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The Bush White House, desperate to upstage the Monica Goodling testimony on Thursday, staged a last-minute press conference in the Rose Garden where the Great Decider decided to rehash two year old intelligence on al-Qaeda.
As WashPost columnist Dan Froomkin pointed out, journalists were sent an email at 9:24 AM giving them 19 minutes to sign up as questioners for the 11 AM press conference. Were they hoping to forestall troublesome questions, or just planning ahead in the usual fashion?
At the press conference, between the 10th and 11th mentions of al-Qaeda, as the WashPost's Dana Milbank notes, a bird let a good one loose on the President (see the video here).
Those familiar with the Bible will recall birds signifying the Divinity's blessing -- as in the end of the Noah story and the empowerment of Jesus' disciples after the Ascension.
Perhaps this bird was a sign of the Divine displeasure?
-- Dan Damon
Monica Goodling's long-awaited testimony may have had less sizzle and pop than I wanted, but there are plenty of questions to explore further --
- Did Deputy AG Paul McNulty willfully obscure in previous testimony the depth of White House involvement in the attorney firings?
- Did AG Alberto Gonzales attempt to suborn Ms. Goodling's testimony?
Next up: Paul McNulty and Rove's former aide Susan Ralston, who provides a White House connection to the Jack Abramoff bribery scandals.
Far as I'm concerned, the real meat here is recovering the Rove emails, and getting Rove before Congress under oath to answer questions about the politicization of DOJ and why he used the GOP email servers for the conduct of official business.
As the naturalist John Muir once observed, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."
Attorneygate - WP: "Goodling Says She 'Crossed the Line'"
.......... - "Officials Describe Interference by Former Gonzales Aide"
.......... - Dana Milbank: "Monica's Own Monica Problem"
.......... - Paul Kane: "Goodling's lawyer told Dems to ask about AG"
.......... - Dan Froomkin: "What Monica Doesn't Know"
.......... - David Iglesias: "On U.S. Attorney Firings, Goodling Testimony"..... - NYT: "Ex-Aide Admits Political Slant in Justice Role"
..... - Truthout: "Goodling Broke Law in Some DOJ Hirings, Testimony Reveals"
.......... - "Former Rove Aide Susan Ralston Seeks Immunity Pact"
..... - OpEd, LAT: David Iglesias (fired US Attorney): "'Cowboy up,' Alberto Gonzales"
-- Dan Damon
Will the top-to-bottom politicization of the Department of Justice under George W. Bush be this administration's undoing?
News cropping up over the weekend set Congress up to put the Bush administration in the center of a classic pincer movement.
On the one hand, we have the continued unraveling of the explanations for the US Attorney FIRINGS --
- Now we learn from Newsweek that Karl Rove was involved in coaching a Gonzales deputy, William Moschella, before his Congressional testimony on the firings. Though a White House meeting to prep Moschella was previously known of, no mention of Rove had been made before last week.
- Further, new details on the firing of the US Attorney in Seattle published in the Seattle Times are casting more doubt on AG Alberto Gonzales' account of the firings.
- Finally, the Boston Globe points out, Bradley Schlozman is emerging as a key player in the firings as part of a Rovian strategy to put political appointees in place and to gin up voter fraud cases ahead of the 2006 elections. Schlozman was sent to Missouri under the sneaked-in provision in the renewed Patriot Act allowing for placement of deputy US Attorneys without Senatorial consent.
On the other hand, there is new evidence that RECRUITMENT and PLACING of attorneys was politically guided --
- Here Schlozman appears to be the nexus of both the firings and hirings, as pointed out by the McClatchy wire service.
- Further, the Boston Globe has shown that about a third of new US Attorney appointments are administration insiders, including 10 top aides to AG Gonzales.
- Conservative Republican appointees like former DOJ attorney Ty Clevenger have told McClatchy that Schlozman advised them to doctor their resumes and resubmit them in an effort to hide conservative affiliations.
Add to this what we already know of Monica Goodling's involvement and the expectation of new and perhaps startling revelations when she testifies before Congress, and we have the makings of an enormous pincer movement.
To which the final pieces would be the recovery by Congress of the missing Rove (and other White House employees') GOP-server based emails and a public appearance by Rove before Congress and under oath.
A much-studied classic example of the pincers or double envelopment tactic is the Battle of the Cowpens during the American Revolution.
The American commander, Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, brilliantly exploited his forces' strengths and weaknesses as well as the unique terrain of the Cowpens and the weaknesses of the British opposing force, under Cornwallis' deputy Col. Banastre Tarleton, to wrest a decisive victory.
