among all voters, 83 percent among Democrats. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina: 61 percent favorable among all surveyed, and 83 percent among Democrats. Obama's very-favorable rating among Democrats is higher than Edwards -- 30 versus 23.

Sen. John Warner. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

by David Lerman

Breaking with White House war policy, Republican Sen. John Warner called on President Bush today to begin withdrawing forces from Iraq, saying 5,000 troops could be sent home by Christmas.

Warner, a pivotal voice on the war who returned from Iraq this week, said a small withdrawal of forces would send a powerful signal to the Iraqi government that the American commitment to securing Iraq is not open-ended.

Pointing to the lack of political progress in Iraq, Warner said it is imperative that the United States make clear to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that time may be running out.

``In my humble judgment, that will get everybody's attention-- attention that is not being given to us at this time," Warner said of his proposal.

Asked why he decided to recommend a withdrawal after resisting Democratic proposals to do so, Warner said, ``Political reconciliation has not taken place. The Maliki government has let down U.S. forces and his own forces. I say to myself, what will it take to get his attention?"

By Jim Tankersley

Illinois' congressional delegation wasted few opportunities this summer to pummel BP for its plans to increase dumping from its Indiana oil refinery into Lake Michigan – and when BP announced today it was reversing those plans, the lawmakers wasted little time celebrating.

In a joint press release this morning, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) hailed the announcement as "the news we have been waiting for – a watershed moment for Lake Michigan."

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) called it “good news; BP made the right call” in an afternoon release.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) declared the move "a victory for the residents of all the Great Lake states and for the 30 million Americans who rely on the Great Lakes for their drinking water" but warned "we must also remember that this battle is not over. We still have a process in place that allows a company to easily increase the amount of pollution that it can discharge into the Great Lakes."

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) echoed her in a release that followed minutes later. "The more than 30 million Americans who rely on the Great Lakes for their drinking water can rest easier today now that BP has stopped its plan to increase pollution in our lake," he said, adding: "we need to work to change our laws to ensure that similar situations do not occur in the future."

Expect Schakowsky, Kirk and other House members from Illinois to persist in their push for bills to make it harder for states – such as Indiana in this case – to permit increased dumping into the lake. As the Tribune noted a few weeks back, Chicago-area lawmakers from both parties see almost no downside to fighting for clean water over the interests of a big oil company.

Read on for today's full releases from the Illinois lawmakers:

by Frank James

The intelligence community's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq is mixed enough where both sides of the Iraq debate will find enough fuel for their arguments.

The report essentially tells us what we already knew, that the coalition's military surge has worked to significantly drive down violence from al Qaeda, Sunni insurgents and Shi'a significantly, but that the traction Iraqi politics and governance were supposed to gain through the efforts of the U.S. and Iraqi militaries to provide a protective shield hasn't yet happened.

That's a conclusion that we're likely to hear again when Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker deliver their Iraq progress reports in a matter of weeks. Indeed, what we got today is likely a strong foreshadowing of their hotly anticipated mid-September report.

With President Bush currently campaigning hard to buy more time with Congress and the American people for his approach to Iraq, which is to resist timetables for major troop withdrawals, the dropping of the NIE is timely and, of course, not accidental, since Bush can point to some of the findings as supporting his position.

It's a pattern the White House has settled into; the president argues for his course in Iraq and , lo and behold, it then makes available intelligence that favors its argument.

U.S. soldier during Aug. 16, 2007 Baghdad search operation. AP photo by Petr David Josek.

by Frank James

Historians and other experts may disagree with President Bush's comparisons of Iraq to Vietnam.

But by linking that long ago war in Southeast Asia with the present one in the Middle East, the president may be paving the way for a generational debate following the current war that resembles that which occurred after Vietnam, namely "Who lost Iraq?"

After Vietnam, it was common for decades to hear conservatives and military leaders blame that war's loss on civilian political officials in Washington who micromanaged the war, not allowing the military to win it, as well as liberals who caved to North Vietnamese Communists.

Liberals, on the other hand, said the Vietnam War was unwinnable for Americans since it was a fight against an insurgency and a nationalistic movement.

In any event, for years, the president has used an argument that seems to have grown out of the lesson that conservatives drew from Vietnam. He has said numerous times that his flag officers on the ground in Iraq, not politicians in Washington, would drive the decisions about troop levels and military tactics in Iraq.

by William Gibson

It’s already raining candidates in South Florida.

Five months before the Florida Primary and 15 months before the next election, the candidates are coming around to seek votes, not just campaign cash, as I note in my new political blog, Juice.

The early primary, set for Jan. 29, has produced an outpouring of appearances much like the end of the last presidential campaign, when George W. Bush, John Kerry and their running mates basically just shuttled between Ohio and Florida, the biggest states in play.

Barack Obama, running hard in second place among Democrats, plans to appear at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium Saturday afternoon to court voters. Proceeds from the event will go to the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.

2002 AP Photo/Chad Rachman

by Mark Silva

The nearly universal "name-recognition'' which Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York enjoys clearly has much to do with her early lead in the campaign for her party's presidential nomination.

Yet her leading rivals are pretty well-known, too, the pollsters at Gallup note, suggesting that there is little room for "erosion'' in her lead as Democratic primary voters get to know Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois or former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina better.

It's quite a different picture on the Republican side, Gallup suggests, with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani much better known than his potential leading rivals at this point. There is more room for Giuliani's rivals to gain ground as they become better known, the theory goes.

"The leading contenders for the Democratic nomination are people generally familiar to national Democrats,'' Gallup reports. "This suggests less room for a natural decaying of support for Clinton as the visibility of her opponents expands.

"The Republican field is characterized by two well-known candidates: Giuliani who is, and has been, the clear frontrunner, and *Sen. John) McCain whose support has faded. There are also two lesser-known candidates garnering significant levels of support, either of whom could eventually challenge Giuliani for the nomination. According to recent data, Giuliani's position is quite strong among Republicans who are less familiar to the broader field; but among those who are familiar with all four, he actually trails (former Sen. Fred) Thompson.''

For more, see the Gallup report.

by Mark Silva

While candidates for president talk about all the special-interest lobbyists funneling money into the campaigns, there's one profession taking a special interest in this year's contest:

Professors.

Marcella Bombardieri of the Boston Globe reports: "Professors and others in the education field have given more to federal candidates running in 2008 than those who work in the oil, pharmaceutical, and computer industries -- a sign of how academia has become a much bigger player in the political cash sweepstakes.

