Accountability’s the name of the game here at Wonkette. That’s why we were so excited to learn about the President’s Management Agenda, in which government employees are obligated to prove that their programs are worth their cost to taxpayers. It comes, as all good Agendas do, with a handy website: expectmore.gov, wherein you can find the whole list of programs that ought to be “eliminated and/or trimmed back.” First Draft did the necessary research (we have a policy against visiting government websites that aren’t intended for children or that don’t feature human-animal hybrids) and found a fun sampling of the government programs we can clearly do without. Some unnecessary wastes of your hard-earned cash include: MORE »

By now you’ve probably seen the Drudge Report’s excerpt of a shocking expose inside the White House: Bush “has become isolated and feels betrayed by key officials.” Well, maybe he’s not so stupid after all, eh? The entire article restores our faith in the leadership of the country, seeing as how the charade of things being just fine really freaked us out. And another thing Bush appears to come around on: “The sources said Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes.” MORE »

The State Department’s goodwill diplomat-at-large Karen Hughes gives an intimate view of her life as mom in Newsweek’s 20 Women Who Lead cover package. It’s all about balance, you see: MORE »

• Reliable Source: Dick and Lynne Cheney, Stephen Breyer, and Karen Hughes attend book party for Elizabeth Ironside hosted by her husband, British Ambassador Sir David Manning. . . Offices of Mary Bono (R-Calif.) and Connie Mack (R-Fla.) deny congressional romance. [WP]
• Under the Dome: Some blame Hillary for “Carpetbagger Curse” on the Yankees. . . Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) fits into Democratic gala by dancing. . . Former aide to Wellstone will publish guide for progressive candidates. [The Hill]
• Inside Politics: Prosecutors lack physical evidence for money-laundering charge against DeLay. . . National Review calls for Miers to withdraw her nomination. [WT]

• Reliable Source: Rachel Dratch preparing to play Miers on “Saturday Night Life”. . . Jason Binn criticized for putting minor contributors on masthead of Capitol File magazine. . . Mick Jagger tells MCI Center audience: “[Miers] looked high. She looked low. In the morning, she looked in the mirror and said, ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest judge of all?’” [WP]
• Rush & Molloy: Fox News flack doesn’t know if anchor and Condi-fan Lauren Green is gay. [NYDN]
• Inside the Beltway: Hillary, Landrieu, Hughes to roast Barbara Walters tonight. [WT]
• Liz Smith: Michael Wolff speculates about Cheney in ‘08. [NYP]

• John Roberts confirmed as chief justice by vote of 78 to 22. Bush: “The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and a kind heart.” [WP, NYT, WSJ, LAT]
• Judith Miller is released from jail after she agrees to testify in leak investigation; she received a waiver of confidentiality from I. Lewis Libby. [WP, NYT]
• Senior military officials fear anarchy in Iraq if constitution is not approved as they expect. [NYT, WP]
• House Republicans elbow for leadership posts in wake of DeLay news; “there is no guarantee that his colleagues will want him back.” [NYT, WP, WP]
• DeLay proclaims innocence on media blitz; GOP fundraising expected to take a hit. [NYT, NYT, LAT]
• 71% approve of Bush’s response to Hurricane Rita, Gallup poll finds. [USAT]

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• Bush contemplates expansion of federal role in natural disaster response. [WP]
• Over 80% of FEMA contracts for Katrina cleanup were no-bid or decided among limited competition. DHS inspector general: “When you do something like this, you do increase the vulnerability for fraud, plain waste, abuse and mismanagement. We are very apprehensive about what we are seeing.” [NYT]
• Louisiana asks for $40b from federal government. Mary Landrieu: “We’re going to fight hard for every dollar.” [WP, WSJ]
• Bush asks White House Budget Director Joshua Bolten to “tighten our belt.” Bolten: “The disaster response is a relatively short-term hit to the budget. If we’re sensible in our spending, both on the disaster response and on belt-tightening elsewhere, and we keep strong economic growth policies in place, I believe we can still meet the president’s target of reducing the deficit in half by 2009 and remain on track with a steadily declining deficit path, either reaching or heading very close to balance.” [WSJ]
• Roberts expected to pass Senate with 64 votes. [USAT]

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Karen Hughes, the State Department’s newly appointed minister of goodwill to the Muslim world, wants to use the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to commemorate the victims of terror across the globe. “The fourth anniversary gives America the opportunity to remind the world that it’s about more than America, that it’s about all of us,” Hughes told WaPo reporter Robin Wright. MORE »