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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean accused President Bush last night of being weak on national defense and absent in the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. In remarks at San Diego State University, Dean urged activists to fan across the nation – including deep into the heart of Republican-rich “red” states – to tell voters that Bush has failed as president – including in national defense, which Republicans tout as their core strength. “You know, people say the Republicans are tough on defense. How can you be tough on defense if five years after 9/11, Osama...

July 16, 2006— Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright criticized the Bush administration for not getting more involved in the crisis in the Middle East and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should leave the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, and begin Mideast shuttle diplomacy.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright today harshly criticized the Iraq war, calling it the "biggest mistake in US history." Asked by the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, whether the US invasion of Iraq was a mistake, Albright responded by saying that this is "likely the biggest wrong foreign policy decision in the history of the United States." She pointed out that Washington did not take into account the repercussions of the Iraq war, according to the German-language transcript of Albright's interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau. Albright made clear that America's reputation was "badly damaged, ts moral status undermined and its...

Democrats rip GOP on Social Security planBy MIKE WILSON, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 21 minutes ago DES MOINES, Iowa - The Republican plan to privatize Social Security could cause huge debt for decades, a Democratic candidate seeking a House seat in Iowa, a state with a high concentration of elderly residents, said Saturday. "If the Republican plan is allowed to pass, future generations both here and across the country will be saddled with decades of debt and no guaranteed retirement security," Bruce Braley said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Braley, 48, a lawyer from Waterloo, faces Republican Mike...

Managua, Jul 6 (EFE).- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said here Thursday that he opposes any attempts by foreign powers to influence the Nicaraguan presidential election, set for Nov. 5. The statement was made by Carter in Managua at the end of his four-day visit to the country to familiarize himself with how the electoral process is unfolding. Speaking on behalf of his Atlanta-based Carter Center, the former president said: "Almost all of the Nicaraguans with whom we spoke expressed concern about foreign governments endorsing, vetoing, or funding specific candidates." Carter criticized the position of the U.S. government, which has...

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Thursday sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte urging him to reconstitute immediately a Central Intelligence Agency unit responsible for hunting down Osama bin Laden. Kerry, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential hopeful, was reacting to a story published by The New York Times on Tuesday that reported that the CIA unit known as Alec Station was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the CIA Counterterrorist Center. "This unit should be reconstituted immediately and given all resources necessary to finish the job of...

Calling Iraq "this quagmire," Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jim Webb yesterday said President Bush would rather play politics than bring home American troops. Webb, who is opposing Republican Sen. George Allen, a Bush ally on Iraq, said in the Democratic response to the president's weekly radio address that it is not disloyal to the troops to criticize the war. "As the occupation of Iraq has continued to drag on, some of our most distinguished retired generals, as well as many members of Congress with strong loyalties to our military, have suggested different approaches for America to remove itself from this...

Democrat Jim Webb said yesterday that if he is elected to the U.S. Senate, he would sponsor legislation to raise the minimum wage. He said he would also push to remove the ability of Congress to increase its pay. "There are 153,000 Virginians earning an embarrassingly low $5.15 an hour minimum wage and while the same members of Congress, including George Allen, voted against raising that wage, they were voting to give themselves a total $31,600 in pay raises since they last raised the minimum wage," Webb said in a statement. "That is unfair, selfish and wrong." Webb supported a...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- At some Presbyterian churches the Holy Trinity -- "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" -- will be out. "Mother, Child and Womb" is in. Delegates to the national assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted yesterday to "receive" a policy paper on sex-inclusive language for the Trinity, a step short of approving it. Church officials are enabled to propose "experimental liturgies" with "alternative phrasings" for the Trinity, but congregations won't be required to use them. Besides "Mother, Child and Womb" and "Rock, Redeemer, Friend," options include: • "Lover, Beloved, Love" • "Creator, Savior, Sanctifier" • "King of Glory,...

Legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas has sharply questioned U.S. presidents for 46 years, but when she spoke at Centre College Thursday, she had a question for the American people. “Where is the outrage?” The subject of that outrage, Thomas said, should be the war in Iraq and President George W. Bush. She made a plea for peace and suggested Bush do as President Lyndon Johnson was advised in Vietnam, “Declare a victory and leave.” Thomas, a Winchester native, said she was glad to come home to find the word “liberal isn't demonized” here. The 85-year-old was quick on her...