The victory of the colonists marked a psychological turning point of the war for the Americans, who never looked back after this moment, and a decisive blow to Cornwallis' hopes for victory over the rebels.
Will Congress have the nerve, insightfulness and execution of Morgan, or will it snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and lose in the Cowpens of 2007?
More Attorneygate reading:
-- Dan Damon
No steel magnolia she, Monica Goodling is said to have broken into sobs over the impending loss of her career, according to career DOJ attorney David Margolis. This was in 'private' testimony to House and Senate investigators on March 8, which is just being leaked.
As she prepares to face interrogation now that immunity has been offered, her attorney suggests that the DOJ cannot block her.
[Doggie Diamond**: Margolis says he was stunned to learn of the depth of the White House involvement in the attorney firings -- especially since he had prepared his boss, Deputy AG Paul McNulty, for testimony which now turns out to be incomplete and misleading.]
Meanwhile, AG Alberto Gonzales has yet to answer for the secret delegation of hiring and firing authority to Goodling, a relative nouveaux, and a political and not career appointee. This politicization of the hiring process went against prior practice.
Is there a case for OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE in the attorney firings?
Michael Elston, chief of staff to DAG McNulty told Congressional investigators on March 30 -- in testimony just coming to public view -- that McNulty had ordered him to call four of the fired attorneys.
Three of them have testified and given statements to the media that they felt 'threatened' and that a 'quid pro quo' was being offered: Their silence in exchange for Gonzales not 'trashing' their reputations.'
Some in Congress are now questioning whether there was obstruction of justice in the attempts to stifle public discussion of the firings.
But wait, there's more!!!
You may recall that a proposed investigation into the highly contentious domestic surveillance program devised by Gonzales when he was Bush's counsel and implemented by him as Attorney General was headed off at the pass when Bush refused security clearances to the attorneys assigned to pursue the matter.
Now questions arise as to whether Gonzales, who spoke with Bush about the matter, asked for the favor -- or whether Bush took the action as a favor to his pal the AG.
Would that be a 'high crime and misdemeanor'?
Read on --
**Doggie Diamonds: A friend who grew up in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields once told me that her family gathered 'doggie diamonds' -- dried dog droppings -- during the Great Depression of the 1930s. These were sold in bulk to agents of the Armstrong Cork Company, which used them in manufacturing linoleum. A case of little things, which might be thought to have no value whatsoever, contributing to larger things whose value is self-evident.
-- Dan Damon
Every war differs from every previous war, most commonly in the way technology influences the way in which wars are waged.
How is the war in Iraq different?
Technology has given the troops on the ground, the 'grunts' as they were called during the Vietnam era, the ability to instantaneously record their thoughts and actions for the world to see -- via blogging on the internet.
'Milblogging' as it has come to be called, has flourished from nearly the beginning of America's on-the-ground involvement. Do a Google on military blogging and you will immediately snag posts going back to 2004.
Lately, however, the powers-that-be have gotten nervous. New rules by the Army are intended to require prior censorship of all posts by a superior officer.
The rank and file, as you may suspect, are not taking this lying down.
Attempts to stifle self-expression by enlisted personnel are likely to mushroom into an enormous public relations disaster for the Administration.
Well-deserved, in my humble opinion.
Further reading --
-- Dan Damon
Attorney General Roberto Gonzales' argument that the US Attorneys fired last December were sacked over performance was dealt a death blow by James B. Comey, his second in command who was responsible for direct oversight of all US Attorneys from 2003 until August 2005.
In testimony Thursday before a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee, the Washington Post reports Comey as saying
"...that although he was the "direct supervisor" of all U.S attorneys, he was never informed about an effort by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his aides to remove a large group of prosecutors that began in early 2005."
Further, Comey spoke of the fired attorneys in positive terms
"My experience with the U.S. attorneys just listed was very positive," Comey said, referring to six of the former prosecutors who testified in Congress in March. He added that the reasons given for their firings "have not been consistent with my experience" and that "I had very positive encounters with these folks."
Talking Points Memo blogger Paul Kiel reported live from the hearings in several instalments that Comey testified 1) he was cut out of the firing process, 2) the San Diego's Carol Lam was 'a fine US Attorney', and 3) that the two attorney he WAS involved in firing were NOT on Gonzales' list.
