Good morning Senators Clinton, Schumer. What’s up Mr. Biden? How’re my dawgs at the DLC holdin’ it down this morning? Say, guys, if you are wondering where those dark stains you found in your britches this morning came from, we’re here to help. At about five past eleven last night, The Daily Show’s Ed Helms tore out a new hole in your asses. MORE »

* White House waited over 14 hours before disclosing Cheney’s hunting accident; it’s “highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the White House to allow a private citizen serve as its de facto spokesman.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
* Scott McClellan faced “the media equivalent of birdshot.” NBC’s David Gregory during the gaggle: “Don’t accuse me of trying to pose to the cameras. Don’t be a jerk to me personally when I’m asking you a serious question.” [WP, NYT]
* Administration vows to reform FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to prevent future failures. Michael Chertoff: “I am accountable and accept responsibility for the performance of the entire department, good and bad.” [WP, W$J]
* Draft United Nations report sharply criticizes treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: “The U.S. government should either expeditiously bring all Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial. . . or release them without further delay.” [WP]
* Administration spent $1.6b on public relations contracts from 2003 to mid-2005. [WP]

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• 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]

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Tom Curry at MSNBC marvels at the new political power wielded by “bloggers”–people who possess the magic ability to conjure words from computer keyboards. Curry revisits the unexpectedly strong run that Gulf War vet Paul Hackett mounted in the recent Ohio contest to replace Bush trade representative Rob Portman in Portman’s heavily Republican district. Bloggers such as Bob Brigham of Swingstateproject.com–whose avowed mission is to recruit Democratic candidates to run for all 435 House seats in 2006–managed to gin up enough interest in Hackett’s campaign to get him within 4,000 votes of knocking off GOP favorite Jean Schmidt. This leads Curry to speculate:

The work of such bloggers as Bob Brigham . . . points toward a day when the traditional campaign — tailored by Washington-based consultants, centered on 30-second TV ads, with fund-raising driven by Washington-based party committees — might become obsolete.

But then again? Nah, not so much. It turns out campaigns require, you know, knowledge and shit:

To win the open seat in Iowa’s first congressional district next year, for example, one needs to know very place-specific details: Which are the reliably Democratic precincts in the city of Waterloo? How much will the United Auto Workers spend on get-out-the-vote efforts? When would be the right time to run the candidate’s 30-second radio ad in the Davenport market?

Whereas, Curry gently observes, Brigham is a “self-employed communications consultant” based in San Francisco. On the other hand, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has to use euphemisms to make its ass-fucking jokes. In your face, old information paradigm! — HOLLY MARTINS MORE »

We were up late last night, crossing our fingers for handsome anti-war vet Paul Hackett to squeak out a victory in Ohio. But by the time the gin was gone, the race was called for the scary marathon-running pro-lifer. Imagine our surprise upon reading this morning that Hackett’s loss was, in fact, a sure sign of Republicans’ downfall; as Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, put it, “There’s no safe Republican district. You can run, but you cannot hide.” We asked Fred Becker to explain.

Dear Willie Wonka,
 
I need a vibrant two party system and this morning’s result from Ohio depresses me. Not because I am haunted by the skeletal frame of the Republican winner (is she planning on challenging Bush to a race?), but because the Democrats’ spin makes my brain curdle. Not to put too fine a point on it, but when the other candidate gets more votes, that’s a win.

Continued after the jump.

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Ohio? Anyone? What kind of bellwether election can it be if no one’s leaking exit polls? We’ve been following some of the Right’s coverage of the race between Paul Hackett (handsome Iraq War vet Democrat) versus Jean Schmidt (sort of scary marathon-running lady Republican). Rush Limbaugh in particular has said that Dems pinning their hopes on this race just shows they don’t learn from their mistakes: You know, like from the last time they ran a veteran critical of the unpopular war he was in. So, really, the best part about Hackett winning in Ohio would be proving it really was John Kerry’s fault that John Kerry lost. MORE »