“By almost all accounts, this Administration has done more to improve government effectiveness than any previous Administration, ever.”
—Clay Johnson, Bush buddy turned deputy director of OMB who also chairs the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency, which oversees all government inspectors general.
(Thanks to TPM Reader ST for the tip.)
Is the climate change issue risky for Dems? A new poll finds that it’s actually a perilous one for Republicans.
Question: How much of the recent spike in oil prices is being driven by the uncertainty/risk factor introduced by the White House’s Iran saber-rattling?
November 15 marks the one year anniversary of Sen. Pat Leahy’s first letter to the White House requesting documents on U.S. torture policy. A year later, Leahy is still sending letters and the White House is still stonewalling.
Yesterday we noted that Rudy-endorser Pat Robertson says that a key reason 9/11 happened was that God withdrew his protection from America because of sins like abortion, pornography and homosexuality. Rudy did get asked about this yesterday in South Carolina. And Rudy replied, “I think the comments he explained a long time ago. Iâve had to explain lots of comments of mine.”
On its face, that sounds like a dodge. And it’s one the reporters on hand appeared not to press Rudy on. But what Rudy was clearly trying to imply was that Robertson’s statements were some sort of verbal gaffe that Robertson recanted or apologized for.
But that’s not true. After initially agreeing on the air with Jerry Falwell’s comments, Robertson later claimed that there was an earpiece problem that prevented him from hearing what Falwell actually said. But Robertson has stood by his own theory of what caused 9/11. And those are posted on his website even today. He says “rampant pornography”, abortion, secularism and various other social conservative bugbears made God withdraw his protection from America and allow 9/11 to happen. In other words, 9/11 was a punishment for America’s sinful culture.
That’s what Robertson says. Rudy is trying to tell reporters that not what he meant or that he’s taken it back or whatever. But that’s not true. Let us know if you see any other reporter press the point.
Rudy’s outraged that Ron Paul says US foreign policy caused 9/11; but he’s fine with Pat Robertson who chalks it up to gays and women who get abortions. We bring you the details in today’s episode of TPMtv …
Pollster Charles Franklin notes the first sustained uptick in years in how the war in Iraq is going. I’ll have some more comments and analysis on what I think it means later today.