Bird’s-Eye View

Did you catch this Associated Press story on A1 of the Intell today?:
The Environmental Protection Agency is telling its enforcement personnel not to talk with congressional investigators and reporters, and even the agency’s own inspector general, according to an internal e-mail provided to The Associated Press.
The June 16 e-mail tells 11 officials in the EPA’s […]

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Add this to the list of scandals during the Bush administration:
Senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law by using politics to guide their hiring decisions for a wide range of important department positions, slowing the hiring process at critical times and damaging the department’s credibility and independence, an internal report concluded […]

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I don’t know whether to applaud or continue shaking my head in disbelief. From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON — President Bush signed a bill Tuesday allowing Nelson Mandela to visit the United States without the secretary of state having to certify that he is not a terrorist.
The new law removes from U.S. immigration watch lists the […]

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The U.S. Senate passed a foreclosure rescue bill 83-9, but President Bush is threatening a veto.
It’s a convoluted bill, and I’m going to focus on one aspect. From the Associated Press:
Congressional leaders also are divided on how high to place loan limits that apply to government mortgage insurance and financing. The Senate bill sets those […]

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As Aerosmith once said, “I’m back in the saddle, again!” Had a couple of nice days off, and I see the political arena has gotten itself in a frenzy.
Some random thoughts:
Obama foregoes public financing
I spent a couple of days with close friends in York County. One of them - mother of two, college educated, someone I […]

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Former Gov. Tom Ridge said on Fox News this morning he would consider becoming Republican John McCain’s running mate if the presumptive nominee asked him.
There are two reasons why I think Ridge won’t become the vice president pick.
First, Ridge is pro-choice on abortion, and if you thought the conservative wing of the GOP is unhappy […]

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It is waaaaaaay too early to make any definitive conclusions about November based on a poll in June, but …
The results are part of the Quinnipiac University poll conducted simultaneously in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania asking likely voters their opinions of 2008 presidential hopefuls.
Sen. Obama, who holds a 52 to 40 percent edge over Sen. […]

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Andrew Romano from Newsweek explains why he thinks calling John McCain “McBush” or “McSame” just ain’t right:
And as any objective observer will admit, there’s simply no way McCain would ever “carry out a third Bush term.”
Fact is, he couldn’t–even if he wanted to. According to the Cook Political Report, the Democratic Party is poised to […]

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John McCain sat down with Newsweek to talk about the general election against Barack Obama. Here are some excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Sir, Senator Obama is a hugely gifted politician. This is a brutal year on a clinical level for any Republican to be running.

McCain: Umhmm.
So what’s the strategy? How do you overcome those two things?

Well, the strategy […]

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Obama just wrapped up his speech in Minnesota. Spent much of the start listing Hillary Clinton’s credentials, which to me seemed as if it was he and not Clinton tonight making the case for her to be the vice presidential nominee.
The man’s an incredibly gifted speaker who knows how to seize a moment (see his […]

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