39 percent
"Any way you slice this data, I think these are just terrible sets of numbers."

NBC News/Wall Street Journal: lowest... poll numbers... ever.

Popular wartime president's numbers going down faster than Jack Abramoff's credit rating :

Bush’s approval rating has sunk below 40 percent, while the percentage believing the country is heading in the right direction has dipped below 30 percent. In addition, with 13 months until the 2006 congressional elections, 48 percent say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress.

- pMSNBC.

Zing

"If they want a poster boy for the Energy Hog, they can put President Bush's mug up there for jetting around the country for useless photo ops to try to bring his poll numbers back up."

- Jerry Taylor, energy expert at the Cato Institute.

Well, like, she's like so totally awesome...
"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

Oh that. Religious. Great...

Heh
"Isn't this just an empty photo op?" asked Matt Lauer shortly before being shipped off to Guantanamo.
- headline at Fark.

Video at Crooks and Liars.

It's good to be the king
Dick Cheney's non-existent Halliburton stock rose 3,281% last year, and is now valued at more than $8 million.


"Mehhh. It'll help pay for my upcoming legal expenses."
***

Oh just STFU already
Corrupt scumbag Tom DeLay, attention whore.

Frist in even more hot water

Outside the blind trust he created, Senate majority leader/douchebag Bill Frist accumulated stocks and earned tens of thousands of dollars, documents show.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at the St. Louis School of Law, said she doesn't believe the Senate trusts or the Tennessee trust insulated Frist from a conflict because the senator or his brother were advised of transactions and could influence decisions.

"What I find most appalling is the Senate calls it a qualified blind trust when it's not blind," Clark said.

Bush flipflops on taking responsibility for Katrina fiasco
Accountabilitude.

Bush now says that if a congressional investigation finds the federal government was at fault in the initial response to Katrina, then he would accept responsibility.

Photo op bites back
Preznit Partypants has an "unusually testy interview" with NBC's Matt Lauer.

Matt: "So in other words, if someone says to you, okay, you're moving a wall today and it's a photo op, but if that inspires someone else in another community to move a wall and grab a hammer, then that's mission accomplished?"

Whoa - LOL

Preznit DisasterMonkey: "I do my job as best I can. One of the things that we do is we respond to crisis. And as I told the people, if I didn't respond well enough, we're going to learn the lessons. If there's any mistakes made at the federal level, I, of course, accept responsibility for them."

If he didn't respond well enough? Is he out of his mind?? Oh wait...


"Ah wuz on vacashun! It's hard work! Brownie did a heckuva job!"
***

Where is Dick?
New revelations surface regarding chief of staff Libby in CIA leak case

In two appearances before the federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA operative's name, Scooter Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, did not disclose crucial conversations that he had with New York Times ho-bag Judith Miller in June 2003 about Valerie Plame, according to sources with firsthand knowledge of his sworn testimony.

In recent days [special prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald has expressed significant interest in whether Libby may have sought to discourage Miller - either directly or indirectly through her attorney - from testifying before the grand jury, or cooperating in other ways with the criminal probe

A senior Justice official added that even in the absence of hard evidence of an obstruction, "a prosecutor is going to want to know why a subject of (the) investigation did not want a witness to co-operate, and why they would allow someone to linger in jail for more than eighty days, unless they had something to hide. That is going to lead many prosecutors to redouble his efforts."

"Where's the fucking crashcart!!?!!"
***

Where's Dick?
Restoring honor and dignity to the White House?
And hopefully creating a new national holiday in October when he's #ucking indicted...

From the HuffPo:

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are working on stories that point to Vice President Dick Cheney as the target of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name.

Developing...


"Who can I blame for this one... let's see..."
***

Christian Defense Coalition calls for the White House to stop negatively labeling Miers' critics
Mwwwahahahahaha! It just keeps getting better and better!

The majority of those questioning the nomination of Harriet Miers are grass roots supporters who admire and helped elect the President but are dismayed by the lack of qualifications, experience and depth of Ms. Miers.

