INSIDER INSIGHT: Best of political blogs
The Associated Press' overnight Washington editors scour the
political blogs for interesting opinions,
analysis and information. Their morning reports consist
of the original headlines and text from the blogs. Click below for today's
edition, compiled by Jerry Estill.
PRESIDENTIAL 2000
McCain Reaches Rock Bottom? Posted by Patrick Ruffini. They are considering taking public
money. Friends, this campaign is officially over. There is no way we are going
to nominate someone who has to take public funding to take on Hillary Clinton or
Barack Obama ($90M COH between them). And on the spending... wha? Didn't they
bring in Phil Gramm to tighten the reins after spending $8 million? It's
true -- they had $2-3 million in debt after last quarter, so you could argue
they spent evenly over both quarters, but the number is just eye-popping --
twice what I expected. Senator McCain's quip about drunken sailors comes to
mind. Senator McCain is (was?) a lousy candidate but he had a terrific staff,
many of whom I worked with at Bush-Cheney and the RNC and have the highest
respect for. It's for that reason alone that I won't join the dancing on the
grave. But wow, just wow.
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/68397c2c-9db9-4ffd-9157-4d026b56ce6b
The McCain campaign death
watch. Low
on cash. Bleeding
staff. Swirling
rumors of an imminent end. Shamnesty
was the final nail in the coffin. So, what will the exact expiration date of the
McCain ‘08 campaign be? Place your bets.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/07/02/the-mccain-campaign-death-watch/
Romney: More Local TV Ads Than All Other
Candidates Combined. The good news
for Mitt Romney: Unlike, say, six months ago, no one is doubting or debating
whether the former
Massachusetts
governor is a top-tier candidate in the GOP primary. I've heard from a McCain rival asserting today that there is now a Big Three on the right, and McCain isn't one of them. The bad news for Romney is that his recent climb in the polls has coincided with him having the airwaves pretty much to himself: Romney placed more local TV advertisements than all other candidates combined, with 4,549 ads, mostly on local broadcast television, through June 10 according to The Nielsen Company.
http://hillaryspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MWMyNWNkNTViMWI0MGQ1YzYxNDcyMGYxM2ZiMGYyNmE=
Do Fundraising Numbers Suggest
Lack of Enthusiasm for Hillary? As I
read more information about the fundraising totals for the second quarter, I
find more examples to support my notion that there is a lack of enthusiasm for
Mrs. Clinton. Almost as if she is the establishment candidate. And big donors
are supporting her because it’s “her turn,” much like the previous GOP notion of
picking a presidential nominee. … It does seem there is more enthusiasm for
Obama. And it seems that rich establishment Democrats are giving the maximum to
Mrs. Clinton — or just paying for the chance to meet her more charismatic
husband.
http://gaypatriot.net/2007/07/01/do-fundraising-numbers-suggest-lack-of-enthusiasm-for-hillary
Lieberman Attacks Soros. Holy Joe (when will he be given a job at the AEI?) gives Bill O’Reilly a wet kiss with this interview in NewsMax.
But Lieberman’s most
pointed critique was aimed squarely at George Soros. Lieberman says of Soros,
“His view of
America
is so negative. The places he’s put his money are, in my opinion, so destructive that it unsettles me. … This is the danger — somebody who has real potential like Obama gets co-opted by people whose hostile view of America and how to protect it and advance it is so different from mine and the views of most Americans.”
What’s it going to take for Harry Reid to step up and do something about this guy already? He’s a major obstructionist when it comes to oversight and now Lieberman is clearly attacking Obama.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/07/02/lieberman-attacks-soros/
LIBBY
Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence. This strikes me as an excellent resolution. To my knowledge, it was first advocated by Paul's friend Bill Otis, a former federal prosecutor, in an op-ed in the Washington Post. The idea quickly gained support. I also think the President's commutation of Libby's sentence will go over well with the party's conservative base and will contribute, to some degree, to a restoration of Bush's standing with conservatives.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/018114.php
Why Bush Was Right To Spare Libby. By Timothy Noah. President Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence will likely prompt many people with politics similar to my own to cry bloody murder. It will be called a coverup. It will be called a payoff for Libby's failure to implicate Vice President Dick Cheney, and perhaps even Bush himself, more directly in the Plamegate scandal. … What Bush did was just and fair. It was the right thing to do. … Judge Reggie Walton went overboard in sentencing Libby to 30 months. This was about twice as long as the prison term recommended by the court's probation office, and if Libby hadn't been a high-ranking government official, there's a decent chance he would have gotten off with probation, a stiff fine, and likely disbarment.
