Wonkette

Last year, in a failed effort to pacify the anti-illegal-immigration people screaming about amnesty and American jobs, the Bush Administration issued a regulation to force employers to cross-check (at their own expense, naturally) their records with that of the Social Security Administration. How could they fuck that up? A federal judge helps us count the ways.

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So, this weekend, Barack and Hillary managed to come to a mutual agreement on something to disagree about. Naturally, they picked something completely esoteric so that the average voter still won’t know the difference but, hey, at least it’s progress! The topic? The income ceiling on Social Security (yawn). Don’t worry, I make it sound totally sexier after the jump.

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* President Bush says he plans for the military to stick with the “bigger is better” plan. [WP, NYT, LAT]
* He goes on to talk in code about midterm elections, says, “there was sex,” and indicates intention to work with Democrats on passing immigration and Social Security overhauls. [WP]
* Robert Gates spends his second day on the job in Iraq, listening. [WP]
* Dick Cheney will testify on behalf of Scooter Libby using his classic “let me tell you something, son” style. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
* Condoleezza Rice showing signs of “emerging pragmatism” that may allow her to actually accomplish something in the next two years. [WSJ]
* Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen takes DCCC chair. [WP, NYT]
* Visions of the White House dance in Virginians heads, as James Gilmore says he’s in for 2008. [WP, NYT]
* We never needed that anthrax vaccine anyway. [NYT]
* “You could say D.C. is the new North Carolina.” [WP]

* Janet Reno joins Justice Department Officials from Carter, Reagan, and Clinton administrations to issue a letter against indefinite detention of terror suspects. [WP]
* Embattled federal family planning programs chief Eric Keroack has previously prescribed actual birth control and not just the trusty “pull out” technique. [WP]
* Shattering the myth of government efficiency, contracting procedures at DHS are found to be inconsistent and poorly documented. [WP]
* White House appears willing to drop private accounts from Social Security reform package. [WSJ]
* Rules of Congressional real estate: location, location, and “mine is bigger than yours” bragging rights. [NYT]
* Joe Lieberman hires “Trotskyite Zionist Reaganite” as communications director. [NYT]
* Ohio, not wanting Wonkette to be starved for material, puts Jean Schmidt back in office. [AP]

Wistful admissions of looking at his Texas ranch on the Google, strange tales of Jenna setting up his retirement home in Paraguay where he can’t be tried for war crimes, and now re-launching his utterly failed “Social Security reform” crusade less than two weeks before Election Day … is Bush trying to lose Congress? MORE »

• Heard on the Hill: Rep. Kartherine Harris was seen barefoot outside of her house, screaming into her mail slot, “Let me in”. . . Does Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) support the KKK?. . . “Lots of would-be Cabinet and high-level White House officials in a Gore administration” attended the reception for his film. [Roll Call]
• Washington Whispers: Democrats will scare voters about Republican plans for Social Security. . . Rumsfeld found “United 93″ to be “really tough to watch”. . . Democrats are concerned about a Speaker Pelosi. . . Harry Reid loves his iPod. . . Bill Frist’s wife is releasing a book about fathers and daughters. [USN&WR]
• Inside the Beltway: Dick Cheney: “I will consider a book when that time comes.” [WT]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Clarence Thomas thinks Bush is in “real trouble.” [NYDN]
• Names & Faces: Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks on Bush: “I don’t feel he is owed any respect whatsoever.”. . . Arianna Huffington: “You can smell the fear in Hillary Clinton. What happened to that fearless woman? Everything she does is poll-tested.” [WP]

* Hundreds of thousands rally across the country to influence Congressional action on immigration. [NYT]
* Approval of Bush dips to another new low: 34% in USAT/Gallup poll. [USAT]
* Republicans drop plan to offer $100 compensation for gas prices. [WSJ, NYT]
* FBI sought information on thousands of Americans last year without court approval. [WP]
* Social Security and Medicare are “unsustainable in their current form,” according to the administration. Bush: “The systems are going broke.” [NYT]
* Ten states are suing the administration to raise mileage on SUVs and trucks. [NYT]
* Secret Service will release notations of White House visits by Abramoff. [WP]
* Lawmakers’ pet projects used against them by opponents calling for fiscal responsibility and reform. [NYT]
* Giuliani, in Iowa, openly contemplates a national run: “I’ve got a lot of places to go and a lot of people to talk to and a long process of figuring out whether it makes sense to run for president in 2008… As part of it, saying to myself, does it look like I have a chance in 2008? And make that decision after the 2006 election.” [NYT]

* Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) announces he will resign “within months.” DeLay: “I’m very much at peace with it… I’m a realist. I’ve been around awhile. I can evaluate political situations.” [Time, Time]
* DeLay’s decision came as the findings of federal prosecutors have pushed “an already difficult reelection bid all but out of reach.” Says his lawyer, “It was personal and political.” [WP, WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WSJ, WT]
* Swing Republicans in the Senate hash out compromise on immigration; proposal would restrict new illegal immigrants but offer citizenship to those who have been here for over five years. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.): “What we’re looking for is a middle ground, something that will appeal to a broader base.” [WP, LAT]
* Senators add billions of dollars in pet projects to Katrina relief bill. [WSJ]
* Capitol Police seek warrant for the arrest of Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.). McKinney: “If security of the House of Representatives is based on how members of Congress wear their hair… that is ridiculous… my face hasn’t changed.” [WP, NYT]

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• Democrats seen to have a better chance to gain governorships than Congress. Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.): “The math is not in our favor this cycle.” Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.): “If we’re going to win in ‘08, strengthening the Democratic party shouldn’t be through Washington, but through the states.” [WSJ]
• GAO finds government credit cards were misused and overcharged in the wake of Katrina. [WP]
• White House press briefings will be held across the street for at least seven months while the briefing room is renovated. [WP]
• Both parties are increasingly running minority candidates. [USAT]
• Adam Kidan takes responsibility for dealings with Jack Abramoff; says he was not duped: “I wish I had never met Jack.” [LAT]
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid made up nearly half of the total 2004 budget. [USAT]
• South Dakota tests the boundaries of abortion restrictions. [WP]
• Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) likes ruffling GOP feathers over immigration: “Party I couldn’t care less about. If it gets hurt by this, it deserves to be hurt.” [LAT]
• Military contractors are grinding for a “flattening of the defense budget.” [NYT]
• Administration supports Anna Nicole Smith in Supreme Court case. [WT]

• Second Time magazine reporter is called to testify in leak investigation. [NYT, WSJ]
• Time table for withdrawal from Iraq seems dependent on next month’s Iraqi election and next year’s midterm election. Former administration aide: “We’ve moved from ‘if’ to ‘how fast.’” [NYT]
• Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) are injured when their vehicle overturns in Iraq. [NYT]
• Advocacy groups target swing senators in fight over Alito’s confirmation. [WP]
• Alito has convinced most senators to support him — “an unusual political feat.” [USAT]
• The Washington Post’s special relationship with Bob Woodward “has sparked some resentment among the staff,” writes Howard Kurtz; criticism of star journalist is spreading. [WP]
• Bush visits Arizona today for speech on illegal immigration that is designed to reassure his conservative base. [WT, WSJ]

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