"Of the more than $7 million that academics donated in the first half of this year, more than $4.1 million went to presidential campaigns, particularly Barack Obama's, according to a study released this month by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The Illinois senator brought in almost $1.5 million, while Hillary Clinton received nearly $940,000.

"Republican Mitt Romney was in third place, with about $448,000, but overall, three-quarters of contributions went to Democrats.

"Donors from Harvard University top the list, with nearly $280,000 in contributions from individuals in the first half of the year. More than 80 percent of the donations went to Democrats, and about 40 percent to Obama, who graduated from Harvard Law School.''

For more, see the Globe's report here:

Soldiers of the 1st Cav in Vietnam move slain comrade to helicopter. AP photo/Peter Arnett.

by Michael Tackett

President Bush has attempted to drape war policy in Iraq in the lessons of World War II-era Japan and Vietnam as part of a broader argument for continuing the military campaign despite fierce opposition at home and abroad.

But his remarks to a VFW convention in Kansas City, Mo., also has invited stinging criticism from historians and military analysts who said the analogies evidenced scant understanding of those conflicts' true lessons. What is more, the speech has opened a new vein of attack from Bush's political opponents, including the man he defeated in 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) a Vietnam veteran who called the president's words "irresponsible" and "ignorant."

"This was history written by speechwriters without regard to history," said military analyst Anthony Cordesman. "And I think most military historians will find it painful ... because in basic historical terms the president misstated what happened in Vietnam."

For more, see the report in today's Tribune:

Watch an excerpt of President Bush's address below and read the entire speech.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush cited past U.S. wars, particularly Vietnam, to urge continued support for American military involvement in Iraq although critics said the president was misapplying the lessons of the U.S. long and sad conflict in Southeast Asia.

Iraqi militias have seized control of many parts of their nation's electrical grid, increasing the difficulties for the U.S. and Iraqi governments as they try to modernize the electrical infrastructure and raise the amount of electricity flowing to Iraqis.

Gen. George Casey, who President Bush removed earlier this year from direct oversight of the Iraq War, effectively making him the scapegoat, is being vindicated as the White House embraces his strategy of withdrawing some U.S. units while training Iraqis to take their places.

The Bush Administration is poised to issue a new rule that would expand the controversial practice of mountaintop mining in which the tops of mountains are blown off to expose the coal, creating vast amounts of waste in the valleys below.

by Mark Silva

For anyone who thought that the midterm congressional elections of 2006 -- with the Democratic Party winning control of both the House and Senate -- might change the course of the U.S. war policy in Iraq, the American diplomatic corps has a lesson for foreigners.

"The president sets U.S. foreign policy and it is implemented by the secretary of state,'' Robert Tuttle, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, is quoted as saying in an article distributed by the U.S. information services. "So the direction of U.S. foreign policy will be the responsibility of President Bush until he leaves the White House in January 2009.''

And the elections "would not bring a sudden change to U.S. policy on Iraq,'' he noted.

The ambassador's remarks came from a "Washington File Web'' chat following the November 2006 elections, but they were circulated again today by the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, which is undertaking an educational campaign for the people of Pakistan.

For more on the ambassador's explanation of why nothing has changed, read the release:

New Orleans photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

by Mark Silva

President Bush likes to talk about the big check that the federal government has written for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

But, as the second anniversary of the hurricane that battered and flooded New Orleans and the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi nears next week, a new study suggests that much of the check is still in the mail.

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and the Institute for Southern Studies contend that the Bush administration is misleading the public on Gulf rebuilding.

Despite a purported $116 billion in federal funding available for Gulf Coast rebuilding, the RFK Center and Institute for Southern Studies report, less then 42 percent of this has been spent to date "despite overwhelming continuing needs.''

“Gulf Coast residents have been left wondering whether the White House’s check bounced”, says study co-author Jeffrey Buchanan, of RFK Center. “Housing and community infrastructure have not recovered due to slow, insufficient, and misguided federal rebuilding efforts, leaving tens of thousands of American families displaced and unable to realize their human right to return and participate in rebuilding their communities.”

In one instance, the report says, tax breaks for rebuilding have generated $1 million in breaks to build 10 luxury condos next to the University of Alabama football stadium — four hours from the Gulf Coast.

The report released this morning contends that:

by Mark Silva

In a continuing series of efforts to explain American democracy, the U.S. embassy in Islamabad has circulated an article which may help the people of Pakistan understand the coming year in Washington. It's a lesson which Americans already are getting first-hand.

"Political Make-up of Congress Impacts President's Achievements,'' the release announces.

With an explanation of the three branches of U.S. government, the checks and balances which are supposed to operate and the biennial elections that take place, the embassy notes that "although the president sets the political agenda for the country.... Congress has an enormous influence on whether or not an administration can accomplish its goals.''

The primer from the folks at U.S. information, in Islamabad:

by Christi Parsons

Barack Obama took the oblique reference to new heights on the Daily Show last night, when host Jon Stewart asked how the young Democratic presidential candidate plans to challenge the notion that he is inexperienced.

"When people talk about experience, what they really want to know is, 'Does he have good judgment?'" Obama said.

One hopes that more experience means better judgment, he said, but "everybody knows a lot of 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds that don't have good judgment, because they keep on making the same mistakes over and over again."

Obama didn't have to say the words "Hillary Clinton" for any reasonable viewer to think, "Hmmm, Hillary's in that age range now, isn't she?"

That goes double for any viewer who knows the first line of the Obama narrative about Clinton, which is, "She voted for the Iraq war. I was against it from the start."

by Craig Gordon of Newsday

Rudy Giuliani’s campaign is out today with a new fundraising appeal, and it cuts to the chase regarding why Republicans who might not like his positions on immigration or abortion should vote for him anyway.

Two words: Hillary Clinton.

"There is only one Republican candidate who can win the Republican nomination and beat the Democrats in 2008: Rudy Giuliani," the letter signed by campaign manager Mike DuHaime reads. Contributions to Giuliani "will go a long way in helping Rudy go the distance and beat Hillary Clinton next November."

The letter says there are a variety of national and swing-state polls that show Giuliani is the only one who can beat her, including a recent Rasmussen poll that shows Giuliani leading Clinton 47 percent to 40 percent. Not surprisingly, it fails to mention a few polls from this summer where Clinton is beating Giuliani, or any of the handful of polls that show Barack Obama besting the ex-mayor.

