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What if we had a real bona fide chimpanzee for a president? You know, a little hairy ape like the ones in the zoo. Would he or she do a better job than George W. Bush? Sure, the chimp would soil the Oval Office. We all know the primate house isn’t a pretty place. But would the chimp have been smart enough to find and soil the US Constitution? Would the chimp have surrounded itself with larger, aggressive primates such as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld? No crony chimps Would it have had the intelligence to poop its mark on...

When President Bush arrives in Irvine on Monday morning to pitch his immigration reform plan, one of his party's best-known local standard-bearers will be maintaining a respectful — and politically careful — distance. Dana Rohrabacher, the nine-term Republican congressman from Huntington Beach, generally supports the president, but disagrees with his immigration policies. So Rohrabacher plans to sit out Bush's speech to the Orange County Business Council. "I don't want to be behind him looking glum and not applauding," Rohrabacher said. "So as not to be rude to the president — which I think is inexcusable — I think I'll just...

Now this is interesting. WaPo 1-----------The survey found that 38 percent of the public approve of the job Bush is doing---------- How can that be "a new low"? I mean, picture this. Bush's numbers are so low, they can't get much lower than 38%. That's practically his lowest ever. Does the Washington Post really want to go down this road? Every time numbers come out, no matter what the number is, it's categorized as a new low? So if they come up to 40%, will that be "a new low" too? Somehow, I think that's the case. Just two days...

When Democrats in my home state of Wisconsin voted at their state party convention last spring to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, they added the name of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the list. That still sounds like an appropriate roster for removal.

Continued dissatisfaction with President Bush and the Iraq war could spell trouble for Republicans in the fall congressional elections. More than one-third of voters in a CBS News poll say they will think of their vote as a vote against Mr. Bush, while just 14 percent will think of it as a vote for him. Forty-five percent say their view of the president will not be a factor in how they vote. Those numbers contrast sharply with the run-up to the 2002 midterm elections, in which Republicans won historic gains. Four years ago, 31 percent said their vote would be...

(CNSNews.com) - Soldiers in Iraq last week completed a water treatment and storage project that provides purified water to residents of four communities north of Baghdad, according to the Department of Defense.

by Mark Finkelstein March 27, 2006 Wouldn't you think that someone who fashions his show "Hardball" would have the intestinal fortitude to invite on at least one guest who disagrees with his world view? At least tonight, Chris Matthews apparently thought that unnecessary. Here was Matthews guest line-up this evening: Philippe Sands: left-wing Brit, author of a new book, Lawless World, accusing Bush of having decided very early on in the game to go to war against Iraq. John Podesta: the lugubrious former chief-of-staff to Bill Clinton and member of Hillary's inner circle. Pat Buchanan: while the Today show had...

Howard Kurtz of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” (hat tip to Crooks and Liars) spent a lot of time Sunday addressing the firestorm started this week by radio host Laura Ingraham over negative media reports out of Iraq. One of Kurtz’s guests was Lara Logan of CBS who was clearly not pleased with these assertions. In fact, Logan, reporting from Iraq, appeared rather defensive (video link to follow).

by Mark Finkelstein March 24, 2006 Seemingly on every evening's Hardball, Chris Matthews enjoys chanting a mantra of allegedly failed Bush administration promises on Iraq.. Chief among them is his taunt that the White House claimed that our troops would be greeted as liberators. Just as it might be soothing to see someone silence an ostentatious Berkeley hippie endlessly chanting 'ummm', it was most satisfying to witness Christopher Hitchens on this evening's Hardball comprehensively refute Matthews on his claim. Once again, Matthews launched into his leitmorif: Pres. Bush: "strikes out . . . on the fact that we were going...

The TV Newser at Media Bistro reported earlier today (hat tip to Drudge) that the Gallup organization is dropping CNN as a partner citing declining viewer rates as the reason.

