White House Memo
Tiptoeing on Bush and Convention
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
WASHINGTON — What if your family was planning a big end-of-summer bash (a Grand Old Party, you might call it) but preferred that you not be seen — or heard?
That is the question hanging over President Bush, with eight weeks to go until Republicans gather in St. Paul to nominate Senator John McCain as his successor. Convention planners, the White House and the McCain campaign are wrestling with how to choreograph a proper send-off for Mr. Bush — sure, his poll numbers are in the tank, but he is still the party leader and president of the United States — while hustling him out the door in time for Mr. McCain to look like his own man.
“It’s a very delicate situation,” said Brian Jones, a former communications director for Mr. McCain’s campaign who also was a top communications strategist during Mr. Bush’s 2004 run for re-election. “Even though the president is the president, this is going to be John McCain’s convention, and you want it to be about John McCain and what his presidency would be.”
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07.02.2008
David Milne, America’s Rasputin: Walt Rostow and the Vietnam War (New York: Hill and Wang, 2008), 336 pp., $26.00.
Andrew Preston, The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the NSC, and Vietnam (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), 334 pp., $49.95.
THOUGH IT has been over for decades, the Vietnam War continues, more often than not, to loom large in American presidential campaigns. In 1980 Ronald Reagan promised to end the Vietnam syndrome and raised liberal hackles by calling the war a “noble cause.” Bill Clinton was pummeled by the conservative press in 1992 for being a draft dodger. Dan Quayle and George W. Bush were fiercely questioned about their war records, or lack of one. John F. Kerry, who actually saw combat and declared that he was “reporting for duty” at the Democratic convention in 2004, was Swift-boated as a traitor. Now, as the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Vietnam promises to be the subject of contention once more.
President Bush declared before the Veterans of Foreign Wars in August 2007 that defeat in Iraq would amount to a new Vietnam, but the GOP’s nomination of Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who endured five years of torture in Hanoi, has substantially raised the stakes. At outlets such as the Weekly Standard and elsewhere, McCain’s neoconservative bedfellows are contending that Iraq offers a unique opportunity to redress America’s humiliation in Vietnam, when liberal elites allegedly betrayed the troops, just as they are intent on doing today. In this telling, McCain’s rise has become synonymous with the rebirth of Iraq itself. In the January 22, 2008, Wall Street Journal, for example, Bret Stephens observed:
There is another kind of honor, however, which is uniquely bestowed by one’s adversaries and enemies. . . . It is the honor many Americans feel they lost in Vietnam, and which, through Mr. McCain’s not-so-improbable resurgence, they now seek to regain and make their own.
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Bush to attend Olympic ceremony
George W Bush pictured on 2 July
Mr Bush had always planned to attend the Olympics, the White House said
US President George W Bush will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the White House says.
Human rights groups and opposition politicians including presidential hopeful Barack Obama had urged Mr Bush to consider boycotting the ceremony.
Beijing's rights record has come under intense scrutiny since Tibetan protests were suppressed in March.
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Jeb Bush to Join McCain in Mexico City
July 03, 2008 9:10 AM
ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will join presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain in Mexico City Thursday morning on the last day of McCain's three-day visit to Latin America.
Gov. Bush was in Mexico City on business and wanted to spend time with the candidate. He will not spend the day with Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., who has several other events today, including a media availability this afternoon.
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4 July 2008
The Bush administration publicly criticized a deal made between Hunt Oil of Dallas, Texas and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq last September for supposedly undermining Iraqi “national unity,” while privately officials were facilitating the oil firm’s activities, documents released this week by the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reveal.
Hunt Oil, whose chief executive Ray Hunt has been a major backer of George W. Bush, signed the agreement with the Kurdish government on September 8, 2007 to explore and develop oilfields in the region.
No national law on the division of oil revenues had been passed at the time (and still has not been), and the agreement outraged Iraqi government officials fearful that Baghdad would be cut out of its share of lucrative oil profits by such arrangements and that the country might well break up under centrifugal pressures. At the time Iraq’s oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, called the deal “illegal.”
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Cheney Will Attend a Ceremony Aboard the USS Constitution on July 4th - - Ironic or what?
Bush salutes new Americans at July 4 ceremony
President heckled during event at Thomas Jefferson's former home
President Bush in his own words
A look at the quotable foreign policy speeches that define George W. Bush’s presidency. Produced by Kevin Flynn and Lisa Desai.