But we nitpick. In a week when both Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson tried to rough up Giuliani by not-so-delicately hinting that he’s a gun-hating, immigration-loving New York City liberal, Giuliani’s campaign is putting what it considers its trump card on the table for all to see. Giuliani doesn’t mention either man by name but it’s a pitch we’re going to hear a lot in coming months – I’m the one, not them, who can keep Clinton out of the White House.

Rudy Giuliani signs youth's tee shirt at Iowa State Fair. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

by Rick Pearson

While former New York Mayor Rudy Giulilani is stepping up his presence in Iowa, his campaign manager says the strategy is to, at the very least, stay competitive for the Republican presidential nomination in the early caucus and primary states heading into the "Super Duper Tuesday" states on Feb. 5.

Michael DuHaime, Giuliani's national campaign manager, said the frontloading of the 2008 caucus and primary calendar with big, delegate-rich states on the first Tuesday of February means that some old-school thinking --"that if you win Iowa, New Hampshire, it's over"--no longer applies.

. "We believe that you just have to be competitive and do well in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida," DuHaime said. Then, he said, on Feb. 5 there will be nominating contests in Illinois, California, New York and other states.

"They want their chance. That's why they moved up," he said. "And they're not just going to kind of ratify the decisions of the early states. They're going to want to have their own say in it."

by Frank James

Morning news reports contained plenty speculation that President Bush was distancing himself from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki since the president announced frustration yesterday with the Iraqi government's failure to be further along.

But in today's speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars today, the president sought to squelch that speculation.

Said Bush:

Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, a good man with a difficult job, and I support him. And it's not up to politicians in Washington, D.C. to say whether he will remain in his position -- that is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy, and not a dictatorship.

That was a presidential shot at Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who on his return from Iraq earlier this week, called for Iraqis to replace Maliki who many in Washington view as ineffectual.

by Frank James

Not surprisingly, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) didn't like President Bush's speech today in which the commander-in-chief, speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, warned that quitting Iraq too soon would repeat the mistakes of leaving Vietnam, creating a refugee and genocidal crisis.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2007

Kerry Statement on Bush Speech to the VFW

BOSTON – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today made the following statement in response to the speech today by President Bush to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City, Missouri in which the President invoked comparisons to the Vietnam War to defend his war policy:

“Invoking the tragedy of Vietnam to defend the failed policy in Iraq is as irresponsible as it is ignorant of the realities of both of those wars,” Senator Kerry said. “Half of the soldiers whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after the politicians knew our strategy would not work. The lesson is to change the strategy not just to change the rhetoric.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

by Frank James

In his speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City today, President Bush summoned up the Alden Pyle CIA agent character of Graham Greene's classic Vietnam novel "The Quiet American" which is essentially a contemplation on the road to hell being paved with good intentions.

I'm not sure he really wanted to go there or why his speechwriters would take him there.

As Bush said:

In 1955, long before the United States had entered the war, Graham Greene wrote a novel called "The Quiet American." It was set in Saigon and the main character was a young government agent named Alden Pyle. He was a symbol of American purpose and patriotism and dangerous naivete. Another character describes Alden this way: "I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused."

After America entered the Vietnam War, Graham Greene -- the Graham Greene argument gathered some steam. Matter of fact, many argued that if we pulled out, there would be no consequences for the Vietnamese people. In 1972, one anti-war senator put it this way: "What earthly difference does it make to nomadic tribes or uneducated subsistence farmers in Vietnam or Cambodia or Laos whether they have a military dictator, a royal prince or a socialist commissar in some distant capital that they've never seen and may never heard of?"

Bush seemed to be seizing on Greene's idea of U.S. naivete on entering the war and trying to turn it around and apply it to those now calling for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

But Greene wrote his book about the way America bumbled into Vietnam, not how it left it.

By reminding people of Greene's book, Bush was inviting listeners to recall the mistakes his administration made in entering and prosecuting the Iraq War. Did he really want to do that?

by Frank James

Anti-Iraq War groups have been attempting to pressure Republican lawmakers seen as vulnerable politically, lawmakers who have also questioned progress to date in Iraq, in order to win more votes in Congress for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq sooner rather than later.

But a new conservative group called Freedom's Watch is attempting a counterstrike, launching ads today to pressure those same lawmakers to stick with President Bush who refuses to accept a timetable for withdrawal. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer is a strategist for the organization.

According to a story in today's Washington Post:

And now the Democrats, along with wavering Republicans, will face an advertising blitz from Bush supporters determined to remain on offense. A new pressure group, Freedom's Watch, will unveil a month-long, $15 million television, radio and grass-roots campaign Wednesday designed to shore up support for Bush's policies before the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus, lays out a White House assessment of the war's progress.

Sen. Hillary Clinton after speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention on Monday, Aug. 20, 2007. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel.

by Mark Silva

Karl Rove, who knows something about winning a presidential election, has suggested that Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is a “fatally flawed’’ candidate.

No one, Rove asserts, has ever had such high unfavorable ratings. Yet, the analysts at the Gallup Poll say, while the negative ratings that Clinton draws in opinion polls are “high, and unusually so for a candidate this far ahead of the election,’’ a look at history suggests that her ratings “do not necessarily spell defeat.’’

“Clinton's current unfavorable ratings are in reality not much different from what other past candidates have had in the year they won the election,’’ Gallup's Frank Newport and colleagues report today. “Second, her image has been more negative than positive several other times during the past 15 years, but often has recovered and could do so again.

And, finally, “despite Clinton's high unfavorables, she remains competitive with the Republican candidates in Gallup's presidential test elections.’’

Sen. Joe Biden, unidentified U.S. official, Sen. Chuck Hagel and Sen. Richard Lugar in Iraq, 2004. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

by Christi Parsons

Nothing suggests authority on Iraq war policy like the anecdote that begins, "When I was in Anbar province the other day . . . "

That's why so many members of Congress are traveling to the war zone this summer, in anticipation of a stepped-up debate set to begin in September.

But when the leading presidential candidates talk about what's going on in Iraq, very few are speaking from recent eyes-on experience.

In fact, the passport stamps break down pretty much like this: the veteran members of the Senate have been several times. The newcomers have been less often.

And those candidates who aren't sitting members of Congress are having a hard time getting to Iraq at all, because the right of travel accrues mainly to those with the ability to go as part of a congressional delegation.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has been to Iraq six times, says his travel has been important to "inform my opinions with facts."

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), a seven-time visitor since 2002, has said the trips showed problems that he wasn't hearing about in military reports.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has been to Iraq three times, most recently in January.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been once.

