Not enough scrutiny? (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

By Mark Memmott

Politico makes an interesting point this morning:

If George W. Bush had done some of the things that President Barack Obama has -- such as spending four hours in New Orleans before heading off to a fundraiser or dissing a cable news network (Fox) -- there likely would have been much more of a fuss in the news media.

So, we wonder:

By Mark Memmott

George W. Bush told the crowd at a motivational event in Fort Worth yesterday that "every single day, I was honored to be your president by bringing honor and dignity to the office," the Star-Telegram reports.

Still, the former president said, "some days were great. ... Some days were not so great."

The Dallas Morning News' Wayne Slater also writes that Bush:

Continue reading "Bush: 'Some days were great ... some days were not so great'" >

By Mark Memmott

Conservative pundit William Kristol said former vice president Dick Cheney would be giving a "real humdinger" of a speech last night, and Cheney did just that.

At the Center for Security Policy in Washington, Cheney:

-- Said "the White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger" in Afghanistan. "Make no mistake, signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries. Waffling, while our troops on the ground face an emboldened enemy, endangers them and hurts our cause."

-- Assailed the Obama team for not imitating the Bush administration on national security policy.

"Eight years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of this time on the defensive -- and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed," Cheney said. "So you would think that our successors would be going to the intelligence community saying, 'How did you did you do it? What were the keys to preventing another attack over that period of time?'

"Instead, they've chosen a different path entirely -- giving in to the angry left, slandering people who did a hard job well, and demagoguing an issue more serious than any other they'll face in these four years. No one knows just where that path will lead, but I can promise you this: There will always be plenty of us willing to stand up for the policies and the people that have kept this country safe."

-- Defended the Bush administration against charges that it allowed some suspected terrorists to be tortured.

"In short, to call enhanced interrogation a program of torture is not only to disregard the program's legal underpinnings and safeguards," Cheney said. "Such accusations are a libel against dedicated professionals who acted honorably and well, in our country's name and in our country's cause. What's more, to completely rule out enhanced interrogation in the future, in favor of half-measures, is unwise in the extreme. In the fight against terrorism, there is no middle ground, and half-measures keep you half exposed.

"For all that we've lost in this conflict, the United States has never lost its moral bearings -- and least of all can that be said of our armed forces and intelligence personnel. They have done right, they have made our country safer, and a lot of Americans are alive today because of them."

The text of Cheney's address is posted here. And the center has made video available as well:

The center gave Cheney its "Keeper of the Flame" award. The organization is run by Reagan-era Defense Department official Frank Gaffney.

Tickets are on sale now. (getmotivated.com)

By Mark Memmott

Former president George W. Bush is set to step on stage Monday night in Ft. Worth at what veteran Dallas Morning News political writer Wayne Slater predicts will be something of a "Babbitt meets the Super Bowl; part pep rally, part Christian revival meeting for salespeople who want to up their game."

Bush is getting top-billing at the next "Get Motivated!" business seminar -- a touring production that clams to be an "energizing, action-packed, star-studded, fun-filled, spectacular stage show."

It's all run by the husband-and-wife team of Peter and Tamara Lowe who happily promote themselves as "the dynamic duo who create and produce The GET MOTIVATED! Seminar, and have been happily married for 20 years."

Among those due to join the former president at Monday's show are former secretary of State Colin Powell, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and "inspirational speaker" Dr. Robert Schuller.

And don't forget:

That is possibly the most mind-blowing part of the whole deal: $19 for EVERYBODY IN YOUR ENTIRE OFFICE! Not per person -- $19 for the whole office! If you bring a large office, you could save thousands and thousands by registering prior to the event. That's a HUGE VALUE!

Don't wait and pay $225 for your tickets at the door. Call 1-800-880-7058 right now!

By Mark Memmott

"We think that this gives us a sense of momentum when the United States has accolades tossed its way rather than shoes."

That's what State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said yesterday when he talked to reporters about the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Barack Obama on Friday.

His line is a reference, of course, to the incident in Baghdad last December when an angry Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at then-president George W. Bush.

And Crowley's rather undiplomatic quip underscores what Frank noted yesterday afternoon -- that it certainly appears that Obama got the award in part because he's not Bush.

After a follow-up question, Crowley steered back to give a more diplomatic answer about the connection between the Nobel Prize and the previous administration:

Question: "I have two questions. First of all, on your very clever comment about accolades, not shoes, how much of this Nobel Peace Prize do you think is, you know, a kind of award to the president for not being George Bush? I mean, there was so much kind of animosity in the international community because of the last administration that it seems that just the fact that this administration has offered a new approach around the world is what the award was really about. I mean, I think the president himself recognized that there isn't a whole lot of actual accomplishment yet about the award, but it's more about expectations and the fact that this administration is devising a new course. So how much do you think that this is an indictment of the past administration and an award for not being George Bush?"

