Category: mike johanns

Wag the Dog: Special Holiday Edition

Who do you get when you can't get Tom Arnold to star in your yuletide heartwarmer? Judging by "A Very Beazley Christmas," the White House's new 10-minute holiday epic, Department of Treasury Secretary John Snow and Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. Yeah, we never heard of them either -- this thing is going straight to video. (Johanns does deliver a surprisingly intense and earnest performance, though.) Also:

1. How soon until Henry Waxman launches an investigation into how much this lavish, multi-set production with a cast of dozens cost American taxpayers?

2. Why does a mysterious black cat (i.e. traditional symbol of Satan) get a prominent cameo when there's no mention at all of Baby Jesus? President Bush can't even bring himself to mention the word "Christmas." Instead, he scolds Barney for not embracing "the true meaning of the holiday season." Concerned Christians of America, you have your opening.

3. George Stephanopoulos, you look way too happy to be in this thing.

— GREG BEATO

A Very Beazley Christmas [White House]

READ MORE: White House , barney , christmas , john snow , mike johanns , miss beazley

Daily Briefing: The Red Line

• Cheney was first to tell Libby about Plame, but not necessarily by name; notes taken by Libby contradict his own testimony. Cheney's information came from Tenet; it's unclear whether Cheney or Libby knew of Plame's undercover status. [NYT]
• White House advisors use lessons learned by Reagan and Clinton to survive the "darkest days of the Bush presidency"; Bush will reiterate the necessity of staying on the offensive in Iraq and will urge fiscal discipline at home. [WP]
• Ben Bernanke, senior White House advisor and renowned economist, nominated to succeed Greenspan; noted as "the economic equivalent" of John Roberts. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Bernanke has "unassailable credentials and enough distance from the White House to blunt charges of cronyism or ideological motivations." [WP, LAT]
• Bush will not release documents related to Miers' White House work. Bush: "It's a red line I'm not willing to cross." [NYT, LAT, WT]
• Coalition of conservative groups calls for Miers to withdraw in a "dramatic escalation in the battle over her nomination." [WP, WSJ, WT]
• Iraq approves draft constitution; American death toll reaches 1,999. [WP, WP]
• Frist "has also been deeply involved in legislation affecting his family's business" since arriving on Capitol Hill. [NYT]
• Parties ready talking points for possible indictments. [WSJ, WT]
• CIA leak scandal is rooted in disagreements over Iraq between administration officials and the "permanent bureaucracy of Washington"; Brent Snowcroft and Lawrence Wilkerson provide details of administration's decision-making process. [WP]

• White House wants to exempt the CIA from ban on abuse of detainees; Cheney and Goss tried to persuade McCain. [WP, NYT]
• Joseph Wilson "helped propel the unmasking of his wife's identity as a CIA operative into a sprawling, two-year legal probe that climaxes this week with the possible indictment of key White House officials." [WP]
• Congress urged to increase oversight of the FBI. [NYT]
• Chertoff wants to reform DHS: "This is a job where an actuary would say that the risk of being criticized and having unpleasantness is extremely high. I did not go into this for pats on the back." [NYT]
• Hutchison changes her tune on perjury; did not want Clinton to cause a "lessening of the standard." [WP]
• House Republicans want oil companies to put profits into increasing capacity and improving infrastructures. [WT]
• Paul Hackett, Iraq war veteran, will seek Democratic Senate nomination in Ohio. [LAT]
• Mike Johanns loves his Saturday chores. [WP]

READ MORE: CIA , SCOTUS , White House , alan greenspan , ben bernanke , bill clinton , bill frist , conservatives , dick cheney , fbi , george tenet , george w. bush , harriet miers , iraq , joesph wilson , john mccain , kay bailey hutchison , leak investigation , lewis libby , michael chertoff , mike johanns , patrick fitzgerald , paul hackett , porter goss , ronald reagan , treatment of detainees , valerie plame

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