In the media --
Talking Points Memo:
- "Comey Was Cut out of Firing Process"
- "Comey: Lam Was a "Fine" U.S. Attorney"
- "Comey Details U.S. Attorney Firings"
Washington Post: "Former Supervisor Extols Fired Prosecutors"
-- Dan Damon
While Congress is in the middle of trying to get Bush's Monica -- Goodling, that is -- to the witness table, word comes that the Department of Justice is starting its own investigation of the former rising star. For basing hiring decisions on political affiliation.
That, of course, is a no-no. Even for the Bush White House.
But here's the wrinkle.
In order to grant Ms. Goodling immunity, Congress needs a signoff from the Department of Justice. That signoff is supposed to be predicated on certification of there NOT being any other investigation or case under way that the immunity might jeopardize.
So, is Bush's Monica in double trouble -- with both Congress and the DOJ -- or in no trouble at all? That is, will the DOJ investigation be used to trump the Congressional immunity?
It will be important to know if the DOJ just got on the scene AFTER Ms. Goodling came to Congress' attention.
If so, that would make it plausible to me to sense the Rovemeister behind the yellow curtain.
Paranoid? What! Me paranoid?
In the media --Washington Post: "Gonzales' ex-aide Goodling investigated for hiring based on politics"
New York Times: "Justice Dept. Announces Inquiry Into Its Hiring"
-- Dan Damon
"There are people in Washington ... who never intend to withdraw military forces from Iraq and they're looking for 10, 20, 50 years in the future ... the reason that we went into Iraq was to establish a permanent military base in the Gulf region, and I have never heard any of our leaders say that they would commit themselves to the Iraqi people that 10 years from now there will be no military bases of the United States in Iraq.
-- former President Jimmy Carter, Feb. 3, 2006
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Lew Seiler and Dan Hamburg say, "For all the talk about timetables and benchmarks, one might think that the United States will end the military occupation of Iraq within the lifetimes of the readers of this opinion editorial. Think again." Read more.
Seiler is president of Voice of the Environment. Former Congressman Hamburg is its executive director.
-- Dan Damon
(President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003)
As we celebrate the 4th anniversary of President Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' moment, the announcement of the deaths of more than 100 American troops in April made it the deadliest month so far in 2007 for U.S. forces in Iraq, underscoring the growing exposure of Americans in the President's 'surge'. Read more.
-- Dan Damon
Back in the pool after a break!
OF WHORES.
As if Gonzales weren't embarrassment enough to the Bush administration, AP brings us news ("Bush Official Linked to Call-Girl Probe") that Randall Tobias, acting administrator of the Agency for International Development, resigned abruptly 'for personal reasons' one day after he was interviewed by ABC News for a program on the so-called 'DC Madam' to be aired May 4. If you think it's ironic that his agency has a mission to reduce prostitution in the developing world, keep in mind that ABC's May 4 air date comes during 'sweeps' -- the period when audiences are measured to set the rates for lucrative advertising contracts. More viewers = higher ad rates. Who do you think is more whorish in this story?
AND WARS.
Retired Army Gen. William Odom is reported in the Houston Chronicle ("Retired general: Bush should sign Iraq bill") as saying Bush should sign the funding bill Congress has sent up to him.
"The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place," [Odom] said. "The president has let (the Iraq war) proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued. He lets the United States fly further and further into trouble, squandering its influence, money and blood, facilitating the gains of our enemies."
A State Department report due out this week ("Terror attacks up nearly 30%, report says") will show a growth in worldwide terror attacks to more than 14,000, almost all due to growing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan. And who do we have to thank for that? Word is that Condi had considered delaying the report but wiser heads prevailed.
If you missed Bill Moyers' 'Buying the War' broadcast last Sunday on PBS, it's now online. Streaming video is HERE and a full transcript is HERE. It details how the Administration sold the mainstream media a bill of goods. The only heroes are the McClatchy (Knight-Ridder) wire services reporters.
OF SPIES.
George Tenet, disgraced former CIA director is trying to get his revenge. His new book "At the Center of the Storm" takes aim at Cheney et al for the embarrassment he has suffered over being dubbed the 'slam dunk' boy. Specifically, as Jason Leopold and Matt Renner point out ("Tenet Book Blames White House for '16 Words'"), he is determined to pin the falsehoods in Bush's 2003 State of the Union speech on his tormenters. This part we have NOT heard before, so you will want to check it out. But Tenet's peers are not prepared to let him off the hook. Ray McGovern, former chair of National Intelligence Estimates (in charge of preparing the President's daily briefs) and 27-year veteran of the CIA blasts him in an article ( "Poor George Tenet; He Still Doesn't Get It") at Truthout. Along with five other former intelligence officers, he has also written an open letter to Tenet ("Letter to George Tenet") which will no doubt be turning up on OpEd pages across the country over the next few days. You saw it here first.