Crowley: "Well, I think I'll follow the sage advice of Robert Gibbs and say it's impossible for us to project what the Nobel committee had in mind. I think what is important to us is an affirmation of not only the strategy but also the important agenda. The committee particularly singled out the challenge of nonproliferation. Obviously, it's been a significant focus of the president, the secretary, and others in these first 10 months, starting with the Prague speech and continuing with the session at the U.N. a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, we're very mindful as the secretary heads to Russia -- we've got ongoing discussions with Russia on a follow-on to the START treaty. We obviously are aware that we have important dialogue with Iran and North Korea that's ongoing. We're looking ahead to the NPT review conference next year, finding ways to strengthen the Nonproliferation Treaty and the global regime. And we know that there's a very heavy lift here with the United States coming up in terms of the administration's desire to see ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And there are other steps as well.

"So there is an opportunity here. The tone has changed, but obviously, we recognize that while the tone in the world has changed, the challenges remain. They're very significant. And I thought the president set the right tone today in terms of looking forward and understanding that there's a lot that needs to be done, but that as we go through this we'll need to see collaborative action. The United States can't solve this problem alone, but these problems will not be solved without the American leadership that we've shown in the first 10 months."

By Frank James

Among the Bush-era Justice Department practices most appalling to Democratic and even some Republican lawmakers was the blatant politicization of the Justice Department under then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Monica Goodling, a Bush-era Justice Department official, was fond of trying to determine job applicants' political views and has drawn a lawsuit against the department by some rejected job seekers. (Susan Walsh / AP Photo)

It's pretty well established that under Gonzales job applicants were asked whether they were Republicans and conservatives. Those not deemed sufficiently on board weren't hired.

Some rejected applicants filed lawsuits. On Thursday, a federal district judge ruled that some of the plaintiffs could sue while others couldn't.

As NPR's Ari Shapiro reported for the network's newscast:

An investigation found that people asked job applicants questions like: Why are you a Republican? Or, What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him? Liberals applicants were rejected; conservatives were hired.

Eight rejected job applicants filed a lawsuit.

Now a judge says only three of the applicants have grounds to sue.

U.S. District Judge John Bates also says they cannot sue former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, his chief counsel Monica Goodling, or other officials in their personal capacity.

Instead, the lawsuit will proceed against the Justice Department itself.

Continue reading "Some Lawsuits Against Bush Justice Dept's Political Hiring Move Forward" >

She'll have to wait another day for her brother's release. (Ghassan Adnan / NPR)

By Mark Memmott

It looks like it will be another day at least before the Iraqi television reporter known around the world as the shoe-thrower will be released from a Baghdad prison.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi's brothers told reporters that he called them from prison to say he won't be freed until Tuesday because of delays in processing his paperwork, the Associated Press reports.

It was last December when al-Zeidi, during a Baghdad news conference being held by then-president George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, hurled two shoes at the U.S. leader. The president ducked both times.

If you haven't seen the video from that incident in a while, here it is:

Update at 11:05 a.m. ET. Courtesy of Ghassan Adnan from NPR's staff in Baghdad, we've added some photos from the scene outside the prison today. There's one above and two more below:

Continue reading "Iraqi Shoe-Thrower's Release Delayed" >

Former Bush Justice Department official Bradley Schlozman is sworn in before testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2007. (Susan Walsh) / AP Photo)

By Frank James

A former Justice Department official who engaged in political hiring during the Bush Administration won't have to worry about being prosecuted by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder has decided to abide by a federal prosecutor's earlier decision to not prosecute Bradley Schlozman who was acting director of the Justice Department's civil-rights division was found to have actively weeded out liberal job applicants.

As NPRs Ari Shapiro reported for the network's newscast:

Earlier this year, the Justice Department's Inspector General concluded that Bradley Schlozman hired people to work in the civil rights division based on their political ideology.

The report said he bragged about hiring, quote, "real Americans" to replace the liberals he called "pinkos and commies".

When Schlozman testified before Congress, he said he did not hire people based on their ideology.

Lawmakers asked whether Schlozman lied under oath.

The top federal prosecutor for Washington DC concluded there was not enough evidence to bring a prosecution.

Continue reading "AG Holder Won't Prosecute Bush Justice Official For Allegedly Lying To Congress" >

By Frank James

Before Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst at President Barack Obama during the joint session of Congress, the most famous recent example of disrespect to an American president was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi heaving his size 10 shoes at former President George W. Bush.

Al-Zeidi is now poised to be released Monday from prison where he's been the last nine months.

Continue reading "President Bush's Iraqi Shoe Thrower Due For Release Monday" >

By Frank James

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft just had his Labor Day weekend ruined. A federal appeals court has ruled that he can be held personally liable for wrongfully detaining people as material witnesses after the 9/11 attacks.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be personally sued for post 9/11 material-witness detentions, the 9th Circuit Appeals Court decided. (Susan Walsh / AP Photo)

An excerpt from the Associated Press:

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government's improper use of material witnesses after Sept. 11 was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history."

The court found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism case can sue Ashcroft for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen and former University of Idaho student, filed the lawsuit against Ashcroft and other officials in 2005, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was detained as a material witness for two weeks in 2003.

