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Donna
27-10-03, 19:29
BUSH: What, You Call This Pressure?

Pres. Bush is "back in Washington this week confronting an untidy agenda" of "incomplete" legis. and "simmering political intrigue." Lawmakers are aiming to wrap up by 11/7, which means a "compressed timetable" for passing bills related to the "high-priority issues" of Medicare, energy and Bush's $87B Iraq supplemental. Meanwhile, there are "many distractions," such as the investigation into the leaked name of a CIA operative, two cong. reports "expected to be sharply critical" of pre-war intelligence, and Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld's "long, hard slog" memo.
American U. prof Leonard Steinhorn, on how the WH will handle it: "This is an administration doing its best to create the appearance that it is in full control of the many balls that are in the air right now." Steinhorn added that Bush "will remain in that posture indefinitely": "They know from their focus groups and polling that the public likes a decisive leader. And that is how they are going to continue to play this presidency" (Mason, Houston Chronicle, 10/27).



Has The Synergy Thing Down
Washington Post's Allen reports, "The twin pillars" of Bush's campaign speeches are "jobs and the war on terrorism," and the WH billed the purpose of his six-country trip to Asia as to "encourage increased efforts to combat security threats and promote economic growth." Analysts say the similarity "reflects the architecture" of a campaign trip "designed to bolster Bush" for the '04 race while "rewarding and building overseas alliances."
During the trip, Bush "pressed China and Japan to loosen their currency policies," which some in the US "increasingly blame for the losses" of manufacturing jobs, he "confronted" Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad "for what Bush called 'reprehensible comments alleging global domination by Jews, who are a major new fundraising target" of GOPers (10/25).
In WI, the "gales of globalization are blowing hard across America's factory belt." Businesswoman Cathy Schuldt says she "and her friends ... feel betrayed, abandoned and disenfranchised by the nation's economic elite and its defenders" in DC. Schuldt and "other small manufacturers" have formed the org. Save American Manufacturing Now, which is "evaluating candidates for office based on their positions on trade issues." Recently they endorsed Sen. Russ Feingold (D). Said Schuldt: "Most of us have been conservative Republicans all our lives. I've never voted for a Democrat. But if I had someone I could vote for on the Democratic side that saw the picture, I definitely would."
Univ. of WI prof Donald Ferree: "Unless perceptions change, this could be a big problem for the president" (Vieth, Los Angeles Times, 10/25).



Lower Bush Ratings = Emboldened Dems
USA Today's Stone reports, Dems "have taken advantage" of Bush's "weakened standing" in the polls and now have started to "confront the president" and GOP and have begun to "score some unexpected victories." On 10/21, House Dems "defied" WH lobbying and pushed through a "non-binding provision" recommending some of the Iraq rebuilding supplemental be loans, not grants. Then on 10/22, Senate Dems "blocked" a GOP bill "aimed at limiting damages in class-action lawsuits."
The GOPers "still run the government," but recently Dems "have been more willing to take on" Bush. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), on Bush: "In the shadow of 9/11, the president was 15 feet tall, and he was 15 feet tall for a long, long time politically. He is a very different opponent politically these days. ... He's now a mere political mortal" (10/26).
Until recently, "few" GOP lawmakers would be "quick to distance themselves" from Bush, but since his "approval ratings have fallen sharply" since 4/03 and the economy "remains sluggish," House GOPers "have their own ... reelection campaigns to worry about." Especially worried are those in the "several dozen" CDs won by ex-VP Gore in '00. But many are still "optimistic that Bush will win" in '04.
This "erosion of GOP solidarity was rarely seen" when Bush had stronger numbers, but it "hardly signals a deep or permanent break" between the WH and House GOP moderates. One House moderate, Rep. Chris Shays (R), said "some constituents are beginning to lose confidence in the president": "There's a question mark -- he either doesn't know or he doesn't want to share. Both of those are hurting him badly" (Eilperin/Broder, Washington Post/Detroit News, 10/27).



