When the White House press corps (especially this White House and this press corps) starts openly mocking your guy, it’s time to worry. Who says politicians try to be all things to all people? Last Wednesday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the president, declining to commit to his economists’ employment forecasts, declared: . . . → Read More: Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

An organization representing families of people who died in the 911 terrorist attacks has asked that George Bush, if that’s his real name, answer in public and under oath a list of questions drawn up by the group, Sept. 11 Family Steering Committee. On Friday, the steering committee asked the Senate Select Intelligence Committee . . . → Read More: Answering questions offends the boy king

Not content with saddling the states with unfunded educational mandates (No Child Left …) and slashing the funds for training and equipping cops and firemen and EMTs by more than half, the Bush — if that’s his real name — administration has now nixed the pooled purchasing of prescription drugs inaugurated by Michigan and . . . → Read More: Saving money on pharmaceuticals offends the boy king.

Via Atrios, Congressman John Dingell’s letter to economics czarina Greg Mankiw.

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Dr. Gregory Mankiw Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers Executive Office of the President Washington, DC 20502 Dear Dr. Mankiw:

I noticed in the recently released Economic Report of the President that there was some consternation in the defining of manufacturing. It could . . . → Read More: John Dingell, a stand-up guy

According to an article I read a few days ago and can’t now find, fabulist extraordinaire Ahmed Chalabi — leader of the Iraqi exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, producer of the most bogus of bogus intelligence prior to the invasion of Iraq — and his family have grossed about $400 million on post-war . . . → Read More: Bold as love

This is particularly silly. Schwarzenegger reaffirmed his opposition to the gay marriages that are taking place in San Francisco. He said Mayor Gavin Newsom’s refusal to obey the state’s law against same-sex marriages could set a bad precedent.

On Friday, the governor said he had directed California’s attorney general to take action to stop . . . → Read More: Hey, Arnold

is dangerous and mean. Via a Wall Street Journal column, the campaign equates Bush’s credibility with that of his office. The column has a hugely and, I assume, unintentionally hilarious lede. In the increasingly out-of-body experience that has become politics and the news about politics in America, it is getting harder than ever to . . . → Read More: BushBlog: attacking the credibility of George Bush, if that’s his real name,

Probably William Safire’s favorite advice column, as it involves conversing with a famous dead guy. Dear Spengler: I am the chief executive officer of the world’s largest religious denomination. Through no fault of my own, a number of pedophiles have found their way into positions of responsibility in my organization. This has caused me . . . → Read More: Ask Spengler

I have no idea who she is or what she’s doing writing opinion pieces on election coverage, but this is pathetic on several levels, and it’s coming from a source not ordinarily associated with pathetic journalism. It’s no mystery why journalists generally ignore outsider candidates: We don’t want to lend credence to people with . . . → Read More: Someone send this woman a translator

Japan’s swangin’ Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has got himself in a couple of potentially retirement-inducing pickles. He’s in the process of sending Japanese troops to Iraq, the most militant behavior of any Japanese leader since the end of WW II, and he may have lost Japanese business a couple of multi-billion dollar contracts by . . . → Read More: Picking your friend’s nose