Al-Kidd said the investigation and detention not only caused him to lose a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia, but cost him employment opportunities and caused his marriage to fall apart.

He argued that his detention exemplified an illegal government policy created by Ashcroft to arrest and detain people - particularly Muslim men and those of Arab decent - as material witnesses if the government suspected them of a crime but had no evidence to charge them.

Here's the decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel.

Continue reading "John Ashcroft Can Be Sued For Illegal Material Witness Detentions: Court" >

By Frank James

When pressed by journalists during his time in the White House, former President George W. Bush said repeatedly that the U.S. didn't torture.

But the picture that emerged during the Bush Administration after the use of waterboarding on Bush's watch became widely known was of an administration that countenanced torture techniques despite Bush's assertions to the contrary.

That picture is expected to gain a bit more resolution Monday when a report by the Central Intelligence Agency's director is publicly released. The report, according to Newsweek, will outline how CIA interrogators used mock executions and psychological torture to extract information from terror suspects.

A Newsweek excerpt:

According to two sources--one who has read a draft of the paper and one who was briefed on it--the report describes how one detainee, suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was threatened with a gun and a power drill during the course of CIA interrogation. According to the sources, who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named while discussing sensitive information, Nashiri's interrogators brandished the gun in an effort to convince him that he was going to be shot. Interrogators also turned on a power drill and held it near him. "The purpose was to scare him into giving [information] up," said one of the sources. A federal law banning the use of torture expressly forbids threatening a detainee with "imminent death."

The report also says, according to the sources, that a mock execution was staged in a room next to a detainee, during which a gunshot was fired in an effort to make the suspect believe that another prisoner had been killed. The inspector general's report alludes to more than one mock execution.

By Frank James

Federal investigators are reporting that the controversial and secret electronic surveillance program ordered up by President George W. Bush ostensibly to catch terrorists, and whose existence was revealed by the New York Times, was part of an even larger spying operation.

NPR's Ari Shapiro provides more details on a report released today and produced by several federal department inspectors general:

In 2005, the New York Times revealed that the President was eavesdropping on Americans without court oversight.

This report says that was just one aspect of a much larger secret spying program.

The other parts remain classified.

This report says only the President was allowed to decide who could learn about the program.

When Attorney General John Ashcroft asked to have his deputy and his chief of staff briefed, the White House said no.

Continue reading "Bush Spying Program Far Larger Than Public Knew: Report" >

By Frank James

Controversial figures often have a tough time finding jobs and that's certainly been true for former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who, as former President George W. Bush's legal point man, drew the ire of many in Congress for appearing to sanction torture and allow the politicization of the Justice Department.

Alberto Gonzales wiped his eye tears on his last day of work as U.S. attorney general, Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

But he finally has landed a university teaching job in his home state of Texas.

As NPR's Ari Shapiro reports:

Alberto Gonzales rocketed to the highest levels of the legal profession.

He was White House counsel during President Bush's first term and Attorney General in the second term.

His name was often mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee.

But scandals about torture, domestic spying, and US Attorney firings steadily ate away at Gonzales's reputation.

He eventually resigned amid questions over whether he had lied to Congress under oath.

Continue reading "Alberto Gonzales Finally Lands A Job" >

By Frank James

We reported Monday on journalist Robert Draper's GQ story in which he said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld allowed Pentagon intelligence briefing documents to be produced with Bible passages on their cover sheets.

The DOD briefings supposedly went to the White House where they were presented to President George W. Bush, according to Draper, with Rumsfeld using the biblically flavored reports to curry favor with the born-again president.

Today, a former Rumsfeld aide vehemently disputes Draper's version of events. Indeed, Politico.com is reporting that Keith Urban, the former aide, denies that Rumsfeld did what Draper reported.

Politico reproduced what it said was Urban's email. Here's an excerpt:

... The suggestion that Rumsfeld would have composed, approved of, or personally shown the slides to President Bush is flat wrong. It did not happen.

Given that Draper used anonymous sources for this charge as well as for the rest of the innuendo in his piece, one would think he might have at least done a cursory review of the facts. He might then have avoided being taken (in) by people with an axe (to) grind. When Draper goes back and checks reality against his reporting, he might also check whether GQ is need of a new gossip columnist.

Defense Dept. briefing cover sheet during Rumsfeld era. CQ.com

 

By Frank James

It was widely known that many members of the Bush Administration wore religion on their sleeves. But it was likely news to many that they actually stamped religion onto official Pentagon documents.

Author Robert Draper has a piece in GQ Magazine in which he reports that under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, classified intelligence briefings for President George Bush contained cover sheets with color photographs from the war front over which were superimposed Biblical passages.

Draper, who wrote the entertaining "Dead Certain", a peek inside the Bush White House written with Bush's approval, says Rumsfeld allowed the cover sheets in order to curry favor with the born-again president. He also reports that the use of Old and New Testament verses was somewhat controversial within the Pentagon.

Continue reading "Donald Rumsfeld's Bible Verses " >