"For the White House to now turn around and label these grass roots supporters as 'elites' or 'sexist' is both insulting and offensive. Instead of name calling, the Bush Administration should be reaching out the very people who helped elect the President."

- from the CDC press release bitchslapping the misadministration.

Liars make the Baby Jebus cry

"Karl Rove didn’t tell me anything about the way Harriet Miers would vote on cases that may come before the Supreme Court."

- rightwing 'christian' crackpot James Dobson, changing his story yet again (via NewsMax, so no link).

Body language
The president is really a cranky, snivelling two-year old, who, in trouble, badly needs to go potty.

But this much could be seen watching the tape of NBC's broadcast during Bush's 14-minute interview, in which he stood unprotected by the usual lectern. The president was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere.

The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.

When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. The presidential fidgeting spiked when Lauer mentioned the Democratic accusation that Bush was performing a "photo op."

"Poopie-heads!"
****

Revised Miers strategery raises new questions
By emphasizing Harriet Miers' affiliation with the evangelical church, the misadministration has ignited new controversies. Among republicans. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Cry me a river

'There has not been a moment since October 3 when I have not felt sick and sad about this Miers battle, but today may have been the worst day yet. This morning, the president mobilized Laura Bush to join him on national television and accuse critics of the Miers nomination of "sexism."'

- David Frum. Yeah, now your 'honor and integrity' manly 'values' president is having his wife lie for him... too fucking bad, isn't it, you gpuke-sucking asstool. I hope you're fucking choking on it. But that's just me.

Indeed
"Ok, I think I just peed my pants." - John Aravosis, AmericaBlog.

"What were the guys in the Oval Office thinking?"
That they could get away with it?

White House staff in civil war over spongy traitor Karl Rove

The Bush political family is at war with itself inside the White House. It‘s Andy Card, the chief of staff, and his people against Karl Rove, the brain... There are people are out for Karl Rove inside that White House.

- WH whore wHoward 'Mulva' Fineman.

Well, there‘s a bunch of people in this state who will tell you he can play tough, because he‘s ruined their careers, Chris.

Every part of his entire career has been about vengeance, going after people who somehow crossed him or his candidates and destroying them from the battlefield. So, the fact that he‘s accused of this surprises nobody down here who has watched him forever and ever. What surprises me, though, is this whole notion of bad memory on the part of Karl. His memory is astounding, his historical ability to recall information.

You‘re talking about a guy who can still recall precinct results from 1890 elections. And to tell the grand jury or Fitzgerald or anyone that he doesn‘t recall meeting with Matt Cooper is just beyond the pale in terms of believability.

- James Moore, co-author of 'Bush's Brain.'

- from an interesting Hardball segment. Take it with a grain of salt, though: Tweety and Mulva are not only both enthusiastic Bush c0cksuckers, they're also inveterate attention whores. But still...

Conservatives desert war campaign
The mood among Washington's most influential conservative think-tanks is "decidedly sombre."

Even among the strongest advocates in Washington of the war in Iraq there is a sense of alarm these days, with harsh criticism directed particularly at the draft constitution, which they see as a betrayal of principles and a recipe for disintegration of the Iraqi state.

Expressions of concern among conservatives and former Iraqi exiles, seen also in the rising disillusionment of the American public, reflect a widening gap with the Bush administration and its claims of “incredible political progress” in Iraq.

Where’s Dick?
Don't Dick Cheney and Dumbya like each other anymore? Is Dick tired of Bush's screw-ups? Is he gravely ill? Is he an 'unindicted co-conspirator'? Is he just too busy arranging contracts for Halliburton?

Apparently, according to two journalist sources of [Joe Wilson], when Rove learned that he might have violated the law, he turned on Cheney and Libby and made it clear that he held them responsible for the problem they had created for the administration. The protracted silence on this topic from the White House masks considerable tension between the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President.

- more at Attytood .