AND LIES.
News of the Army's misleading the Tillman family and the public has gradually seeped into the mainstream media, but with Rep. Waxman's request for documents from the White House and the Pentagon ("Panel Requests Tillman Documents"), we are sure to learn more that will embarrass the White House -- and Bush personally, since it appears he was made aware of the truth of the matter before his televised comments on Pat Tillman's death. The Tillman family has charged the Administration with a coverup of the affair.
DOGGIE DIAMONDS**
...VOTER DISENFRANCHISEMENT. Greg Palast, an American who reports for the BBC takes a swipe in the Los Angeles Times at the US media for losing the will to dig deeply for news. He cites two cases of stories he broke that were ignored by the mainstream media when they originally surfaced -- both involving voter disenfranchisement. One concerns Katherine Harris' purge of African-Americans from Florida voting rolls in 2000 by falsely felonizing tens of thousands. In the other, Tim Griffin (Rove's buddy, newly appointed US Attorney in Arkansas) gloated in an email that surfaced last month as part of the US Attorney firings (hence a 'doggie diamond') "no [U.S.] national press picked up" a BBC Television story reporting that the Rove team had developed an elaborate scheme to challenge the votes of thousands of African Americans in the 2004 election." Palast points out Griffin got a few things wrong...
... GONZALES AIDE TIED TO ABRAMOFF. What?! You didn't know that Robert E. Coughlin II, the DOJ's deputy chief of staff for the criminal division, resigned abruptly on April 6 -- days before Gonzales went up to the Capitol for his waterboarding session? And that he has been linked to the Abramoff corruption probe? He says he left voluntarily to relocate to Texas. When asked where in Texas, he declined to answer and referred reporters to Michael Horowitz, a friend and defense attorney. Horowitz also declined to comment or to confirm he was hired to represent Coughlin. McClatchy Newswire scores again ("Justice Department official resigns as Abramoff probe heats up").
**Doggie Diamonds: A friend who grew up in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields once told me that her family gathered 'doggie diamonds' -- dried dog droppings -- during the Great Depression of the 1930s. These were sold in bulk to agents of the Armstrong Cork Company, which used them in manufacturing linoleum. A case of little things, which might be thought to have no value whatsoever, contributing to larger things whose value is self-evident.
-- Dan Damon
Like Clinton before him, George W. Bush may find that his Monica just won't go away.
The Dems want to hear from Monica Goodling, and they will if they want to -- her pre-emptive refusal notwithstanding. Stories are in today's WashPost and NYTimes.
The pre-emptive refusal is just so ballsy!
TBM is old enough to recall the height of the McCarthy and HUAC terrors. No one ever refused to come before the Congress then, so who does she think she is.
Goodling needs to haul her ass in and sit down, under oath, on the record, and let the American people see just what sort of questions she feels answering which might incriminate her.
And if she is offered immunity, it could get real interesting.
Meanwhile, this little hotshot has fast-tracked her way from Pat Robertson's Regents University Law School to a White House apparatchick pretty fast, huh! As Rich Miles (of Logical Negativism) wrote me, this calls for a little looking into.
US Attorney Firings - NYT: "Democrats Seek to Interview Gonzales Aide"
..... - WP: "House Dems Seek to Question Gonzales Aide About Fired Prosecutors"
and the buzz on my original post: "The Monica in Bush's Future"
BuzzFlash: "Goodling Hunting"
Kassandra Williams (in the Texas Hill Country): "Interesting Information"
Marco Garcia (Chicago): "On Bush's Monica"
Sex & Politics & Screeds & Attitude: "A wonderful post that just tracks everything so read that."
-- Dan Damon
(Photo, PoliticsNJ)
Gov. Jon Corzine and a bevy of the Dem power structure endorsed Hillary Clinton's candidacy for President yesterday in Elizabeth, the seat of Union County.
While the mainstream media were busy ticking off this 'coup', more thoughtful observers saw a few blemishes that the airbrush missed.
Wally Edge, the anonymous pundit on the PoliticsNJ website, pointed out that Clinton raked in nowhere close to the haul that Jim McGreevey delivered to John Kerry in 2004 or that Christy Whitman gave George Bush in 2000.
