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Mr. Bush, history doesn't record just seven years of your presidency. It records what happened before 9/11 as well. You were determined to do everything in your presidency differently than Bill Clinton. And because the Clinton people were so alarmed about Al Qaeda, that meant that you could safely ignore it, since getting alarmed about it was doubtlessly the wrong thing to do.
Are you one of those people who wants to see what has been done in your name by the outgoing Bush administration? Are you frustrated by all the "we need to look forward, not backward" language from Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders? Well, now you can do something about it, by calling up your House member today and telling them to support John Conyers' H.R.104, a bill to "establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties."
Maybe I should re-think that title. After all, when Richard Nixon said "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more," it was in 1962 -- long before his stunning political comeback. But since we have the Twenty-Second Amendment and Bush has already done his time in office, I think I'll be pretty safe when I say that left-wing bloggers (and comedians and political cartoonists everywhere) are starting to feel a little... empty... looking towards a future without George Bush in it.
President George Bush gave his final press conference today. Lest I be accused of "Bush Derangement Syndrome," I'm reproducing some of the most interesting answers Bush gave today, with a minimum of snarky commentary. Actually, what I (and many others) have would properly be called "Bush Fatigue," as even his final week in office seems somehow endless. But I think it's worth taking one last peek inside Bush's thinking because it is so interesting to hear how his views of his term in office differ so significantly from the way others see him. If you'd like to read the entire transcript of the press release, the White House website has it up.
What a week! With Congress back in session, with the excitement of newly-elected members being sworn in (or barred at the door, as the case may be), and with the ever-increasing anticipation of the inauguration, Washington was in a tizzy all week. Larry Flynt apparently asked Congress for a $5 billion bailout of the porn industry and it barely made the news, because there was so much else going on. That's the kind of week it was.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Howard Dean for all he has done to resuscitate the Democratic Party. Dean is stepping down soon as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (Obama announced his successor today), after steering the party through the 2006 and the 2008 elections.
Want a ticket to the official Inauguration Day swearing-in event held on public property? Well, you can easily have one -- guaranteed -- for the low, low price of only $12,500. [To be completely honest, that price is much like how airline's advertise "one-way based on roundtrip purchase" fares that don't actually exist -- since you have to "donate" a whopping $50,000 for four guaranteed tickets.] But wait! It's a package deal! You also get, for your hard-earned dollars, bleacher seats to watch the Inaugural Parade, tickets to at least one of the Inaugural Balls the Obamas will actually attend, and other sundry perks and goodies. What a deal, eh?
The American television news media is slipping out of Iraq, as quietly as they can. This story was reported by the New York Times over the holidays, and it may prove to be a consequential part of the way the war ends. Because it might actually make it easier for President Obama to wind the war down, and avoid a lot of squabbling over how he does so.
Happy New Year 2009!
Because I've always felt it is more amusing to make new year's resolutions that others should follow, today's Friday Talking Points will be some resolutions for Democrats. For once, I will keep a foolish resolution I made at the beginning of 2008 to write shorter columns, because this close to New [...]
Is Rick Warren, pastor of a California mega-church and author of The Purpose Driven Life considered unacceptable in American society at large? Was Obama's invitation to Warren to speak at his inauguration akin to, in today's world, inviting a white supremacist, an anti-Semite, or a blatant misogynist to speak? To put it another way, is Rick Warren beyond the pale?