''Some new poll numbers suggest that the conventional wisdom — which holds that Hillary Clinton will suffer badly in the primary from her war vote and unwillingness to call it a mistake — may be questionable or even wrong.Stick to your guns, Girl!
The new numbers are buried in the big survey released this week by the Washington Post. Democrats were asked whether given "what was known at the time," it was the right thing for Hillary to vote for war authorization, or whether it was a mistake. A surprising 52% said her vote was the right thing to do at the time, versus only 47% who said it was a mistake.
What's more, when even those who said it was a mistake were then asked if Hillary should apologize, a mere 31% said yes. And guess how many said an apology wasn't necessary? Sixty-eight percent. And remember, these are potential Democratic primary voters.''
LOS ANGELES - Former US President Bill Clinton won the second Grammy Award of his career, when he was honoured in the spoken word category for his best-selling memoir My Life.Between President and Senator Clinton, they have three Grammys. Amazing. Between Cheney and Bush, on the other hand, there are three DUI convictions.
Clinton, who was not present to accept his award at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, also won a Grammy last year in the spoken word for children category. His wife, US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, won a spoken word Grammy in 1997 for her memoir It Takes A Village.
DETROIT -- President George W. Bush has managed to alienate nearly the entire world, and in a relatively short span of time the United States has become an international pariah. Forget about the terrorists who "hate us because of our freedom," the "axis of evil," the "Islamofascists," or whatever label Bush uses to demonize people and spread fear.It will take decades to undo the damage done by Bush to America's reputation.
The true measure of just how much Bush has systematically nurtured antipathy toward the United States is found in Europe, and especially in Italy. It is stunning how shattered the relationship now is.
I asked a friend, an Italian-American who often visits family there and had just returned from a Christmas trip, what Italians are thinking of Americans these days. His answer was grim and crisp: "They hate us."
At the time that Libby offered his explanation to Cheney [in the fall of 2003, after the Plame investigation had begun], the vice president already had reason to know that Libby's account to him was untrue, according to sources familiar with still-secret grand jury testimony and evidence in the CIA leak probe, as well as testimony made public during Libby's trial over the past three weeks in federal court.
Yet, according to Libby's own grand jury testimony, which was made public during his trial in federal court, Cheney did nothing to discourage Libby from telling that story to the FBI and the federal grand jury. Moreover, Cheney encouraged then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan to publicly defend Libby, according to other testimony and evidence made public during Libby's trial.
If Libby is found guilty, investigators are likely to probe further to determine if Libby devised what they consider a cover story in an effort to shield Cheney. They want to know whether Cheney might have known about the leaks ahead of time or had even encouraged Libby to provide information to reporters about Plame's CIA status, the same sources said.
Griffin on Thursday blamed “the partisanship that has been exhibited by Sen. [Mark ] Pryor [D-Ark. ] and other senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the recent hearing” for his decision to bow out.
He referred to a hearing last week on Capitol Hill on legislation proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and supported by Pryor, as well as Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and others, to reinstate the original language governing such appointments.
The legislation was proposed after at least seven U. S. attorneys across the country were ousted to make room for Republican political allies. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty acknowledged in the hearing that in Arkansas, Cummins was forced out simply to make room for Griffin.
The leadoff witness, The Post's Walter Pincus, testified that then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told him about Plame's identity -- directly contradicting Fleischer's sworn testimony.[...]
As recently as two weeks ago, Fleischer testified otherwise, saying it's "absolutely correct" that he did not tell Pincus about the CIA worker.
''What many conservatives regard as the nightmare scenario — President Hillary Rodham Clinton— is increasingly seen by veteran Republican politicians and strategists as a virtual inevitability.
In GOP circles, the Democratic front-runner is seen as so strong, and the political climate for Republicans so hostile, that many influential voices — including current and former lawmakers, and veterans of President Bush's campaigns — have grown despairing. These partisans describe a political equivalent of the stages of grief, starting with denial, then resentment and ending with acceptance.''