It didn't take long for Bush administration critics to start beating up on newly announced White House press secretary Tony Snow. Over at CNN, Jack Cafferty welcomed the former "Fox News Sunday" host to his new job yesterday by referring to his old employer as "the 'F'-word network." "Tony Snow, who also happens to be an anchor over there at the "F" word network, is likely to take the job as White House press secretary," reported Cafferty. "President Bush can do worse -- not a bad guy. But it might be too late." Over at MSNBC, Keith Olbermann didn't sound...

April 23, 2006 — In an exclusive interview, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., told ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that the latest purported recording from Osama bin Laden "underscores the failure of [the Bush] administration to capture" the terror leader. "Osama Bin Laden is loose today because we allowed him to escape at Tora Bora," said Kerry, echoing a statement often heard during his failed 2004 presidential bid.

Kerry calls for Rumsfeld's resignation after new 'Bin Laden' tape Washington - US Senator John Kerry on Sunday called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign following the airing of a new recording attributed to fugitive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden slipped past US troops from his hideout in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan in late 2001 because Rumsfeld had not committed enough troops to finding him, Kerry, the Democratic Party candidate in the 2004 presidential election, told ABC television. The failure to catch the al-Qaeda head on that occasion was one of the biggest catastrophes...

Those who disagree with the Bush administration's policies in Iraq face the same scornful charges that they are unpatriotic as Sen. John Kerry did 35 years ago when he spoke out against the Vietnam War, the Massachusetts Democrat said Saturday. "I have come here today to reaffirm that it was right to dissent in 1971 from a war that was wrong. And to affirm that it is both a right and an obligation for Americans today to disagree with a President who is wrong, a policy that is wrong, and a war in Iraq that weakens the nation," Kerry said...

Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War, on Saturday blasted the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq as immoral. "It is immoral to abuse the good nature of our young people, and send them back and back and back (into combat) ... with no strategy to win, and no strategy to end" the war, Cleland said. After Cleland's short speech, Clark - an Arkansas native who sought the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2004 - returned to the microphone briefly, turning to cast his eyes on...

Democrats Blame Bush for High Gas Prices 9 minutes ago Consumer gasoline prices continue to soar as the Bush administration places too much emphasis on drilling reserves and not enough on alternative fuels, Democrats said Saturday. In his party's weekly radio address, Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record) of Florida noted that Brazil has announced it will achieve energy independence this year, something the United States has sought since the country's first oil crisis in the 1970s. "In Brazil, drivers are filling up their cars with ethanol instead of gasoline," Nelson said. "And today in America, President Bush says,...

Kerry Accuses Bush of Stifling Dissent By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 35 minutes ago Invoking bitter memories of the public tumult over the Vietnam War three decades ago, Sen. John Kerry is accusing the Bush administration of stifling dissent about its failed Iraq policies by branding critics as unpatriotic. "The spirit of intolerance for dissent has risen steadily, and the habit of labeling dissenters as unpatriotic has become the common currency of the politicians currently running our country," Kerry, D-Mass., said in remarks prepared for delivery Saturday at Boston's Faneuil Hall. "We have even heard accusations that this...

I just saw on Foxnews that President Bush's poll numbers have taken another dive. Gee I wonder why? Maybe the average American isn't thrilled about our President hosting the Red Chinese..complete with marching bands..and a 21 gun salute. Maybe the average American isn't thrilled that 12000 illegal aliens enter the US every day. Screw guest workers, screw the economy..if the terrorist sneak some sort of bomb in here..its all gonna be blown to hell anyways. Maybe the average American isn't thrilled that Iran was named CHAIRMAN of the disarm committee of the UN..and we don't hear A PEEP from our...

RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Bush administration is relying too heavily on other countries in the international effort to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, according to Sen. Harry Reid. Reid, D-Nev., said the administration should be taking the lead, but instead is relying on Germany, France and Great Britain to convince Iran to end its uranium enrichment program. "It is hard to comprehend," Reid said Tuesday in Reno. "We should be involved at trying to arrive at a diplomatic solution. ... Not just these three countries." Reid said the Middle East is a "powder keg" because of U.S. failures...

"George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace."So declares ROLLING STONE magazine in a planned cover story, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT."The Worst President in History?" streets Friday.Developing...