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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (17112)	5/13/2005 3:08:29 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 363088

Time for Full Throttle _________________________________ By Dan Froomkin Special to washingtonpost.com Friday, May 13, 2005; 12:57 PM washingtonpost.com <<...Having failed to win the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's endorsement of John Bolton as United Nations ambassador, the vaunted White House political machine now opens its throttle even wider. Every possibly wayward Senate Republican is now likely to face the same sort of intense pressure from the White House that those on the foreign relations committee were getting. Administration officials, who at least succeeded in getting the nomination to a floor vote, say they are confident they will prevail in the GOP-controlled Senate -- and might even pick up some Democratic votes. But it's also possible that the White House political machine is in danger of burning out. Because it's not just about Bolton. There are other challenges ahead as well, including Social Security, the battle over judicial nominations, the highway bill and CAFTA. Ronald Brownstein writes in a Los Angeles Times news analysis: "All the polarizing political dynamics of George W. Bush's presidency condensed into a single illuminating episode Thursday, as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance the nomination of John R. Bolton. . . . "The vote demonstrated again Bush's willingness to live on the political edge -- to accept achingly narrow margins in Congress and at the ballot box to pursue ambitious changes that sharply divide the country. . . . "This approach has allowed Bush to move more of his agenda into law than appeared possible for a president twice elected with narrow majorities in the electoral college. But it has also bitterly divided the country over his presidency, and so alienated congressional Democrats that Bush often needs virtually lock-step Republican support to pass his priorities. "The next few weeks will severely test Bush's ability to maintain that partisan unity, as Congress approaches explosive battles over ending filibusters of judicial nominees and restructuring Social Security -- as well as the Senate floor vote on Bolton." Glenn Kessler writes in The Washington Post: "Bolton's inability to win unconditional approval amounted to a rebuke of the White House, which has put tremendous pressure on Republican lawmakers to support Bolton. Several GOP lawmakers on the committee expressed deep misgivings, though they said they would vote for him, while the committee chairman, Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), gave only lukewarm support during a 42-minute speech rebutting Democratic attacks." Bill Plante reports for CBS News: "This was a bit of an embarrassment for the Whites House and a bit of a failure -- a rare failure -- for the White House political operation." Sheryl Gay Stolberg describes in the New York Times just how intense that White House political operation was. "President Bush called the dissenting Republican, Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, on Wednesday, the day before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Mr. Voinovich serves, was to take up the nomination, the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said. "Karl Rove, the president's powerful political adviser, and Andrew H. Card Jr., the chief of staff, also called to chat with Mr. Voinovich in recent weeks, Mr. McClellan said. "And Mr. Voinovich, who has steadfastly refused to answer questions about any discussions with the White House, is hardly the only Republican who is feeling the squeeze these days." The GOP Split on Social Security Jonathan Weisman writes in The Washington Post about how Republicans are split between those who back the White House's move to cut Social Security benefits and those who believe "that large private investment accounts and trillions of dollars in government borrowing could ensure Social Security's long-term solvency with no benefit cuts whatsoever. . . . "White House aides have been trying to put the public dispute to rest for months, if not years. But their failure to do so has left the GOP looking divided, next to united Democrats, who say they will not negotiate until Bush puts aside his call for private accounts financed through Social Security taxes." Poll Watch The Wall Street Journal reports: "Most Americans don't trust President Bush's motives when it comes to overhauling Social Security, a recent Harris Interactive poll shows. "In fact, only 36% of all adults say Mr. Bush's comments on saving and strengthening Social Security are his real motives for changing the program, while 49% believe his real agenda is to dismantle it."...>>

To: American Spirit who wrote (17112)	5/13/2005 4:08:10 PM
From: TigerPaw	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 363088

More Bolton laundry to air. It makes one wonder why Junior's team would want this guy to be in a public position. Maybe it makes Junior look better by comparison. The records show that Bolton's wife left him during a trip to Vienna in two weeks in 1982 and never returned. The records further show that she took most of the couple’s furniture. rawstory.com Mr. Flynt has obtained information from numerous sources that Mr. Bolton participated in paid visits to Plato’s Retreat, the popular swingers club that operated in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He's going to provide endless fodder for the joke circuit. TP