Bush administration

Stories 501 - 520 | << Prev   Next >>

Rumsfeld Resigned Before Midterm Elections

Iraq not mentioned; GOP critics seize on Bush inaction

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld's resignation letter, obtained by Reuters, shows he told President Bush of his departure as defense secretary one day before the 2006 congressional elections; though Bush saw the letter on Election Day, the White House didn't announce the decision until the day after polls closed. Republicans warned the delay...

Carville: Rove Cost GOP a Generation

Sticking to base was demographic disaster, Clinton adviser says

(Newser) - Impressive electoral record aside, Karl Rove's strategy of aggressively courting the GOP base has soured an entire generation on the Republican Party, James Carville argues in the Financial Times. Bill Clinton's storied strategist says "theocratic underpinnings" of Rovian strategy are behind polls showing a nameless Democratic presidential candidate favored...

You Can't Blame the Man for Everything

Rove's political genius helped GOP grow, says Weekly Standard

(Newser) - The media crowned him with a wizard's hat and now they’re knocking it off, saying they just don’t feel the magic anymore. But Rove was never a magician, always an adviser, and usually a brilliant one, argues the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes. After all, he steered Bush...

The Rise and Fall of Rove
The Rise and Fall of Rove
Aug 14, 2007 10:15 AM CDT

The Rise and Fall of Rove

Boy genius couldn't build an unbeatable GOP coalition

(Newser) - Karl Rove may have been the but-for cause of the Bush presidency, but his dreams of using it to build a generation-long Republican hegemony that would undo the New Deal have been unquestionably dashed. Bush's boy genius envisioned a "permanent majority," but the Washington Post considers the reasons...

Rove Exit Inspires Pundit Ire
Rove Exit Inspires
Pundit Ire
Aug 13, 2007 4:00 PM CDT

Rove Exit Inspires Pundit Ire

Leftie says he's quitting too soon, rightie says too late

(Newser) - Not all Karl Rove haters celebrated his announced departure today. The Nation’s David Corn, while pleased that taxpayers will no longer be paying the Bush political strategist's salary after August, feels that Rove deserves the punishment of being forced to stay “to the bitter end” of the unpopular...

Why the 'Rove Presidency' Failed
Why the 'Rove Presidency' Failed
Aug 13, 2007 10:07 AM CDT

Why the 'Rove Presidency' Failed

‘Architect’ tried to force dynasty, cowed Congress instead of winning it

(Newser) - With Karl Rove about to ankle the White House, the Atlantic's cover story on Rove as the principal architect of the Bush presidency becomes prescient. Joshua Green explores why the mastermind of W.'s two election victories—one of the best political minds of a generation—was unable to fulfill...

Bush Loses Brain
Bush
Loses
Brain
Aug 13, 2007 5:11 AM CDT

Bush Loses Brain

Top strategist Rove says he'll step down at end of month

(Newser) - President Bush's most controversial political strategist, Karl Rove, will leave his White House deputy chief of staff position at the end of the month, the Wall Street Journal reports. "I just think it's time," said Rove, who has worked with Bush since 1993. "As much as I'd...

Bush Was Treated for Lyme Disease
Bush Was Treated for Lyme Disease
Aug 9, 2007 11:24 AM CDT

Bush Was Treated for Lyme Disease

Early intervention after 2006 diagnosis headed off serious symptoms

(Newser) - President Bush has increased his vigilance toward pesky invaders—ticks—since undergoing successful treatment for Lyme disease last August, the White House says. The report did not explain how the president contracted the disease, but a spokesman said it was “not uncommon for him to be riding a mountain...

US Nears Deal to Fight Mexican Drug Cartels

Aid package would signal new level of cooperation

(Newser) - The Bush administration will send hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Mexico to combat drug cartels in a deal that's on the verge of approval, the Washington Post reports. The package, which would include equipment and training for anti-drug teams, represents a new level of cooperation. "The...

UK Asks US to Release Gitmo Suspects

Brown wants 5 Britons freed from US custody in change of policy

(Newser) - The United Kingdom wants the US to let go of five British residents detained at the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Green PM Gordon Brown made the official request, hinting that he may be distancing himself from the Bush administration and carving a more independent terror policy than Tony...