MSNBC.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia - President Bush invoked the memory of Thomas Jefferson Friday in welcoming new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Monticello, saying "I'll be proud to call you a fellow American."
On his final U.S. Independence Day as president, Bush told an audience Friday at the home of the Declaration of Independence's author that he was honored to be present for the naturalization. Shouts from protesters were heard during Bush's remarks, and the president responded by saying he agrees that "we believe in free speech in the United States of America."
The last six Fourth of July holidays have taken place amid continuing violence in Iraq. Bush's addition of 28,000 U.S. troops last year in Iraq helped foster a measure of stability in what is now the sixth summer of the war.
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Video on YouTube
Added: July 03, 2008
goto: http://kucinich.us to sign the petition!
Some Democratic Leaders say Impeachment is off the table.
So, let us set a new table for our nation, upon which we place the Constitution and where we demand that all those who have taken an oath to defend it .. keep their promise and protect our nation from the threat within.
Please go to kucinich.us now and sign the petition, which calls for impeachment. This is the one petition that will make a difference because I will be delivering it personally to your member of congress. Please circulate word of this petition far and wide, to all your friends and family. This is the one opportunity that we have right now to actually change events in this country.
Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our nation was conceived in liberty. We have once again reached a moment of truth, one that Lincoln recognized at Gettysburg as to whether "this nation or any nation so conceived or so dedicated can long endure".
Through the ashes of war, Lincoln prayed that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom...and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
This Fourth of July, 2008, we face a different kind of war; one which is trying our souls.. a war based on lies. But with the power of truth and the power of the people we can achieve a new birth of freedom, standing up for what is good in America, insisting on the rule of law, demanding adherence to the Constitution, and supporting the impeachment of a President who lied to take us into a war against Iraq.
Be the answer to Lincoln's Prayer. Please pledge your support now to restoring the rule of law in America. As we once again celebrate our Independence, let us celebrate freedom from fear and pledge that this government of the people will survive in this land that we love.
Please go to kucinich.us now. This is your chance to make a difference; truly celebrate our Independence. Thank you
...may be seen. :)
Allies Worry About President's Schedule
Some of President Bush's allies tell the Political Bulletin they are embarrassed and angry that the White House seems to be wasting Bush's time on frivolous events when much of the country is suffering through economic hard times. "Look at the schedule for Monday," says an outside Bush adviser. "A highlight of his day was witnessing a tee ball game. ... He is being reduced to child's play." The adviser says Bush also signed a supplemental appropriations bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Monday, but he adds that it didn't get much coverage and that the tee ball game set the wrong tone. There is growing concern among Bush allies that the Democrats will effectively portray the President and GOP candidate John McCain as out of touch. Some GOP insiders now predict that the Republicans will lose at least five seats in the Senate and 15 to 20 in the House, and it could get worse if gasoline prices continue to soar and the public remains in a disgruntled mood.
Americans Must STOP McCain’s Continuation of Bush’s Failed War on Drugs and this should not be negotiable.
One lesson that our legislators need to learn is that the same behavior expecting different results IS INSANE!!!
We, the United States, have seriously been involved in what we mistakenly call a “war on drugs” for over 30 years now, and all we have to show WAR on DRUGS1for it is more drugs, more addicts. more crime and wealthier drug dealers. If that was the goal then we are a smashing success. Otherwise, we’re f*cking up!
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Source: NYTimes
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Published: July 3, 2008
WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual admission of error, the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday that government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed the Supreme Court of that fact while the justices were considering whether death was a constitutional punishment for the crime.
“It’s true that the parties to the case missed it, but it’s our responsibility,” the department’s public affairs office said in a statement.
“We regret,” the statement said, “that the department didn’t catch the 2006 law when the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana was briefed.”
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Wednesday, July 2nd 2008, 9:47 PM
WASHINGTON - President Bush and the top U.S. military commander warned Israel Wednesday against bombing Iran, suggesting the U.S. doesn't want to get involved in a third war.
"This is a very unstable part of the world and I don't need it to be more unstable," Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said at a briefing.
Bush said, "I have made it clear to all parties [including Israel] that the first option is diplomacy," in getting Iran to stop enriching uranium that could be used for a nuclear weapon.