Aides to John Edwards, a former member of the Senate, and Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, say they'd like to go but that they've had a hard time setting it up.

They may yet pull it off, of course, and others may visit Iraq between now and September. Citing security concerns, most of the campaigns declined to discuss pending travel plans.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

President Bush publicly expressed his frustration with the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for its inability to achieve political reconciliation among its ethnic factions but stopped short of withdrawing support as anticipation grows for the mid-September progress report from U.S. officials in Iraq.

Fourteen U.S. soldiers in Iraq were killed when a Blackhawk helicopter crashed apparently from a mechanical problem and not hostile action, according to the U.S. military.

A White House manual on how to deal with protesters that has come to light because of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit tells staffers that the priority is to keep dissenters from President Bush's view.

Rep. Melissa Bean. Photo for the Chicago Tribune by Stephanie Kuykendal

by Jim Tankersley

Democrats snagged control of the House last year by winning behind enemy lines. The new majority counts more than 60 Democrats from congressional districts that President Bush carried in 2000 and 2004 - compared to less than a dozen Republicans from districts that went Democratic in both those presidential elections.

Democrats' efforts to hold House power next year - and Republicans' hopes to win it back - hinge on those GOP-leaning districts, particularly the ones held by freshmen, the most vulnerable and most highly targeted incumbents.

In hopes of avoiding one-term-wonder status, many of those Democratic newbies have turned to a sophomore colleague from a red-tinged district with experience surviving Republicans' electoral bulls-eye: Rep. Melissa Bean of Illinois.

In today's Tribune I detail Bean's formula for successfully holding her hotly contested district in 2006, how freshman Democrats are looking to copy it and why national Republicans say Bean and her proteges are ripe for defeat next year.

Expect to read a lot more about Bean's race in the year to come: It was a $12 million affair last time around, and all signs suggest it could get pricey again.

by Mark Silva

President Bush, who will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City today, will attempt to draw parallels between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wars in Korea and Vietnam.

"There are many differences between the wars we fought in the Far East and the war on terror we are fighting today,'' the president will say, in remarks prepared for delivery today. "But one important similarity is that at their core, they are all ideological struggles. The militarists of Japan and the Communists in Korea and Vietnam were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of humanity. They killed Americans because we stood in the way of their attempt to force this ideology on others.''

And the American withdrawal from Vietnam had consequences which Bush warns will recur with any precipitous withdrawal from Iraq.

"Three decades later, there is a legitimate debate about how we got into the Vietnam War and how we left,'' Bush plans to say today. "Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like “boat people,” “re-education camps,” and “killing fields.”

The president will again attempt to portray the Iraq war in a broader historical context when he addresses the American Legion next week in Reno.

Ed Gillespie, counselor to the president, says: "In a few weeks Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will deliver their assessments of military and political progress in Iraq, and appropriately much debate and discussion will follow. The president will provide broader context for this long-term debate in two speeches beginning (today) at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City and continuing on August 28 at the American Legion convention in Reno, Nevada.''

Today, he says, the president will talk "about the challenges we face in Iraq against the historic background of our successes in Asia. He will describe how America's presence and perseverance in Asia led to a freer, more stable, and more prosperous continent, transforming American enemies into American allies and making the world safer for our citizens.''

Next week, he says, Bush will follow up by attempting to "put Iraq in the regional context of the Middle East, and discuss why the only realistic path to a more secure America is defeating the extremists in Iraq and allowing a free and stable government to take root.''

For a sampler of what Bush plans to say in Kansas City today, read on:

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, August 22, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

President Bush is speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City.

9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. DRUNKEN DRIVING — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration holds a summit to discuss the role of ignition interlocks in reducing drunk driving fatalities.
Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St. NW.

by James Oliphant

A study released today by Vanderbilt University and funded by the Department of Justice reveals in stark numbers how much progress conservatives have made in reducing the number of successful habeas appeals.

Habeas corpus petitions allow a prisoner to challenge a state court conviction on constitutional grounds. According to the report, federal courts now grant habeas relief to state prisoners in one of every 300 non-capital cases.

Prior to the rewrite a decade ago of the federal statute that allows habeas claims, that number was closer to one in 100. And, the report says, one in every five claims is being tossed because prisoners missed a filing deadline.

by Frank James

Sometimes you see a poll result that doesn't make sense and gets you questioning the entire poll.

Such is the case with the poll released yesterday by Foreign Policy Magazine and the Center for American Progress of foreign-poliy experts on U.S. progress or lack thereof in the war on terror.

The main result of the poll was that the finding that the vast majority of the surveyed experts, 91 percent, thought that the world had become more dangerous.

That seemed high but it wasn't the result that made me do a doubletake. The result that really called for a high degree of skepticism was this--that more conservative experts desired an immediate U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq than the moderate or liberal experts polled.

That's a stunner. That would only make sense if they were all Ron Paul libertarians.

Anyway, there was this paragraph in the press release announcing the result:

A bipartisan majority (68 percent) now say that the United States should redeploy troops from Iraq in the next 18 months, though most oppose an immediate withdrawal. Surprisingly, more conservatives (25 percent) called for an immediate pullout than liberals or moderates.

Indeed, that would be a surprise if conservatives wanted the U.S. to head for the exit in Iraq more than liberals and moderates. It just doesn't compute given what we know about the partisan divide over the Iraq War.

A recent Gallup Poll done earlier this month illustrates the point. Gallup breaks down the respondents by party whereas Foreign Policy Magazine uses ideology but party is a fairly good proxy for ideology.

According to the Gallup poll, 76 percent of Republicans said it wasn't a mistake to invade Iraq compared with 81 percent of Democrats who said it was.

Meanwhile, Gallup reported that 60 percent of Republicans said the surge was working compared with seven percent of Democrats.

by Frank James

The nation may be having difficulty figuring out how to extricate itself from the Iraq War which Paul Wolfowitz, the one-time Deputy Defense Secretary, played a role in helping get the nation into.

But the Pentagon had a far easier time ditching another Wolfowitz legacy, the controversial terrorism threat database with the aptly fierce name: TALON.

The Pentagon said today it was declawing TALON, basically pulling the plug on the database of threats against U.S. military servicemembers and civilian workers at the agency as well as defense facilities because it had outlived its usefulness.

The database drew protests because the Pentagon was collecting data on regular run-of-the-mill protesters and organizations, similar to what the federal government did during the Vietnam War era.

In a move rare in Washington where turf is usually zealously defended, the Defense Department said that while it works on a better system, all reports will go to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Guardian system.