"Where's the crashcart?!"
***

Subway plot a hoax, the Duh! Institute reports
Informant in Iraq Al-Karlif Rhov admits information about a terror plot against New York subway was a hoax, sources tell CNN. Details soon.

Moral values
Last week it was Bill Bennett, author of The book of Virtues and Moral Compass: Stories for a Life's Journey, proposing aborting black babies in order to reduce crime. Yesterday, we heard about the Christian Coalition leader accused of molestation and incest. Today, there's news about a Republican congressman being arrested and charged with drunken driving.

And don't get me started on this guy...

Run away! Run away!
Rethugs start distancing themselves from Preznit DisasterMonkey.

Back when President Bush was riding high - before the public turned sour on Iraq, before conservatives got mad about his lavish federal spending and his Harriet Miers nomination - it was widely assumed that the 2008 Republican presidential candidates would vie amongst themselves for the right to proudly carry their leader's torch. Up their ass!

But that's not happening. [T]he woes plaguing Bush - including the scandals involving indicted corrupt scumbag Tom DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff (a GOP conservative activist when he first came to town), as well as [Senate majority leader/douchebag Bill Frist, under investigation for insider trading] the legal cloud hovering over Bush strategist/greasy prison bitch^* Karl Rove - are playing havoc with the traditional GOP respect for fellating their president hierarchy.

"This President is becoming weaker by the day."

^*Hopefully.

Republicans 'fear the worst' of a White House without presi adviser Rove
"Ah!"
- Homer Simpson.

The president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb! Bush, calls Mr. Rove "invaluable to the misadministration." Others say his combination of brains, conservative commitment, and a quarter-century relationship with Preznit Partypants would make it harder to replace him than any other senior administration official. Still others say he is a "Nixonesque" figure without an "ethical compass." A grotesque asshat. A venal, flatulent boor with a penchant for vacuum-cleaner attachments and small rodents. A ...

{:: smack! :: - Ed.}

The White House declined requests for an interview with Mr. Rove.

The evolution of Mr. Bush's statements on the CIA leak case indicate how loath he is to lose the man he has described as his political "architect." Early on in the controversy over the disclosure of Ms. Plame's identity, the president vowed to fire anyone involved. Later, after testimony implicating Mr. Rove became public, Mr. Bush expressed a looser standard, saying he would remove aides who committed crimes. Last week, amid speculation that Mr. Rove might face charges from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Mr. Bush wouldn't say whether he would remove an aide under indictment.

- the Wall Street Journal.

From a pic by G Steve.


Documents, old panty-liners show Miers's close ties to Bush
"Texas has a very popular governor and first lady! I was struck by the tremendous impact you have! You are such a studmuffin!!! Keep up all the great work! The state is in great hands! XXXXOOOOO!!1!1!!!"

"You are the best governor ever - deserving of great respect," Harriet Miers wrote to George W. Bush days after his 51st birthday in July 1997. She also found him "cool," said he and his wife, Laura, were "the greatest!" and told him: "Keep up the great work. Texas is blessed."

The documents, including many minutes of meetings of the Texas Lottery Commission which Ms. Miers headed, shed little light on her legal thinking, but underscore her wet, stinky devotion to her pwecious, dreamy widdle wuvnuffy Mr Bush. Because of their closeness and her lack of a judicial record, some critics have dismissed Ms. Miers as a crony unworthy of nomination to the court but for her confidential service as the president's lawyer.

- from the NY Times, Tiger Beat.

Reasons to be cheerful

As one of the premier fake journalists on the planet, Stephen Colbert is struck by the reaction of those he mercilessly ridicules.

"The most common thing that real reporters say to me is, 'I wish I could say what you say.' What I don't understand is, why can't they say what I say, even in their own way?"

"The Colbert Report" debuts next Monday, following The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

PSM
I'm sorry I'm so lame today.

Republican cracks beginning to show

Eewwwww.

To make matters worse for the Bush misadministration, it emerged last week that the White House, which has portrayed itself as the guardian of national security, may have been penetrated by a spy.