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California said Wednesday that the wiretapping law established by Congress was the “exclusive” means for the president to eavesdrop on Americans, and he rejected the government’s claim that the president’s constitutional authority as commander in chief trumped that law.
The judge, Vaughn R. Walker, the chief judge for the Northern District of California, made his findings in a ruling on a lawsuit brought by an Oregon charity. The group says it has evidence of an illegal wiretap used against it by the National Security Agency under the secret surveillance program established by President Bush after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Justice Department has tried for more than two years to kill the lawsuit, saying any surveillance of the charity or other entities was a “state secret” and citing the president’s constitutional power as commander in chief to order wiretaps without a warrant from a court under the agency’s program.
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Categories: McCain
Schmidt takes control of day-to-day operation
Steve Schmidt is taking over the day-to-day operation of John McCain’s campaign, according to multiple campaign sources.
At a staff meeting in the campaign's Arlington, Va., headquarters this morning, campaign manager Rick Davis made the announcement about Schmidt's new role.
Schmidt, a bald and barrel-chested operative known for his aggressive brand of political combat, responded by exhorting campaign aides with a speech that one staffer likened to a locker room pep talk out of the football movie "Rudy."
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Bush was put in the White House with the strong backing of the Evangelicals. His ‘Devotion’ to religion has cost over one million lives and should Iran be attacked, millions more will die, says Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich.
“A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious.” - Aristotle.
A Re-born Christian, the world’s most powerful president believes: "Behind all of life and all of history, there's a dedication and a purpose, set by the hand of a just and faithful God." His tyranny disguised, he continues his barbaric assault on humanity. One civilization already destroyed with a death toll of over a million and counting, the mainstream media having conveniently sent the Afghan war to oblivion, Mr. Bush puts attacking Iran at the forefront of his agenda. This time, his message from a ‘higher father’ will drown the whole Middle East in blood and leave America bankrupt for decades. All the while the ‘voices’ tell him that he must continue to arm Israel so that the Palestinians can be slaughtered.
It appears that for Iran to prove its nuclear energy is for peaceful purposes is akin to the myth of Sisyphus. Just as the gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly roll a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight, considering it that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor; so the US, Israel, and their allies constantly demand that Iran prove its innocence, the negative, even though the IAEA has stated that Iran of the charges. It has become a futile task – frustrating, and hopeless. Each time, the goal post is moved - the threat of bombing Iran dangerously real. The stone will not roll back; it will fall on 70 million innocent people.
But why?
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Added: July 01, 2008
Top McCain adviser
July 02, 2008 7:08 AM
***
McCain became visibly angry when I asked him to explain how his Vietnam experience prepared him for the Presidency.
“Please,” he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question.
McCain allies Sen. Lindsey Graham stepped in to rescue him. Graham expressed admiration for McCain’s stance on the treatment of detainees in US custody.
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When it comes to the risks of identity theft, the U.S. government isn't taking its own advice.
The nation's Medicare agency and the Pentagon compel at least 52 million Americans to carry their Social Security numbers in their wallets, contrary to warnings by the Federal Trade Commission that people should avoid doing so.
At least 44 million Medicare insurance cards include the beneficiary's full Social Security number.
Social Security numbers also appear on 8 million Defense Department identity cards used by active duty and reserve forces and their dependents, and on identification cards issued to military retirees. The Pentagon plans to remove the numbers but won't complete the effort until 2014.
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Wed Jul 2, 7:55 AM ET
To: LIFESTYLES EDITORS
Contact: Kirk Mishkin of AIMRCo, +1-646-552-4754, kirk@aimrco.com
NEW YORK, July 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An unforeseen and surprising beneficiary of the Economic Stimulus Plan, a plan that George Bush contends will "boost our economy and encourage job creation," has surfaced this week. An independent market-research firm, AIMRCo (Adult Internet Market Research Company), has discovered that many websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans' mailboxes across the country.
According to Kirk Mishkin, Head Research Consultant for AIMRCo, "Many of the sites we surveyed have reported 20-30% growth in membership rates since mid-May when the checks were first sent out, and typically the summer is a slow period for this market."
Jillian Fox, spokeswoman for LSGmodels.com, one of the sites reporting figures to AIMRCo, added, "In a June 15, 2008 survey to our members, thirty two percent of respondents referenced the recent stimulus package as part of their decision to either become a new member, or renew an existing membership."
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