That says a lot since if there were decent information coming through TALON, there's no way the Defense Department would allow the FBI to essentially take control of it.

Here's the Pentagon's bare bones press release:

DoD to Implement Interim Threat Reporting Procedures

DoD’s Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) will close the TALON Reporting System effective Sept. 17, 2007, and maintain a record copy of the collected data in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements.

To ensure there is a mechanism in place to document and assess potential threats to DoD resources, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs will propose a system to streamline such threat reporting and better meet the Defense department’s needs.

In the interim, until this new reporting program is adopted, DoD components will send information concerning force protection threats to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Guardian reporting system.

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, Aug. 21, 2007. Photo: Dick Whipple/Bloomberg News.

by John McCormick

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--Two men with White House aspirations offered starkly different assessments of the war in Iraq today before a national convention of military veterans.

"Some people in this country apparently think that if we can pull out of Iraq, our problems are going to be over," said former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his Republican presidential bid early next month.

"You and I know better than that," he continued. "We know that Iraq is an important front in this war. But we also know that if we appear to be divided and weak in this nation, that it is going to ennoble an enemy."

Thompson's appearance addressing several thousand members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars came before one by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who renewed his call for the removal of American military forces from Iraq.

"No matter how brilliantly and bravely our troops and their commanders perform ... they cannot and should not bear the responsibility of resolving grievances at the heart of Iraq's civil war," Obama said to tepid applause. "No military surge, no matter how brilliantly performed, can succeed without political reconciliation and a surge of diplomacy in Iraq and the region."

Later, the Illinois Democrat told reporters the military surge backed by the White House cannot work without successful negotiations on the part of Iraq's feuding factions.

"What I have been clear about, even before the surge started, was that if we put [an] additional 20,000 or 30,000 American troops in Baghdad, then it's going to have an impact, because they are doing an outstanding job in carrying out their military operations," he said. "The question has always been: what then? Do we actually have a mechanism to trigger the kind of negotiations ... that can stabilize the country over the long-term? And on that front, we have seen complete failure."

by Christi Parsons

Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of the only Iraq veteran in Congress today, when Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Penn.) put his weight behind the Illinois Democrat in the race for the White House.

A captain in the 82nd Airborne Division, Murphy thinks it’s time to bring American troops home from Iraq – and he said in an interview that he thinks Obama is best equipped to make it happen.

“He’s absolutely our best chance to change the direction of our country,” Murphy said. “He believes, like I do, that we need to fight a smarter, tougher war on terror.”

The endorsement comes on the same day that Obama courts veterans at the VFW national convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

by David Lightman

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said today he would use all the tools available to him to ease the current market volatility and credit crunch--a possible signal that the Fed has not ruled out an interest rate cut and was willing to take more aggressive regulatory action against rogue lenders if necessary.

Bernanke offered that message to a satisfied Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, as Bernanke, Dodd and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. met for about 40 minutes in Dodd's Capitol Hill office. Neither Bernanke nor Paulson spoke to reporters afterward.

by Frank James

The only thing lamer in Washington than lame duck President Bush, in the eyes of voters at least, is Congress, whose approval ratings are scraping along at the 18 percent level, according to Gallup's pollsters.

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll...

The problem for Democrats is that while President Bush is probably down to his Republican Party base in terms of support, as demonstrated by the latest polls that have him around 29 percent, that base is hanging tough with him.

His argument that he will keep U.S. troops in Iraq as long as it takes to "win" there and to win the larger war on terror doesn't hurt him with that base. Indeed, it solidifies his support with many of his core voters.

But every day that goes by without Democrats forcing an appreciable change in the U.S. commitment to Iraq angers and disappoints the Democratic base, which is why the Democratic-controlled Congress polls even lower than the very unpopular Bush.

by Christi Parsons

Barack Obama says he doesn't approve of activist Elvira Arellano's defiance of U.S. immigration law, but he argues that her situation illustrates the problems of the current system and calls for immediate legal reform.

Obama met late last year in his Senate office to talk about immigration reform with Arellano, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who took refuge in a Humboldt Park church for a year to avoid deportation.

Since her deportation over the weekend, Arellano has been in Tijuana trying to figure out whether her son -- who has lived most of his life in Chicago -- will stay with her in Mexico or return to Illinois.

"I’ve met with Elvira Arellano and her son, and I understand the challenges that they and millions of other undocumented immigrants face," Obama says in a new written statement about the activist.

"Although I do not condone Ms. Arellano’s defiance of the law, her plight is representative of a broken immigration system," he said. "We need comprehensive immigration reform that creates a system that is fair, consistent, compassionate, and emphasizes both maintaining the rule of law and the security of our borders while working to keep families
together."

by Mark Silva

In Pakistan, where an Army general serves as president and swears that he will forfeit his office to elections, the U.S. embassy is attempting to explain American democracy.

"Under this electoral system, it is possible to win the presidency without winning the popular vote,'' a release from the American embassy in Islamabad today notes of the Electoral College in the United States. "This happened most recently in 2000.''

And in a nation where press freedom is only a recent phenomenon which has not fully matured, another educational embassy release today notes: "It would be hard to overestimate the importance of mass media in the U.S. electoral process.''

In a series of releases, the good people of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Islamabad have even attempted to explain the arcane Iowa caucuses, barely understood here in the U.S. of A.

And the libertarian point of view is well-represented in the release: "Jacob Overman, supporter of libertarian Republican candidate Representative Ron Paul (Texas), told USINFO he likes to hear the candidates: “I love the fact that we have freedom of speech here. And bringing people together around central issues and what needs to be done.''

For a look at the way the rest of the world is looking at our elections, or at least a view through the lens of the U.S. information agency in Pakistan, here's a sampler of the releases out of the embassy in Islamabad today:

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Hurricane Dean strengthened to a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

The Bush Administration has adopted rules to make it harder for states to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program to children in middle-income families.

Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee just back from Iraq, called for Iraqis to select a new leader, saying Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is unable to bring the political changes the U.S. military surge, which the lawmaker acknowledged had shown some success, was meant to encourage.

by Mark Silva

The hemispheric summit of President Bush, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper may be coming up short on specifics, but leaders say they have found clear accord on their commitment to fighting drugs and enhancing security.

Calderon's own trip to Canada could be cut short by the onslaught of Hurricane Dean, but the Mexican leader will leave the log-cabin lodge of the Montebello resort where the three are meeting with a resolve to press a war against drug-smuggling, the White House says.