Senate Libre
GOP cong. leaders are "determined to avoid a showdown" with Bush over the votes "easing ... travel restrictions" to Cuba, that "might prompt his first veto." So they "will try to drop" the amendment from "the final version" of the associated spending bill. Growing, "bipartisan sentiment in Congress" against the embargo has "produced several votes in recent years" against the "long-standing ... hard-line policy" toward Communist Cuba, but legis. "opposed" to the admin's "position has never reached the president's desk."
Says a House GOP leadership aide: "We're going to try to pull it out. Our general strategy has been to not have the president veto one of our bills. I don't think we want to embarrass him." Agreed a Senate GOP leadership aide: "Nobody wants a veto."
But Dorgan, a "critic of the current Cuba policy," said Congress should "call Bush's bluff": "They threaten vetoes on a lot of things. But I'm not convinced they would proceed to issue a veto ... on something that was supported by both the House and the Senate" (Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 10/25).
Cuban officials said on 10/24 that the Senate vote "confirmed that most Americans want to improve relations with Havana," but acknowledged it "may be blocked short of becoming law." Said Cuban Foreign Minister Felip Perez Roque: "It's new proof that both [Congress] chambers are in favor of a political change, just like the majority of North American society."
In Miami, Spanish-language talk radio "barely mentioned the Senate vote" last week, and Cuban-American groups "expressed confidence that Bush would veto the measure." Meanwhile, those that "support an easing of restrictions praised the Senate vote" (San Martin, Miami Herald, 10/25).
Chicago Tribune opines, "It's no secret that the present wants to nail down the votes of the fervidly anti-Castro Cuban-American community. But at what cost? Congress supports lifting the embargo, and so do many conservative Republican politicians and business interests -- particularly in the Midwest. It is time to end the Cold War sideshow of the Cuban embargo" (10/27).
Orlando Sentinel editorializes, "Removing restrictions on US travel would expose Cubans to free ideas. ... The ban is political rather than practical. It pleases many Cuban-Americans in Florida, but it and other hard-line measures haven't dislodged" dictator Fidel Castro. Concluding: "The ban on US travel to Cuba is futile, self-defeating a waste of scarce resources and inconsistent with other American policies. It's past time to lift it" (10/25).



"One Of The Most Religious" WHes Ever
New York Times' Bumiller reports, the WH has stayed involved in "human rights issues of critical importance to American religious groups, most notably sex trafficking and AIDS." Members of the admin and Congress say "the religious coalition has had an unusual influence on one of the most religious" WHes in history. Says ex-Pres. Nixon adviser/born-again Christian activist Charles Colson: "There was no movement under Clinton. We couldn't get anyone to talk to us." Southern Baptist Convention official Dr. Richard Land said in other GOP admins, "they would take our calls and often return them. In this administration, they call us. They say, you know, 'What do you think about this?'"
Writes Bumiller: "No one disputes that Mr. Bush already cares deeply about these issues and has a personal faith that his advisers say brings a moral dimension to a foreign policy better known to war. ... But it is also true" that about 40% of Bush's '00 votes came from "white evangelicals." Land said Bush adviser Karl Rove "understands the importance of this segment of the coalition," adding: "I think the president understands it. The president feels that one of the contributory factors to his father's loss is that he didn't get as many evangelical votes as Reagan did"
Following on the heels of the "first federal ban on an abortion procedure in 30 years, social conservatives are moving on several other" fronts. On the agenda are "more bills to protect fetuses, stop human cloning and hinder abortions, confirm pending" conservative justices, and to reelect Bush and "expand the slender" GOP majority in Congress.
NRLC Pol. Dir. Carol Tobias: "We're on the offenisve. I've been saying for many years that we're eventually going to win this battle and protect unborn children." Meanwhile, NARAL Pres. Kate Michelman said the opportunity was "created" by "unified Republican rule": "It's very rare that they have the presidency, the House and the Senate all under their control at the same time. That's why they will push hard to make legislative gains. If they remain in control ... it's open season" (Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 10/26).
Meanwhile, "some Christian groups" say "banning same-sex unions is a higher immediate priority for them than restricting abortion," particularly in light of the controversy over gay bishops in the Episcopal Church. Family Research Council Pres. Tony Perkins: "It's becoming a bigger issue every day. It's going to have a big impact on this election cycle. And we're going to help it become a front-burner issue at the state and national level, if it doesn't become one on its own" (Allen, Washington Post, 10/25).