In fact, counties representing about HALF the state's Dem vote did NOT line up behind Hillary. Some have already thrown their lot with Obama and some are 'in play'.
TBM is struck that while State Sen. Ray Lesniak endorsed her -- he IS from Elizabeth, for Pete's sake! -- there is no mention anywhere of Union County Dem boss Charlotte DeFilippo.
Now that is a truly BIG oversight.
Nor is Plainfield Assemblyman Jerry Green mentioned as supporting Hillary.
In fact, TBM ran into him last night and he told me he wasn't even in Elizabeth, as I had predicted elsewhere that he might be.
Guess I owe him a cuppa java.
Here are the details from the PoliticsNJ website --
Corzine endorsements:
Governor Jon Corzine
Congressman Rob Andrews
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.
Former Governor Brendan Byrne
Former Governor Jim Florio
State Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts
State Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman
State Democratic Party Chairman and Assemblyman Joe Cryan
State Senator and Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria
State Senator Barbara Buono
State Senator Nia Gill
State Senator Ray Lesniak
State Assemblyman Tom Giblin
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes
Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage
Former Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin
Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Ron Ruff
Burlington County Democratic Chairman Richard Perr
Hudson County Democratic Chairman Bernie Kenny
Hunterdon County Democratic Chairman David Del Vecchio
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vic Scudiery
Warren County Chairman David DeGerolamo
Editor's Note: Later this evening, the Clinton campaign deleted Kenny in Hudson, but added five other County Chairs: Phil Thigpen in Essex, Elia Pelios in Somerset, Wyatt Earp in Ocean, Megan Ward in Sussex and Lewis Candura in Morris.
Links on Corzine's Clinton Endorsement
-- Dan Damon
You know you're in trouble when your mental energy channels to the New York Times editorial staff.
That was TBM's fate. Upon opening Sunday's Times to the editorial pages, he found the editors also had concluded that Rove and his POLITICAL machinations are at the heart of all things Bush. As well as the BRAIN of all things Bush. And it wasn't an April Fool's joke.
Here is the full text:
Turn over a scandal in Washington these days and the chances are you’ll find Karl Rove. His tracks are everywhere: whether it’s helping to purge United States attorneys, coaching bureaucrats on how to spend taxpayers’ money to promote Republican candidates, hijacking the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for partisan politics, or helping to organize a hit on the character of one of the first people to publicly reveal the twisting of intelligence reports on Iraq.
Whatever the immediate objective, Mr. Rove seems focused on one overarching goal: creating a permanent Republican majority, even if that means politicizing every aspect of the White House and subverting the governmental functions of the executive branch. This is not the Clinton administration’s permanent campaign. The Clinton people had difficulty distinguishing between the spin cycle of a campaign and the tone of governing. That seems quaint compared with the Bush administration’s far more menacing failure to distinguish the Republican Party from the government, or the state itself.
This was, perhaps, the inevitable result of taking the chief operative of a presidential campaign, one famous for his scorched-earth style, and ensconcing him in the White House — not in a political role, but as a key player in the formation of policy. Mr. Rove never had to submit to Senate confirmation hearings. Yet, from the very start, photographs of cabinet meetings showed him in the background, keeping an enforcer’s eye on the proceedings. After his re-election in 2004, President Bush formally put Mr. Rove in charge of all domestic policy.
In that position, as David Kirkpatrick and Jim Rutenberg reported in The Times, Mr. Rove took a lead role in selecting federal judges and the hiring — and firing — of United States attorneys. Mr. Rove’s staff maneuvered to fire the prosecutor in Arkansas and replace him with a Rove protégé, and also seems to have been involved in the firing of a United States attorney in New Mexico who refused to file what he considered to be baseless charges of election fraud against Democrats.
Mr. Rove’s efforts to maintain one-party rule go deep into the government. Last week, we learned about a meeting set up by Mr. Rove’s staff with officials of the General Services Administration that was wildly inappropriate and perhaps illegal. The aim, as outlined by Mr. Rove’s deputy, Scott Jennings, seems to have been to take advantage of the billions of dollars in contracts put out by the agency every year to return Republicans to the majority in Congress in 2008. It included PowerPoint slides on vulnerable House and Senate seats.
This sort of behavior should not be all that surprising. It was not that long ago that the Bush White House embraced the priorities of the Republican governor of Mississippi and virtually ignored the far greater needs of Louisiana’s Democratic governor after Hurricane Katrina.