President Bush had a senior moment midway through his news conference yesterday. Referring to an earlier question from the Los Angeles Times' Jim Gerstenzang, who has covered much of Bush's presidency, Bush looked at the veteran correspondent -- and forgot his name. "Back, to, uh, this man's question right here," he said, and then he looked down at his seating chart for a refresher before adding: "This man being Jim." "Sorry, Jim," the president said after everybody had a chuckle at his expense. "I got a lot on my mind these days." That he does. Bush's presidency is in trouble,...

"Presidents come and go," Rep. Jerry Lewis told the House Rules Committee last Wednesday. That was a reason Lewis gave, as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, for opposing President Bush's proposed line-item veto. But the broader meaning of what he said suggested the congressional Republican majority's mindset: George W. Bush's presence is evanescent and not to be equated with the permanence of legislators. Lewis is no bomb-throwing rookie congressman. He is a 71-year-old 14-termer who has been in public office continuously for 38 years and is known as a dependable Republican regular. It is not in character for Lewis to...

I don't know about you guys, but I am so sick and tired of these lying, thieving, holier-than-thou, right-wing, cruel, crude, rude, gauche, coarse, crass, cocky, corrupt, dishonest, debauched, degenerate, dissolute, swaggering, lawyer shooting, bullhorn shouting, infrastructure destroying, hysterical, history defying, finger-pointing, puppy stomping, roommate appointing, pretzel choking, collateral damaging, aspersion casting, wedding party bombing, clear cutting, torturing, jobs outsourcing, torture outsourcing, "so-called" compassionate-conservative, women's rights eradicating, Medicare cutting, uncouth, spiteful, boorish, vengeful, noxious, homophobic, xenophobic, xylophonic, racist, sexist, ageist, fascist, cashist, audaciously stupid, brazenly selfish, lethally ignorant, journalist purchasing, genocide ignoring, corporation kissing, poverty inducing, crooked, coercive, autocratic, primitive,...

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 15 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday rejected calls to extend a May 15 deadline for the elderly to sign up for a new prescription drugs plan despite complaints from seniors that it is too confusing.

WASHINGTON — New post-recession revenues are pouring into state coffers across the nation, but activists in several states are leading "revolts" to make sure their governments don't use this new wealth for tax and spend schemes without taxpayers' approval. "We are in a major revolt right now," said Mary Adams, head of the petition drive to get a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) on the November ballot in Maine. Last month, the office of the secretary of state in Maine verified 50,519 citizen signatures in favor of putting the measure on the ballot. Like in other states across the nation, the Maine...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. I am surprised at the recent outrage regarding the sale of American port operations to a United Arab Emirates' company, President Bush's proposal allowing foreign ownership of domestic airlines, etc. After all, we have enjoyed more than 25 years of continuous and growing trade deficits. And why not, if foreigners are willing to ship us more goods than we ship them, good for us as it enables us to consume more than we as a nation produce. Unfortunately, there is just one problem, the only reason foreigners would continue shipping us...

Anybody remember the 04 election when the media campaigned for Kerry and whenever the flip-flopper opened his mouth about mcjobs the media was there to carry the weight of it? Have you seen the new news on jobs?

by Mark Finkelstein March 9, 2006 Talk about people who live in glass houses . . . For some time now, Chris Matthews has played the leitmotif of a "second-rate second term" at the White House. When on this evening's Hardball he invited Margaret Carlson to whack the Bush pinata, there were embarrassing consequences for the toothy ex-Time editor, now languishing at Bloomberg News. Matthews tried his best to tee it up for Carlson: "Margaret, I look at a pattern of events and they come out of people's mouths, conservatives, liberals, whatever: Katrina - competence question. That nomination for the...

A high school social studies teacher who was put on leave after comparing President Bush's State of the Union address to speeches made by Adolf Hitler defended his lecture on Tuesday, saying he was trying to encourage students to think. "My job as a teacher is to challenge students to think critically about issues that are affecting our world and our society," Jay Bennish said on NBC's "Today Show." Bennish is on paid leave from Overland High School in suburban Aurora, Colo., while Cherry Creek School District investigates whether his Feb. 1 lecture violated a policy requiring that balancing viewpoints...