NYT Disapproves of Bush Nominee? Get Outta Town!
New York Times editorializes, "Of the many unworthy judicial nominees" Bush "has put forward, Janice Rogers Brown is among the very worst. As an archconservative justice ... she has declared war on the mainstream legal values that most Americans hold dear. And she has let ideology be her guide in deciding cases." GOP and Dem sens. both "should oppose her confirmation" (10/25).



We're Gonna Raise Some Mo-ney! We're Gonna Raise Some Mo-ney...
Winston-Salem Journal's Damico reports, Bush will attend a $2K-per-plate fundraiser in Winston-Salem on 11/7. Said Rep. David Miner (R): "It will be the second Bush-Cheney fundraiser. It will be the first one he has attended personally." Added GOV candidate/state Sen. Patrick Ballantine (R): "It's always good when a president comes to your state. He recognizes that North Carolina is critical for his reelection efforts and he's not taking it for granted" (10/25).



Not From Me, You're Not!
Dallas Morning News' Gillman reports, "As head of" a $7B company, "it's not surprising that Maj. Gen. Kathy Frost "would get a fundraising letter" from the Bush campaign. But the "corporation is the Army and Air Force Exchange" and the letter "went to her military office." Oh, and she's married to Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX). M. Frost spokesperson Tom Eisenhauer: "It's against the law for President Bush to solicit contributions from an active-duty Army general at her office. Are they soliciting from other active-duty personnel?" Bush's camp said the letter was "sent inadvertently" and that it "won't happen again" (10/24).
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(The Hotline)

Donna
27-10-03, 19:33
9/11 REPORT: Not So Kean After All

"Key members of Congress from both parties blasted" the Bush admin. 10/26 "for refusing to turn over classified intelligence documents requested" by the fed commission investigating 9/11. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), "who co-wrote legislation that created the commission, issued a statement saying that" the admin. "has 'resisted this inquiry at every turn.'" From the statement: "After claiming they wanted to find the truth about Sept. 11, the Bush administration has resorted to secrecy, stonewalling and foot-dragging." Lieberman "said that if" the admin. "continued to refuse to turn over the documents, he would urge the commission to take it to court" (Silverstein, Los Angeles Times, 10/27).
Fed commis. chair/ex-NJ Gov. Tom Kean (R) "says that the White House is continuing to withhold several highly classified intelligence documents from the panel and that he is prepared to subpoena the documents if they are not turned over within weeks." Kean also said "he believed the bipartisan 10-member commission would soon be forced to issue subpoenas to other executive branch agencies because of continuing delays by the Bush administration in providing documents and other evidence needed by the panel." Kean, 10/24: "Any document that has to do with this investigation cannot be beyond our reach." This was "his first explicit public warning" to the WH "that it risked a subpoena and a politically damaging courtroom showdown" with the commis. "over access to the documents, including Oval Office intelligence reports that reached" Pres. Bush's "desk in the weeks" before 9/11. Kean: "I will not stand for it." More Kean: "That means that we will use every tool at our command to get hold of every document." Kean "said that while he had not directly threatened a subpoena in his recent conversations" with the WH legal counsel, Alberto Gonzales, "'it's always on the table, because they know that Congress in their wisdom gave us the power to subpoena, to use it if necessary.'" WH spokesperson Ashley Snee said that the WH "believed it was being fully cooperative with the commission," known formally as the Nat'l Commis. on Terrorist Attacks Upon the U.S. She "said that it hoped to meet all of the panel's demands for documents" (Shenon, New York Times, 10/26).
WH spokesperson Brian Besanceney "had no comment on the prospect of a subpoena, but said": "The administration has provided unprecedented cooperation, including millions of pages of documents, and we look forward to continuing to work with the commission to accomplish its goals" (Connolly, Washington Post, 10/27).

lennart
27-10-03, 19:34
Bush heeft een crisis nodig...

of liever... Cheney heeft er een nodig, Cheney zit immers achter de oorlogsagenda van Bush.