Bad Deeds for 4-23-07

Down and Dirty with Republican Candidates Down South – Vote buying, astroturfing, anonymous attacks — the 2008 Republican contenders keep hitting each other below the belt in South Carolina.

Bush Says His Confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Has Increased as a Result of Gonzales’ Testimony – “The Attorney General went up and gave a very candid assessment, and answered every question he could possibly answer, honestly answer, in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job,” the President said in a brief press stake-out. What reality is Bush in? Apparently, it’s the same one he uses to view events in Iraq.

Government Indictment Against Padilla ‘Very Light on Facts’ – At a pretrial hearing in which defense attorneys for accused would-be “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla complained about the ethereal nature of the alleged conspiracy, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke seemed to agree telling prosecutors that the indictment “is very light on facts.” For their part, prosecutors in the case say that the charges against the defendant – whose competency to carry out a conspiracy, let alone stand trial, has been widely questioned – are based on a crime that they call “hard to particularize.”

Republicans Continue to Embrace Corruption and Unethical Behavior – The abrupt resignations last week of Republican House members John Doolittle and Rick Renzi from their sensitive committee assignments have thrust lingering legal and ethics issues back into the limelight, potentially complicating GOP efforts to retake Congress next year (Doolittle’s case, in particular, shows some worrisome parallels to that of former congressman Bob Ney Doolittle and Renzi disclosed, on successive days, that the FBI had conducted raids on family businesses; meanwhile, Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) are already the targets of federal investigations, and two other Republican lawmakers face possible ethics inquiries into charges that they pressured former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias – since fired – to indict Democrats before last year’s elections. According to one Republican congressman, “everybody’s kind of a little bit numb… there’s this, ‘What else can happen now?’ feeling going around here.”

Evidence indicates that Karl Rove was involved up to his eyeballs in US Attorney firings – Absent another explanation, the signs point to the White House and, at least in some degree, to the president’s political adviser, Karl Rove. David Iglesias, the former New Mexico U.S. attorney and one of the eight fired last year, said investigating the White House’s role is the logical next step – one that would follow existing clues about Rove’s involvement.

Sheryl Crow and Laurie David Step Between Karl Rove and His Dinner Plate; Watch Out! – At the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner Saturday, Sheryl Crow and Laurie David asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to their dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there. As the debate intensified, Crow tried to calm things down but was drawn into the debate with Rove instead. Approached afterward about the exchange, Rove said he was enjoying it all, “if I can get to my meal.” More. Even more.

If You Don’t Understand President Bush, It’s Because You’re Not Plucking Chickens – “If you’ve got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I’m talking about.” – President George W. Bush, April 19, 2007

Regards,

Jim