Bush Aide Stonewalls Senators
Bush Aide Stonewalls Senators
Aug 2, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Bush Aide Stonewalls Senators

Rove snubs Judiciary Committee; 29-year-old staffer pleads for sympathy

(Newser) - Karl Rove didn't show up, but the White House sent a 29-year-old aide to field Senate Judiciary Committee questions about the US attorney firings today. Scott Jennings, the first administration figure to testify while still in office, followed the path laid out by ex-boss Sara Taylor in refusing to answer...

Cheney: 'I Erred on Insurgency'
Cheney: 'I Erred on Insurgency'
Aug 1, 2007 5:21 AM CDT

Cheney: 'I Erred on Insurgency'

VP doesn't back off other Iraq, Afghanistan decisions

(Newser) - Dick Cheney admitted yesterday that he was wrong when he said the Iraqi insurgency was "in its last throes" in 2005. "My estimate at the time was wrong, it turned out to be incorrect," the VP told CNN's Larry King. He said he had been optimistic that...

Bush Buddy Squelched Health Report
Bush Buddy Squelched Health Report
Jul 29, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Bush Buddy Squelched Health Report

Appointee suppressed surgeon general's unfavorable paper

(Newser) - A Bush appointee spiked a 2006 surgeon general's report on global health issues for not promoting the administration's policy efforts, WaPo reports. Richard Steiger, an HHS official and longtime Bush family friend, suppressed a report urging Americans to take on global health problems, and discussed connections between poverty and illness.

Saudi King Backs Iraq's Sunni Rebels

Ally undermining Bush strategy and fledgling government

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is working at cross purposes with the Bush administration in Iraq by backing Sunni tribes engaged in sectarian violence there, the New York Times reports. King Abdullah has funded the Sunnis and is allowing insurgents to enter the country, US officials charge. Of up to 80 foreign fighters...

General Faces Demotion in Tillman Probe

Six other officers will draw career-ending punishments

(Newser) - A retired three-star general who allegedly misled investigators about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan could be stripped of his stars and part of his pension, Pentagon officials told CNN. Retired Lt. Gen. Phillip Kensinger told inspectors he didn't know the Green Beret was killed by...

House Committee Charges Bush Aides With Contempt

Judiciary Committee votes along party lines to issue contempt citations to Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten

(Newser) - The House Judiciary Committee voted to issue contempt citations to two of President Bush's top aides for defying subpoenas related to the US attorney firings scandal, edging Congress closer to a Constitutional showdown with the White House over its claims of executive privilege. The committee voted along party lines 22-17...

Dems Remain Unsure of Censure
Dems Remain Unsure of Censure
Jul 25, 2007 6:50 AM CDT

Dems Remain Unsure of Censure

Feingold's effort gathers little support; Congress fears backlash

(Newser) - A proposed Senate resolution to censure President Bush for the Iraq war could have galvanized Democrats—but  instead they're sharply divided over what some see as grandstanding, Politico reports. Only a handful back Russ Feingold's plan, or another tied to the US attorneys firings, nervous that nonbinding censures will only...

Prez Pushes Osama's Link to Insurgency

Commander-in-chief adamant al-Qaeda in Iraq is key branch of broader network

(Newser) - President Bush insisted again yesterday that a Sunni insurgent group in Iraq is an integral part of Osama bin Laden's worldwide al-Qaeda network—-rebuffing several experts' claims to the contrary. Recent reports have suggested that Sunnis fighting under the "al-Qaeda in Iraq" banner are local insurgents with a weak...

White House Expands Exec Privilege Claims

Congressional Dems face new obstacle in US attorneys probe

(Newser) - White House officials have made a broad new claim to executive privilege that would block the Justice Department from pursuing contempt charges initiated by Congress, the Washington Post reports. Citing a Regan-era legal opinion, they argued that "A US attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or...

Olbermann to Prez: Stop Scapegoating, Start Fighting

Anchor irate at blame game on war failure

(Newser) - A war of words over the Iraq war that erupted this week nominally involves only a Pentagon underling and Hillary Clinton, but MSNBC's Keith Olbermann finds a message for President Bush in the back-and-forth. Accusing the administration of scapegoating both the senator and antiwar citizens, he calls for Bush to...

Stories 501 - 520 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser