Among the DOJ emails released by Congress yesterday involving the U.S. attorney firings was this hard-hitting gem from then-Washington Post reporter (now Washington Times executive editor) John Solomon to a department flack:
Of course, the White House counsel’s office had to sign off. Of course, an administration in its last two years looks for some fresh blood to inject into jobs. Of course, DOJ’s analysis of prosecutors goes beyond performance evaluations to achievements or failures on policy issues like immigration.
I think we can get this just right with your help.
There was also a White House email where officials were discussing an alleged offer from National Review‘s Rich Lowry to help defend Tim Griffin, the Karl Rove protege and former RNC oppo researcher who was installed as the replacement for one of the fired U.S. attorneys in Arkansas.
Stephen Hawking responds to the bizarro report that if he were English (which he is) that his life would be considered worthless by the National Health Service: “I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”
Rick Santorum headed to Iowa to test waters for 2012 run. It’s like Christmas in August.
If you were White House counsel and someone from the White House political shop approached you, just before the midterm elections, about intervening with the Justice Department to help out a congressman from your party under criminal investigation, you would:
(a) Fire his ass on the spot.
(b) Drop kick him from the West Wing to a closet-sized office in the EEOB, never to be heard from again.
(c) Send a memo to everyone in the political office warning against any contacts with DOJ officials regarding any ongoing investigations.
(d) Get the deputy attorney general on the phone and see whether you could get him to publicly exonerate the congressman, then dutifully email back the political operative to report on how the call went.
If you answered (d), you’re qualified to be nominated to the Supreme Court.
Health care policy guru Jonathan Cohn on Colbert last night. Watch.
It’s come to this. The gist of a Senate Democrats talking point on health care reform: We won’t kill old people. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
Rep. Michele Bachmann’s son has brought shame on his family by up and joining AmeriCorps’ Teach for America. His mom has derided AmeriCorps as a “re-education camps” run by Democrats.
TPM Reader SF:
Perhaps there will be some brave republican willing to spearhead an investigation of whether Stephen Hawking actually IS British? Isn’t it awfully convenient that a man with no discernable British accent suddenly claims that he is British just after it’s pointed out the the UK health system would have euthanized him as a child? Where is his birth certificate? And, if he is proved to be a Brit (long shot, I bet) then ought he not be forced to alter his speech-machine to clearly add a few “guv’nah” and “by jove” references to his speech so that he’s no longer able to hide it?
From TPM Reader MG …
Bowers is right for a change. There isn’t a media outlet around including TPM that isn’t distorting the truth.and making it seem as if every townhall meeting is a hate fest for Dems and the president. Clair McCaskill’s event yesterday looked like it was at least a 50/50 split on teevee if not more so with only 20% at most making noise yet Eric K said the crowd was anti-reform. Obama takes 3 or 4 questions from people who aren’t supporters or grumble about curent health care and MSNBC claims he only answered questions from plants, or Chuck Todd’s take “they were too awed by the office of the presidency to be assholes” and then they spend half the day on the Paultard outside with the gun.
The Investor’s Business Daily runs a premise-undermining pseudo-correction admitting(!) that physicist Stephen Hawking is … British.
Meanwhile, Brits are making #welovethenhs a top trending topic on Twitter.