"The conversation really does go to how do we, the United States and Mexico, build a common strategy to address a common problem -- recognizing that we have -- we feel the effects of the illegal drug trade in certain ways; in fact, some of those ways are similar in terms of the drug violence that has occurred in both American and Mexican communities,'' said Dan Fisk, senior director for Western Hemispheric Affairs at the National Security Council.

"The two leaders did not get into the details or get into the widgets, as I put it, but clearly reaffirmed their commitment that we do have a shared responsibility,'' Fisk said last night. "We have to recognize that each country is going to have a unique contribution and role to play. We understand that the Mexicans are developing their own strategy. There are things we need to be doing on our side that are good for our country, but they also will be good for Mexico.

"And so it's a matter of how to move that process forward,'' Fisk told reporters assembled in Canada. "And I think the important point out of today's conversation is the reaffirmation of that... So what comes out of today's meeting in a lot of ways, is that this is going to give more momentum to this process and these set of discussions.''

For more on the Canada talks, see the White House's briefing:

by Jim Tankersley

Newcomers learn quickly that Washington is a town run by twenty-somethings. So, for that matter, is much of the presidential campaign.

Top strategists may be graybeards – or at least prematurely gray – but grassroots organizers, event coordinators and other nuts-and-bolts campaign workers are often well shy of their 10-year high school reunions.

Examples abound in every campaign team, but for now, consider one of them: Democratic hopeful Barack Obama’s newest and youngest Chicago spokesman, Ben LaBolt. He turns 26 today – and he’s already worked on as many federal campaigns as his boss, the junior senator from Illinois, has run.

LaBolt, a LaGrange, Ill., native and Middlebury College grad, toiled for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential team in New Hampshire and for Sherrod Brown’s winning U.S. Senate run in Ohio last year; in between, he was an aide to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). He worked for Obama’s Senate office before joining the campaign earlier this month.

If you’re scoring at home, that makes LaBolt 1-1 in federal campaigns, the same record as Obama, who lost a primary challenge to Rep. Bobby Rush in 2000 before winning his Senate seat in 2004.

LaBolt in a partying mood with another twenty-something Capitol Hill vet - Sandra Abrevaya, a spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Photo courtesy Clare Gannon.

By Christi Parsons

Life's not easy for Joe Biden of Delaware, the veteran senator trailing two newbie colleagues in the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

The latest correspondence from Biden's camp asks people to help him raise $200,000 by the end of the month to keep his new television ads on the air in Iowa. That's roughly what Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) rack up before lunchtime on a good fundraising day.

But at least Biden's getting his props as a writer, breaking into the New York Times best-seller list over the weekend with his new book, "Promises to Keep." And for those in the contributing mood, his recent email includes a helpful Amazon link to "Order Your Book Today!"

By Jim Tankersley

Is Israel being hypocritical by turning away Darfur refugees who cross into the country from Syria? That appears to be the implication from the House Democratic Caucus Chairman, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), who tells the Israeli ambassador in a letter today "if any country should understand the special needs of those affected by the genocide in Darfur, it should be Israel."

Emanuel's letter -- detailed in a rare August-recess press release from his normally prolific House office -- came in response to reports of Israeli officials deporting a batch of Sudanese refugees fleeing the Darfur genocide this weekend.

"Since its founding, Israel has been committed to finding homes for those who suffer at the hands of war and despair," Emanuel wrote, adding later, "In 1948, the Jewish Diaspora finally had a place to call home. I hope that the state of Israel will reconsider its decision to turn away those refugees who must flee Darfur to avoid death and persecution so that the Sudanese people can find asylum in a state that was founded to be a home and a place of hope for those who had suffered similarly."

Read on for the full letter.

Vice President Cheney quail hunting in 2002. AP Photo/David Bohrer, White House

by Frank James

I'm not among those who see the invisible hand of Vice President Cheney behind everything that happens at the White House.

But I have to admit, as soon as I learned about this executive order President Bush recently signed, ordering federal agencies to enhance hunting opportunities on federally managed lands, my suspicions did run in the direction of one of our nation's most famous hunters.

Here part of the executive order:

Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this order is to direct Federal agencies that have programs and activities that have a measurable effect on public land management, outdoor recreation, and wildlife management, including the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management of game species and their habitat.

Sec. 2. Federal Activities. Federal agencies shall, consistent with agency missions:

(a) Evaluate the effect of agency actions on trends in hunting participation and, where appropriate to address declining trends, implement actions that expand and enhance hunting opportunities for the public;

(b) Consider the economic and recreational values of hunting in agency actions, as appropriate;

by Mark Silva

Another sobering anniversary in modern-day American life is rolling around: Sept. 11.

And, with another deadline approaching for the Bush administration to report on the progress of the “surge’’ of U.S. military forces in Iraq, the White House says its commanders on the ground may be making appearances on Capitol Hill the same day, Sept. 11.

For the Bush administration, the argument that fighting terrorism “there’’ is essential to avoid having to fight it again “here’’ is central to its argument for the war. The U.S. is fighting the same terrorist organization in Iraq, al Qaeda, which attacked the U.S. on 9/11, Bush says – though the leaders of the al Qaeda which attacked the U.S. are said to have found “safe haven’’ in the unruly border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

With a Sept. 15 deadline approaching for the next progress report on the war, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador, will be returning to testify to Congress as well.

“Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will testify in open hearings on the Hill,’’ White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said today. ''Administration officials are reaching out to Hill leadership today to discuss with them the potential dates for that testimony. Given the tight schedule leading up to Sept. 15th and the congressional recess with Rosh Hashanah coming up, the likely dates for testimony are Sept. 11th and 12th.’’

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, comes Sept. 13, which makes the first two days of that week opportune for public testimony before members depart for any holiday.

So the Sept. 11 testimony date is dictated by the tight schedule, Johndroe was asked aboard Air Force one en route to Canada today for a hemispheric summit, and not because of the sixth anniversary of the terrorist assaults?

“That’s right,’’ the spokesman said. “As of right now, based on the last we checked, Congress is not in session because of the Rosh Hashanah holiday very much the week leading up to that Saturday, September 15th.’’

by Frank James

As Sen. Barack Obama competes to be commander-in-chief, he might want to get a quick tutorial on military nomenclature.

At the Iowa State Fair last week, he asked two soldiers in battle dress uniforms, or BDUs, who waited to greet him what their "squad" was. "What squad are you guys with?" was his exact question.

