Q: How many bass players does it take to to revive their boss’ stagnant poll numbers? (AP) MORE »

* Condi and Josh, sitting in a tree — p-a-s-s-i-n-g, out.
[Princess Sparkle Pony] MORE »

• Reliable Source: Attorney for Robert Steinbuch threatens to add Ana Marie Cox as a co-defendant in his suit against Jessica Cutler. . . Murdoch will host a summer fundraiser for Hillary. . . Mort Kondracke marries Marguerite Sallee, the CEO of America’s Promise. . . Bush twins are spotted buying vintage clothes. [WP]
• Heard on the Hill: Michael Scanlon will be awarded his diploma from John Hopkins. . . Josh Bolten went to a Nationals game with Bo Derek. . . Woman spotted with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is confirmed to be his girlfriend. . . [Roll Call]
• Under the Dome: Fundraiser for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) hosted by Mort Zuckerman features Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.). . . Wolf Blitzer, Chris Matthews, Petra Nemcova, and Rep. Tom McMillen (D-Md.) showed up for the opening of The Collection at Chevy Chase. . . “Campaign chair” for Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) caught using a government-issued American Express card at a strip club. [The Hill]

* The Washington Wire’s sense of humor isn’t dead after all; it’s just very badly burned. [WSJ] MORE »

* Nationwide boycott and simultaneous rallies are planned for today by pro-immigrant groups; Senate leaders are near a compromise, “but the White House may be underestimating the degree of opposition from within his party.” [USAT, WP]
* Thousands rally on the mall to call for action on Darfur. Sen. Obama: “Paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
* Conservatives inundated with complaints about plan to rebate $100 to taxpayers for high gas prices. Rush Limbaugh: “What kind of insult is this? Instead of buying us off and treating us like we’re a bunch of whores, just solve the problem.” [NYT]
* Official report admits “shortfalls and deficiencies” in Iraq reconstruction as well as “substantial progress.” [WP]
* Josh Bolten, making his television debut on Fox News, says the West Wing is trying “to get our mojo back.” [WP]
* Bringing impersonator to Correspondents’ Dinner was Bush’s idea, officials say. [NYT]
* Democrats want to use minimum wage as a “wedge issue.” [W$J]
* Alito will likely cast the deciding vote in three upcoming cases. [WP]

Last night Fox celebrated the birth, ten years ago, of “Fox News Sunday,” with a star-choked alcohol-soaked party at Cafe Milano. And Wonkette Emerita Ana Marie Cox was there. Her exclusive party report, replete with celebrity encounters, the booze-aided dispensation of social niceties, and a subtly threatening Karl Rove (who “knows” us, if you know what he means), all provided free of charge, after the jump.

(Picture by Patrick Gavin/FishbowlDC)

MORE »

…mostly because the response was so unthrilling. Here’s the passage, from yet another SHAKE-UP-A-THON ‘06 story:

“It’s really weird right now,” says another senior White House official who likewise asked for anonymity. “People are worried about their jobs.”

Three of you responded. Two of you with “George W. Bush.” Here’s the more substantial guess:

The key to this is the phrase “senior White House official”. Some reporters will use this to describe the cleaning staff if they think it makes their story sound good, however, it usually applies to the President, VP, or an official who is titled as an “Assistant to the President”. Deputy Assistants and Special Assistants are usually “White House officials” or “Administration officials”.

Who is an “Assistant to the President”? … [It] can vary as the President wishes but the following is a pretty good first cut: Chief of Staff, VP’s Chief of Staff, Deputy Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor and his deputy, communication director, press secretary, staff secretary, head speechwriter, White House Counsel, director of personnel, and advisers for domestic policy and homeland security.

I am fairly certain Bush and Cheney are not going to fire themselves. Let’s also assume that Josh Bolten is not going to fire himself, that Joel Kaplan is not complaining about a promotion, and that no one can fire Karl Rove. The press secretary can’t be worried about getting fired since he already got the boot. Given all that, as Wonkette first postulated, Miers is a good guess. However, I’ll go with Frances Townsend, the homeland security adviser. This is in keeping with my desire to see the hot chicks in the administration get more blog exposure, not due to any actual knowledge.

And hey, we’ll drink to that. If you have another, better guess, go ahead and send it our way, though no guarantee we’ll still care tomorrow. The other two responses, cheeky though they are, after the jump.

MORE »

Oy. Typical crazy conspiracy-theorizing. You just can’t take anyone on the left seriously when you know some of them are engaging in this crypto-anti-Semetic– oh, wait…

Well. Our mistake. We promise never to underestimate Jewish control of the world again. MORE »

* Tony Snow will “likely” replace Scott McClellan. [CNN, NYT]
* Bush and Republican lawmakers face blame for high gas prices yet have “few if any” available short-term solutions; president will call today for the strict enforcement of price gouging laws. [WP, W$J]
* Attorney for fired CIA officer denies his client leaked classified information to the Washington Post. [WP]
* Bush presses for bipartisan agreement on immigration, though he is not backing a specific proposal. Bush: “I know this is an emotional debate, and I can understand it’s emotional, but one thing we cannot lose sight of is that we’re talking about human beings, decent human beings.” [WP, NYT, W$J, USAT]
* Many Republican candidates are plotting how to distance themselves from Bush and the war; approval of the president dips to 32% in CNN poll. [NYT, CNN]
* Excessive supplemental provisions to emergency spending bill receive renewed criticisms. [NYT]

MORE »

This week’s Newsweek Official Shake-Up-A-Thon ‘06 article’s pretty good — the first one that almost inspired that things-are-gonna-be-different-now feeling that everyone else seems desperate to convince us of — and it’s just filled with nice, juicy, paranoid, rats-in-sinking-ship anonymous quotes. Here’s the one we’re focusing on today: MORE »

* White House shake-up is directed at the midterm elections; Bolten is following a five-point plan that includes an “extremely visible enforcement crackdown at the Mexican border.” Bush advisor: “If we don’t keep Congress, there won’t be a legacy.” [Time]
* Osama Bin Laden releases new audio tape; analyst says intention is to provide a global posture for al Qaeda: “Bin Laden is a master craftsman at recognizing issues and knowing how to exploit these issues for his own purposes. He’s trying to enlarge the global conflict and is trying to incite and anger the Muslim world against the West.” [WP]
* Eight American troops have been killed over the past two days in Iraq; April will likely be the deadliest month this year. [AP]
* West Wing is said to feel “really weird right now” because “people are worried about their jobs,” says a senior official; aides “are on edge.” Mark McKinnon: “Karl has more bandwidth than anyone on the planet, but with the elections coming up, we have to make sure he has the time to concentrate on the big message.” Nicole Wallace on Bolten: “It was nice to cut right to the chase. He set a very honest and direct tone. It was kind of, ‘We’re going to get through all this together, and we need to step it up.’” [Newsweek, NYT]
* White turnout in the New Orleans mayoral election was double the norm; Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu could be the city’s first white mayor in nearly three decades. [NYT, WP]
* CIA is cracking down on leaks by subjecting dozens of employees to polygraph tests; top Democrats suggest a double standard exists about leaking for political purposes. [NYT, WP]
* Los Angeles Times editorial board calls for Bush to boot Cheney: “Having changed his tune, the president should also think about changing the company he keeps — big time, as Dick Cheney would say.” [LAT]

MORE »