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WASHINGTON - At a time when even President George W. Bush acknowledges the war in Iraq is sapping the nation's spirit, the Senate has tied itself up in procedural knots rather than engage in a debate on Iraq policy. Given the influence that voter frustration with Iraq had on the November elections, the national unease with the mounting human and financial costs, and the raw passion on all sides, even some lawmakers say they are astounded that the buildup to the Senate fight over Bush's proposed troop increase has produced such a letdown. "It just floors me," said Sen. Amy...

For more than a year, the affair between San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the wife of his good friend and campaign manager, Alex Tourk, was a bomb that those around the mayor knew would one day go off. But it wasn't until last week that the fuse was finally lit, by Tourk's wife herself. After this week's explosion, people close to the mayor, Tourk and Ruby Rippey-Tourk, revealed what had gone on behind the scenes. We're told the affair didn't last long -- the mayor has privately said to friends that there were only a couple of encounters. Rumors...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the National Press Club this morning to deliver Democrats' national Address on the State of Our Union. The new Democratic Congress is committed to working in a bipartisan fashion to make America energy independent, to express the overwhelming opposition of the American people to the President's plan to escalate the war in Iraq, and to take America in a new direction. Below are their remarks as prepared: Speaker Nancy Pelosi: It is an honor to be here with my friend Senate Majority Leader Reid for...

WASHINGTON - The House wrapped up the Democrats' "100 Hours" legislative sprint Thursday with time to spare, voting to recoup billions of dollars in lost royalties from oil and gas companies and roll back industry tax breaks. The energy bill capped a two-week drumbeat of votes on legislation that, while popular with voters last fall, awaits a sketchy fate in the Senate. The House bill, approved 264-123, sets a conservation fee on oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico, attempts to recoup royalties lost because of a government error in drilling leases in the late 1990s, and rolls back...

Beware of liberals using such words as "fairness." In resurrecting the "Fairness Doctrine," liberals are trying to kill conservative talk radio and restore their media monopoly. Period. The doctrine would selectively stifle free political discourse, which is essential for our representative government. The Fairness Doctrine, an FCC regulation in force from 1949 to 1987, required broadcasters to present "both sides" of controversial issues. During that time, liberals had a virtual monopoly on the media. Since the rule was repealed, conservative talk radio has exploded -- Rush Limbaugh launched his syndicated radio show in 1988 -- and other media outlets multiplied:...

Anyone remembering the ascent of Newt Gingrich to House speaker in 1995 surely noticed a difference between media coverage of that historic event and Nancy Pelosi taking the gavel back for the Democrats in 2007. One had all the joy of a child's funeral. The other was "New Year's Rockin' Eve." CNN even had a countdown clock to the Democrats regaining the majority. All that was missing was a lighted crystal donkey that would descend down a pole on the top of the Capitol dome. CNN's Dana Bash called Pelosi's gavel grab a "moment to savor," surely true for her...

Notice to those tracking the progress of the new Democratic-led House of Representatives: Get ready to start the clock -- but only after Monday's big football game. With some critics already jeering, Democrats on Tuesday kick off their "first 100 legislative hours," during which they vow to pass much of the agenda that helped them win control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans in last year's elections. The newly elected House convened on Thursday with plenty of fanfare and the majority party vowing to put it on a five-day work week after ridiculing the Republicans for having worked...

The First Hundred Hours have begun. (Lest anyone wonder why they aren’t already over, new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi meant congressional working hours, not real hours.) We’ve seen Pelosi show exactly how much her own wonderfulness needs to be celebrated—and her grandiose tendency to think of herself as Mangog-like living embodiment of all the glories and splendors of her entire gender. But what of the Democrat’s 100 Hours agenda, past celebrating Pelosi-hood? It's not worth the cannoli with which it was launched. The ethics reform stuff deserves at least a half-hearted cheer, if only because it’s nice to...

Looks as if Nancy Pelosi has found a rooting section at ABC. As we detailed here yesterday, Charley Gibson fawned over Nancy Pelosi's baby-clutching photo-op. This morning, Cokie Roberts joined the claque. Appearing on This Week, she enthused: "Great images, you're absolutely right. And completely natural. . . That baby knew that grandmother even though it's only a few weeks old. All those other children were completely comfortable with her. And it was, it was just, fun. It wasn't in any way stilted and awful." View video here.Pelosi, completely natural and comfortable? Not nearly as natural and comfortable as was...

Johnson spent his 60th birthday last week in the intensive-care unit of George Washington University Hospital, where he has been in critical condition since emergency brain surgery Dec. 13. He has not spoken since the surgery, said a spokeswoman, and he remains on a ventilator at night. Johnson is up for re-election in two years, but until then no authority can remove him from office. Should Johnson die, however, all eyes would be on Gov. Michael Rounds of South Dakota. He is a Republican, and would be under pressure to name a Republican to the Senate seat - thus giving...

It was hard to tell what was making Andrea Mitchell angrier: Bill O'Reilly's assertions that NBC has a liberal bias, or his repeated and perhaps ungentlemanly references to the lady's "30 years" of experience. In any case, the look on Andrea's face was unmistakable: she was not the happiest of campers. Mitchell appeared on this evening's Factor for purposes of touting her new book. But kudos to O'Reilly for taking the occasion to directly confront a leading NBC light with the network's undeniable leftward tilt - which Mitchell proceeded to flatly deny. This is must-see video, which you can...

Will new ethics rules in Congress be effective? Yes No

Did we really vote for this? God help us.

Pelosi Visits Hometown on Victory Tour Jan 05 4:00 PM US/Eastern By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press Writer BALTIMORE (AP) -- Newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a victory lap Friday through Baltimore, the blue-collar city where she grew up and learned politics from her father, who was mayor in the 1940s and 50s. Pelosi, surrounded by family members, laid a bouquet of white roses beside a statue of her father, former Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., in the downtown business district. "It is with great emotion that I come to this spot because I used to visit here every time...

Democrats + Socialist = Majority Welcome to Washington By The Directors Posted in Congress — Comments (108) / Email this page » / Leave a comment » As the sun rises on the United States, the Democrats take over both houses of Congress -- aided in the Senate by an unrepentant socialist, Bernie Sanders, and numerous ideological socialists in the House who run on the Democrat banner. Republicans will be in the minority and will have little power in the House, though conservatives can take comfort in the leadership of Jeb Hensarling at the RSC. In the Senate, Republicans will...

There's nothing like a good photo op to revive a slumping politician. On a day of ceremony and substance opening the Democratic-controlled Congress, lawmakers flocked from their real swearing-in, which was held in groups in the House and Senate chambers, to a pretend one in front of the cameras. Families in tow, they raised their right hands and rested the other one on the Bible or other religious text, as if making a pledge, and had their pictures taken one-on-one in a mock swearing-in for the folks back home. The photo-op oath seemed to have the restorative power of smelling...