The soldiers were respectful and answered the question Obama was trying to ask. You hear one of the soldier's say "We're with the 103rd out of Ft. Des Moines."

What Obama should've asked the soldiers for was their "unit," not squad. A squad is among the smallest groupings in the U.S. Army, usually made up around 10 soldiers. Obama's question was essentially like asking someone for the street number of his house but not the street or city it was in. It's a nonsensical question.

Some might say this is a case of media nitpicking. Perhaps. But it's the kind of detail that matters to a lot of people. Like those Veterans of Foreign Wars he's due to speak to on Tuesday in Kansas City.

If he wants to persuade voters that he's ready to step into the Oval Office and command the U.S. military, especially those in the military or who have an interest in it, Obama would be well advised not to ask about squads when he really asking about the larger unit to which a soldier is assigned.

He might want to take a look at a document like the Army's pamphlet 10-1, Organization of the U.S. Army. Page 53 has a very useful chart.

Another tip gratuitously provided: Never refer to M-16 rifles or M4 carbines as "guns" in the presence of soldiers.

by David Lightman

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, will take time out from his presidential campaign Tuesday to head back to Washington for a meeting with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The session, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Dodd's Capitol Hill office, comes as markets nervously react to the recent credit crunch. The volatility was triggered by problems in the subprime mortgage market. Dodd has long thought the Fed could take some steps to improve its oversight of lenders and that Treasury could ease some regulatory requirements.

Dodd promised no fireworks Tuesday--but told CNBC this afternoon that in the past "I've been very disappointed" with the Fed's reaction to subprime lending problems. He said that recently, "things are improving here," but in the past the Fed "did not do its job, in my view, under existing authority of law to prohibit this kind of activity from occurring in the first place."

by David Lightman

Here's the top of my story in today's Hartford Courant on questions about how effective lobbying reform will be.

Congress may have passed a sweeping series of reforms aimed at cutting the influence of Washington lobbyists, but citizen watchdog groups see an enormous hole.

Their analysis of the legislation, which awaits the president's signature? Good idea, no teeth.

"It's a huge problem," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said of the lack of tough enforcement mechanisms.

"We're not saying members of Congress need to be treated like elementary school students, but you do need somebody looking over their shoulder," added Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for Common Cause.

The White House has expressed its own reservations. The bill would require more disclosure of earmarks - often seen as favors to lobbyists and special interests - but spokesman Tony Snow thought the bill was too vague about how the earmarks should be disclosed.

Other than that, there is general agreement in the administration and Congress that the legislation is worthwhile, but widespread skepticism remains about whether it will change what Democrats call Washington's "culture of corruption..."

by Frank James

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is scheduled to deliver a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City right about now.

Of all the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates scheduled to speak to the veterans this week, McCain is likely the one who will get the warmest reception since he's the only one who shares the attendees' experience of war.

As one might expect, McCain is sticking to his message of recent months--that the Iraq strategy is under new management and is working and should be given more time; that it would be a mistake of enormous strategic consequence to leave Iraq too soon, that Americans who are state side, need to prove worthy of the sacrifice being made by the men and women fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here's a copy of a press release with his speech issued by his office:

ARLINGTON, VA - U.S. Senator John McCain will deliver remarks to the 108th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars today, Monday, August 20th at 11:00 a.m. CDT. Below are McCain's remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you very much for that warm welcome, and for inviting me to address you. This is not the first time I have had the honor of speaking at your convention. I'm always grateful for the opportunity, and pleased to be in the company of Americans who have had the burden of serving our country in distant lands, and the honor of having proved your patriotism in difficult circumstances.

I was blessed to have been born into a family who made their living at sea in defense of our security and ideals. My grandfather was a naval aviator; my father a submariner. Their respect for me was one of the great ambitions of my life. And so it was nearly pre-ordained that I would find a place in my family's profession, and that occupation would one day take me to war.

Such was not the case for many of you. Your ambitions might not have led you to war; the honors you sought were not kept hidden on battlefields. Many of you were citizen-soldiers. You answered the call when it came; took up arms for your country's sake; and fought to the limit of your ability because you believed America's security was as much your responsibility as it was the professional soldier's. And when you came home, you built a better a country than the one you inherited.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or most interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Hurricane Dean plowed into the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica as a category 4 storm causing widespread damage as it appeared headed towards Mexico and perhaps Texas later in the week.

President Bush's push for democracy across the world, especially in the Middle East, has stalled, slowed in part by the Washington bureaucracy he controls since many in his own administration never accepted the idea.

Democrats and Republicans are vying now to shape voters' images of the Democratic-controlled Congress, aware that they have little time to do so before most voters' attention goes to the presidential race.

Karl Rove, In a series of television appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows, disclaimed any responsibility for any of the White House controversies he often gets blamed for, including the leak of a CIA operative's name.

As the Globe tells it, when Romney won the Iowa Straw Poll (shown here celebrating with family members), he said he was "pleased as punch.'' Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images.

by Mark Silva

In the campaign of Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for president, some people may have overlooked the "golly-gee'' factor -- the way the former governor likes to express himself.

But this has not gone unnoticed at the Boston Globe, where Lisa Wangsness has stopped and counted the ways in which Romney has expressed himself.

"This is so much fun,'' Romney says of his campaign.

Some aren't buying the "Happy Days'' Romney. "He's the son of a governor who went to Harvard Law and Business School, who ran a leveraged buyout firm -- who talks like Jimmy Stewart,'' says Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist in California.

For more, read the account from the Globe:

by Mark Silva

When Hillary Clinton takes the stage in Kansas City today, her explanation about her stance on the war in Iraq -- and her formula for ending it -- will be closely watched.

She will face the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

And the VFW leader says they don't want to hear about mistakes made in the past. They want to hear "who is best prepared to lead our nation forward.''

The Democratic senator from New York is one of four candidates for president who will address the veterans at their convention in Kansas City. So will President Bush later this week.

On the stage today: Clinton and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

On Tuesday: Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Republican former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who has not formally declared his candidacy yet.

by John McCormick

Previewing a speech he is expected to give Tuesday, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama told military veterans on a conference call Sunday evening that they are an essential constituency if he is to win his party's nomination.

"I think we are going to win this campaign and veterans are going to be a key part of this winning," the Illinois Democrat said, while traveling through New Hampshire.

The Tuesday speech is before the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City. It will follow one given earlier in the day by former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his Republican presidential campaign after Labor Day.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. John McCain of Arizona are expected to speak to the group Monday.