Mr. Rove retreated a bit from the public eye in the heat of the Lewis Libby trial, but after avoiding indictment, he seems to have regained his confidence. Take a look at YouTube to see his bizarre, humor-challenged gyrations as “MC Rove” at an annual media dinner in Washington the other night.
The investigation of the firings of the United States attorneys seems to be closing in on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who should have been fired weeks ago. But Congress should bring equal scrutiny to the more powerful Mr. Rove. If it does, especially by forcing him to testify in public, it will find that he has been at the vortex of many of the biggest issues they are now investigating.
Editorial, NYT, Sunday 4/1/2007: "The Rovian Era"
-- Dan Damon
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. The Bull Moose, Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are The Bull Moose, Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or Clippings endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Here we are, a year from the earliest Presidential primaries -- of which New Jersey's will now be one -- and the candidates are in a full court press to line up our support -- and our money.
Was invited to one of the Obama campaign's living-room Internet hookup conference calls yesterday (March 31st) and looked forward to it eagerly.
Obama has brought fresh air to the contest for President.
And Hillary is certainly taking him seriously.
But should TBM, and the thirty-five or so people who he was with yesterday afternoon?
These living-room events can be very good, but the devil is in the details.
When TBM responded to the email invitation, he was whisked away to the Obama campaign's servers where he had to create an account. Fine. They captured email address and ZIP code. All well and good.
The response said the program would start at a certain time and last an hour. So TBM banked on it.
Like millions of other suburbanites, Saturday is chore day. Add to that a general crankiness at being pushed to decide on a candidate THIS early, and you know that I was expecting performance as promised.
Didn't happen.
After nearly half an hour of schmoozing, the show finally got under way.
An hour and a quarter later, with no indication of an end in sight, I bailed.
So, for the Obama campaign, here are some observations from a tire-kicker:
- If you make a promise (one hour), keep it. Or don't make it in the first place.
- Start on time. Or if you can't, let people know what's going on. (Take a cue from Jet Blue.)
- Put someone in charge, and make sure the local contact people are briefed on what they are to do.
- Know what you are doing with this event. Are you rallying the troops? Introducing the candidate to a broader public? Soliciting volunteers? Raising money? "If you don't know which road you're taking, any road will get you there."
- The candidate should...ummm...have another...ummm...tactic for...ummm...gaining 'brain time' for answering a question...than saying...ummm. It is always good to restate the question, both to make sure it is understood and to make sure that everyone has heard it -- and to get a few seconds to frame an answer if you don't have one ready. But...ummm?...ummm doesn't hack it.
- Short answer? Long answer? There are different schools of thought, but TBM comes from the 'power of threes' school. That is, no more than three points delivered as follows: tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. Tell 'em. Tell 'em what you told 'em. Move on. Learn from Al Gore 2000: windy wonkishness glazes eyes.
TBM wishes the campaign well, but these living-room thingies don't seem to be quite ready for prime time.
Meanwhile, Hillary will be in Jersey Monday, picking up the Governor's endorsement, along with those of some of the county chairs and legislative heavyweights.
You can't win without building grassroots support, but it can't look like a Children's Crusade. Remember McGovern '72.
-- Dan Damon
While the mainstream media waited breathlessly over the last few days for the appearance of Kyle Sampson, formerly Alberto Gonzales chief aide, there was a lot of speculation over what role his testimony might play and whether and how soon Gonzales would be, as they say, GONE-zales.
The Bull Moose has always thought, though, that Sampson was merely a lone hoplite and Gonzales just a flunky for Bush's brain -- Karl Rove.
Someone wondered whether Sampson would successfully 'thread the needle' with his testimony. TBM was drawn to the metaphor, probably because as a child his grandmother taught him to use a darning egg to mend his socks, which meant learning how to thread a needle. Threading one is not that easy without one of those little gizmos that cheat, but the reward is that once threaded, one can pull a much thicker thread through.
Hence the image of Sampson making way for Gonzales and others to escape danger.
Sampson failed. In fact, he looked like a sheep being led to slaughter. Remember, many of these Senators have been prosecutors themselves at some point in their careers.
In any event, the BIG CHEESE, as TBM has always held is Karl Rove. And he is the one that needs to be got on the hot seat. (See my "The Monica in Bush's Future" elsewhere.)
In that, I'm with Jim and Teddy.
James Farmer, Jr., the Star-Ledger columnist and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, that is.
See what they have to say below.
-- Dan Damon, TBM
Rove Role Sampson Testimony
The Firings
Fallout
Politico: "Republicans Fear 2008 Meltdown"