http://www.slate.com/id/2169718/
Bully For Him. Tim Noah says Bush did the right thing. …
His reasoning is that Walton did give poor Scooter an excessive sentence and
that was wrong because he, Tim Noah, believes that
Clinton
committed perjury and he got away with it. … The country backed Bill Clinton because it was obvious that he was being pursued by a shrieking band of harpies over an inconsequential, sexual indiscretion, which anyone in his right mind would have lied about in that perjury trap of a deposition for that pathetic set-up lawsuit.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/bully-for-him-by-digby-tim-noah-says.html
Why the Commutation Makes Sense. Libby was convicted of perjury and
obstruction of justice - but even if you accept that these convictions were
just, what Fitzgerald did not demonstrate was that any kind of harm was done. …
What we're left with, then, is the argument that high-ranking government
officials shouldn't lie to grand juries. Fair enough. Nobody should lie to a
grand jury. But it's simple logic that there should be some relationship to the
purpose of the lie and the effect of the lie and the punishment meted out for
the lie. … For personal reasons, I will confess I wish Bush had pardoned Libby.
I think there are good legal arguments for it as well, and I speak as someone
who has read every scrap of paper related to the case. I can see, however, how
that would have been a nearly impossible call for Bush. For one thing, Patrick
Fitzgerald is currently serving as a
U.S.
attorney in his administration. … And if he fired Fitzgerald, as logic would dictate a pardon would require him to do, the storm would be unimaginable. There would be talk about impeachment - serious talk, and not so easily dismissed with a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YThlNmVjMWI5NzMzMjBjN2I4M2NmYjIzY2JlNGMzZmE=
Atrios Mad I'm going to be mad tomorrow. I'm going to
be mad tomorrow that the elite media (except Keith) won't point out that Bush's
commutation of Scooter's sentence is essentially obstruction of justice. I'll be
mad because that concept was regularly inserted into the narrative during the
Clinton
days. Mostly I'll be mad because I have yet to see a prominent Democrat put the phrase "obstruction of justice" out there in relation to this. So perhaps my anger at the media is misplaced.
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html#3398244764858374960
Splitting The Baby. Bush could have pardoned Libby, but clearly did not want to go so far in rejecting the decision of the jury. He wanted to send the message that government officials have to hew to high standards, while attempting a humane gesture for a man who has led an exemplary life of public service, at least to the point where he committed perjury and obstruction of justice. In opting for commutation, Bush has attempted a Solomonic decision to split the baby. Unfortunately, like Solomon, Bush will probably find neither side satisfied. … If Bush wanted to take any action -- and I would have advised against it -- this is as far as he should go. It allows Libby to remain free while he pursues his appeal, but it makes it clear that the White House won't undo convictions for official misconduct. It strikes a balance that few will appreciate now, but later will accept as wise, as far as it goes. If Libby has a good case for reversal, let the courts make that decision.
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010421.php
There is a conceivable argument --- a very poor one but a conceivable one --- for pardoning Scooter Libby, presumably on the argument that the entire prosecution was political and thus illegitimate. But what conceivable argument does the president have for micromanaging the sentence? To decide that the conviction is appropriate, that probation is appropriate, that a substantial fine is appropriate --- just no prison sentence. This is being treated in the press as splitting the difference, an elegant compromise. But it is the least justifiable approach. The president has decided that the sentencing guidelines and the opinion of judge don't cut it. The only basis for this decision is that Libby is the vice president's friend, the vice president rules the president and this was the minimum necessary to keep the man silent.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/014957.php
FITZMAS: NOT WITH A BANG, BUT WITH A WHIMPER. Bush spares Libby from Prison. My prediction: Bush will rise in the polls as estranged conservatives warm to him in light of lefty indignation.
http://instapundit.com/archives2/006806.php
Clinton
Gets Impeached - Libby Goes Free. Former President Bill Clinton can now feel fully vindicated. In the first paragraph of his biography for history he will be absolved of all impeachment charges, with the reality that it was all about politics, which has now been put in proper perspective. Because George W. Bush today proved that the rule of law doesn't matter if you're a Republican. It's all about the rule of politics. Rule of law for Republicans means one thing. The rule of law for Democrats means something entirely different. Now we've got the proof.
The president did not consult the Justice
department. He just walked off Air Force One and right before a holiday he
decided that the guy who did the dirty work on Joseph Wilson deserved to be taken care of,
Republican style.
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=25856
Have we just seen the roadmap on the subpoenas? Has the Scooter Libby pre-pardon tipped Bush's hand with respect to the subpoena drama we can expect to play out later this month? Well, perhaps not fully. But given how brazen an act it was, it demonstrates that Bush would almost certainly be willing to contemplate more such acts. Why he feels emboldened to do so is something we might spend a fair amount of time debating, but let's get right to the larger question: Will George W. Bush also pardon and/or commute the sentences of anyone held in contempt of Congress for defying the recently issued and still-to-be issued subpoenas from the committees investigating his "administration's" varied and widespread wrongdoing?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/3/21350/97664
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