During the conference call, Obama said he would continue to call for a refocusing of the nation's military efforts away from Iraq and toward terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"I'm going to lay out my agenda for winning the war on terror, making sure the military continues to be the strongest fighting force in the world and making sure we honor the sacred trust that we have to care for veterans and their families," he said.

by Mark Silva

"I don't wear tights," says Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who, in the midst of many congressional investigations, has landed a role in a Batman movie.

Leahy perforrmed this summer in a scene for "The Dark Knight,'' which is to be released next summer.

Batman is played by Christian Bale, The Joker by Heath Ledger.

Leahy says he plays a "distinguished gentleman."

"It's a pretty tense scene," Leahy says., "It's going to be a very interesting one."

The senator plans to donate his silver-screen earnings to the Kellogg-Hubbard children's library in Montpelier, which gave him his first library card.

Christian Bale is Batman. Warner Bros. photo. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Bush and political adviser Karl Rove, at the South Lawn announcement of Rove's resignation on Monday. AP photo.

by Mark Silva

As Karl Rove withdraws from the political front, the “architect’’ of President Bush’s two election campaigns allows that Republicans face a “tough’’ contest in 2008.

“We’re in an unpopular war,’’ Rove said this morning on NBC’s Meet the Press. “It’s going to be a tough, contentious election year… We have a contentious war, and look, it’s just difficult. That’s what America is about…. It’s just tough (for any party to hold the White House three terms)… It’s just naturally tough. There is just something about change.’’

Rove, who will step down as deputy chief of staff for the president at the end of the month, made the rounds of some Sunday morning news talk shows on a morning that the Washington Post reported about the political machinery that Rove had built.

This included “asset deployment teams,’’ a coordinated campaign deploying Cabinet secretaries with announcements about the delivery of federal grants in the prime media markets of critical election states – targeted to support both Republican congressional candidates and the president’s reelection campaign in 2004.

The report does not suggest that decisions about federal grants were influenced by the political machinery, but rather that agency heads were assigned to gain greater public notice of grants in key election states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Clinton and Obama earlier this year. AP Photo by Evan Vucci

by Mark Silva

Here’s one way of looking at the contest for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Is handling the war in Iraq the biggest question? Is immigration the issue? Is health care for the uninsured the problem?

“Let’s start with the two questions that are really dominating this race,’’ said ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, at the start of a Democratic debate in Iowa this morning. The questions: Is Barack Obama experienced enough, ready to be president? And can Hillary Clinton, because of her experience, bring the country together?

Clinton cleanly dodged the question about Obama:

“I’m running on my own qualifications and experience. It really is up to voters to make these decisions,’’ Clinton said on stage at Drake University in Des Moines, in a debate of the eight Democratic candidates broadcast nationally by ABC’s This Week. -- a debate which Obama suggested he had trained for on the bumper cars at the state fair.

But Clinton has claimed that Obama’s statements about negotiating with the nation’s foreign adversaries are “naïve,’’ she was reminded.

“We had a specific disagreement,’’ Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) said. “I do not think a president should give away the bargaining chip of a personal meeting with any leader unless you know what you’re going to get out of that…. I think that when you’ve got that big an agenda facing you,’’ she said, “you should not telegraph to your adversaries that you’re willing to meet with them during your first year in office.’’

by John McCormick

At least one special interest group has already voiced disappointment with Sen. Barack Obama's decision to skip most future presidential forums.

"The League of Conservation Voters and the California League of Conservation Voters have already invited all of the candidates to a forum on energy and global warming in California later this fall," the LCV said in a news release. "We would be greatly disappointed if Senator Obama were to decline this important invitation."

On Saturday, Obama's campaign said he would skip most future forums because they are taking too much time away from direct contact with voters. Here is the link to Saturday's Swamp post on the topic, as well as a story in Sunday's Tribune.

Part two in a continuing series: Karl Rove has good taste. AP photo.

by Mark Silva

As President Bush headed out from his Prairie Chapel Ranch yesterday for a gathering down the road at the Broken Spoke Ranch -- a "thank you'' assembly for 308 supporters -- the president's soon-retiring chief poltiical adviser headed down, too.

The yearly event is staged for major party contributors. The president, first lady Laura Bush and others in the Bush party stayed for two hours.

A Dallas caterer laid out bacon-wrapped tenderloin, bacon-wrapped chicken and an array of barbecue: Sausage, brisket, ribs, turkey. On the side: Blue cheese mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, okra and tomato, green beans, cream-style corn. Fruit cobbler and Blue Bell ice cream for dessert -- all served up in an air-conditioned tent with a carpeted plywood floor.

A few protesters holding anti-war signs stood outside the Broken Spoke.

As "pool'' reporters watching the president's vacation days held nearby, Karl Rove, the deputy chief of staff and "architect'' of the president's campaigns calling it quits at month's end, rolled up in his car with the window down blasting "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.

We can only imagine what Rove was humming to himself: "I see a blue state and I want it painted red....''

Obama campaign says plethora of candidate forums getting in the way of campaigning. Photo Agence France Presse

by John McCormick

The campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said today that he would skip the majority of future presidential candidate forums because they are getting in the way of meeting with voters.

"Unfortunately, we simply cannot run the kind of campaign we want and need to, engaging with voters in the early states and Feb. 5 states, if our schedule is dictated by dozens of forums and debates," campaign manager David Plouffe said on the campaign's Web site. "Ultimately, the one group left out of the current schedule is the voters and they are the ones who ask the toughest questions and most deserve to have those questions answered face to face."

The announcement came on the eve of a candidate debate in Des Moines, an event Obama is still expected to attend. His campaign said he would continue to participate in debates sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, but would bypass most of the forums that are sponsored by various groups.

On Tuesday, for example, he is schedule to appear before the national VFW convention in Kansas City. That event remains on his calendar.

Plouffe said that beginning next week, Obama will not accept invitations from the wide variety of organizations and groups that are planning to hold forums that focus on their particular interest.

Chris Dodd, campaigning county by county. Photo by Dodd campaign

by David Lightman

Chris Dodd won a straw poll.

But a lot of people are unimpressed.

Dodd won the Plymouth County, Iowa, poll Thursday night with 22 percent of the vote. Next were New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards, each with 21 percent.

Dodd's office Friday touted his victory as a great win, with spokeswoman Taylor West boasting how "we are proud of the grass-roots campaign we are building in every part of Iowa."

But the state party was not pleased. It discourages such polls, and spokeswoman Carrie Giddins called such polls "obscure events."