A US marine working in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office has been arrested on suspicion of stealing classified documents and passing them on to opposition figures plotting a coup in the Philippines.

And adding to the whiff of scandal around the White House, officials announced that government contracts for relief projects in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina are being cancelled and reopened for bidding amid allegations that companies were given cosy, lucrative deals at the expense of local firms in the New Orleans region.

- the Sunday Herald.


"I dare you to find Halliburton's name in there! Arrrrrrrr!"

Accountability
The death of outrage...

Sanctimonious hypocrite Bill Bennett blames the news media for "distorting" his remark that "if you wanted to reduce crime, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."

Quit your damn whining and take it like a man, you racist, inhuman asshole.

Quote

"[W]e know that Harriet Miers thinks that George W. Bush is 'the most brilliant man she had ever met.' Which ought to disqualify her right there."

- from this week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots, at DU.

Christmas in October

Criminal defense lawyers I’ve spoken to who are friendly to the administration are very worried that there will be one or more indictments in the next three weeks of senior administration officials, just looking at what Fitzgerald is doing and taking him at his word, you know, being a serious prosecutor here. And I think it’s going to be bad for the Bush administration.

- Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday.

Someone like Bill Kristol doesn’t get information like this by accident. It’s being fed to him so, if there is an indictment, he can prepare the base.

- Think Progress.

Republican pols to pass on '06 Senate run

A senior Republican familiar with the recruiting process agreed that the climate has shifted for the GOP because of a confluence of problems from Iraq to Hurricane Katrina and high gasoline prices: "Looking at polls from June or July and then looking at them now, the deterioration is really bad."

- the WaPo. Don't forget all those ethic lapses! And those tax breaks for the rich!

Bush, who's never vetoed anything, will veto anti-torture law
Preznit Liar McDeathmonkey says Congress is attempting to tie his hands in the war against terrism.

WWJD? The Bush misadministration pledged yesterday to continue torturing prisoners even after an overwhelming and almost unprecedented revolt by republicans, one of the largest and best supported congressional revolts during President Quality-of-Life's five years in office and one which shocked the White House.

Too bad the Singing Senators have broken up!
The Daily Show to start featuring musical guests, starting with the White Stripes on Dec 1st. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Maybe it'll be cool.

Skoal!
Viking longboat containing coffee grounds discovered on the bottom of Loch Ness. Mmmmmm, coffee...

White House faces spy scandal over stolen documents
As if traitorously outing a CIA agent's name in time of war wasn't bad enough, Dick Cheney has some explaining to do over how classified documents were stolen from his office.


"Arrrrrrrrr!"

It takes an idiot
Harriet Miers' nomination has already had one positive effect: it has forced Sen. Rick Santorum to finally shut his pie-hole.

Coffee!! I need some coffee!!!!!

Groups unhappy with Bush performance
And by "groups" we mean the rethuglican base.

Democracy's on the march!
Iraq Sunnis are grateful for the free elections the US invasion brought them so they can vote against the hated US-backed Iraqi constitution.

Better watch your speed
Preznit Partyfavor is riding the white train to Flakeville. With help from Jim, Johnnie, and Old Granddad. Nightmarish skankho mAnn Coulter agrees - but I'm still not linking to her.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

WH spokes-tool Scott McClellan defends Bunnypants' ravings of terrorists taking over the world
Whoa - WH press corpse jumps all over Scott on this one -

Q: Scott, all this talk about a radical Islamic empire stretching from Europe across to southeast Asia, even some Republicans are saying that it has the appearance of the President trying to cover up bad policy in Iraq by unduly alarming people.

McCLELLAN: I haven't heard any Republicans say that. Do you have one in mind?

Q: A couple in mind, yes.

McCLELLAN: Well, do you want to share them with me?

Q: What the fuck difference does it make who said it, Scott? What's your response to the allegation that you're trying to cover up bad policy in Iraq by unduly alarming people?

McCLELLAN: Terrists hate our freedom. September 11th. Thank you.

Q: Jesus Christ....