Quote :

"The Washington Post reported a week ago on the existence of secret U.S. prisons in Eastern Europe for terrorism suspects. The Bush administration has neither confirmed nor denied that report. Frist and Hastert said the joint probe by the House and Senate intelligence committees should determine who leaked the information and under what authority. "What is the actual and potential damage done to the national security of the United States and our partners in the global war on terror?" the letter asked. "We will consider other changes to this mandate based on your recommendations.""

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20051108/D8DOE1CO0.html

Cheap, political stunt to distract americans.

11/8/2005 12:52:48 PM

HEY LOOK OVER THERE!

11/8/2005 12:53:30 PM

I hope they are tried for treason. They are the first U.S. officials I know who publicly confirmed the rumors.

11/8/2005 12:58:04 PM

Y'know...I almost posted these Capitol Blue article about Bush flipping out on his aides at Camp David over the weekend, but I just couldn't believe it was real. After seeing this, I can believe it, so here goes:

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7617.shtml

Quote :

"GOP Leaders to Bush: 'Your Presidency is Effectively Over' A growing number of Republican leaders, party strategists and political professional now privately tell President George W. Bush that his presidency "is effectively over" unless he fires embattled White House advisor Karl Rove, apologizes to the American people for misleading the country into war and revamps his administration from top to bottom. "The only show of unity we have now in the Republican Party is the belief that the President has failed the party, the American people and the presidency," says a longtime, and angry, GOP strategist. With the public face of support for Bush eroding daily from even diehard Republicans, the President faces mounting anger from within his party over the path that may well lead to loss of control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections and the White House in 2008. "This presidency is in trouble," says a senior White House aide. "Even worse, I don't know if there is a way out of the trouble." Congressional leaders journeyed to the White House before Bush left on his South American tour this week to tell the President that his legislative agenda on the Hill is dead, his latest Supreme Court nominee faces a tough confirmation fight in the Senate and he is facing open revolt within party ranks. "The Speaker is having an increasingly difficult time holding his troops in line," says a source within the office of House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert. "Anger at the President grows exponentially with each passing day." At a recent White House strategy session, internal party pollsters told the President that his approval rating with Americans continues to slide and may be irreversible, citing his failed Iraq war, the failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers and his failure to deal decisively on a number of fronts, including Hurricane Katrina, the economy and the Valerie Plame scandal. In meetings, leaders and strategists have suggested a number of things that Bush must do to try and save his presidency and GOP prospects in upcoming elections, including: - Apologize to the American people, Congress and our allies for misleading them on the reasons for invading Iraq; - Revamp the White House staff from top to bottom; - Fire Rove. "We keep coming back to Rove," says a GOP pollster. "He has escaped indictment, so far, but the feeling within the party is that another shoe is ready to drop and the longer he waits to jettison Rove the greater the damage. As long as Karl Rove remains at the President's side, the Bush presidency is effectively over and he is just riding out the days until the nation elects a Democrat to replace him. Even with Rove gone the damage may be irreparable." Bush, however, has dug his heels in on Rove. When a GOP strategist suggested last weekend that the President fire Rove, Bush exploded. "You go to hell," he screamed at the strategist. "You can leave and you can take the rest of these lily-livered motherfuckers with you!" The President then stormed out of the room and refused to meet further with any other party leaders or strategists. Bush's escalating temper tantrums and his intransigence on political issues increase Republican worries about the long term effects on both his presidency and the party's prospects in upcoming elections. "Right now, George W. Bush is the Republican Party's chief liability," says a GOP strategist who has advised Presidential campaigns for 30 years. "The entire political future of the party and perhaps the nation now rests on the shoulders of a President that no one - Democrat or Republican - believes in or trusts.""

Another one:

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7606.shtml

Quote :

"Bush's Increasing Mental Lapses and Temper Tantrums Worry White House Aides An uncivil war rages inside the walls of the West Wing of the White House, a bitter, acrimonious war driven by a failed agenda, destroyed credibility, dwindling public support and a President who lapses into Alzheimer-like periods of incoherent babbling. On one side are the dwindling numbers of die-hard loyalists to President George W. Bush, those who support his actions and decisions without question and remain committed to both Bush and scandal-scarred political advisor Karl Rove. On the other side are the increasing numbers of those who say Rove must go and who worry about the President's declining mental state and his ability to restore credibility with Congress, our foreign allies and the American people. The war erupted into full-blown shout fests at Camp David this past weekend where decorum broke down in staff meetings and longtime aides threatened to quit unless Rove goes. Insiders say Chief of Staff Andrew Card now leads the anti-Rove legions and has told Bush that he wants out of the high-pressure job. White House staff members say the White House is “like a wartime bunker” where shell-shocked aides hide from those who disagree with their actions and office pools speculate on how long certain senior aides will last. Bush, whose obscenity-laced temper tantrums increase with each new setback and scandal, abruptly ended one Camp David meeting by telling everyone in the room to “go fuck yourselves” before he stalked out of the room. Senior aides describe Bush as increasingly “edgy” or “nervous” or “unfocused.” They say the President goes from apparent coherent thought one moment to aimless rambles about political enemies and those who are “out to get me.” “It’s worse than the days when Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s began setting in,” one longtime GOP operative told me privately this week. “You don’t know if he’s going to be coherent from one moment to the next. What scares me is if he lapses into one of those fogs during a public appearance.” Aides say Bush, who has always had trouble focusing during times of stress, is increasingly distant during meetings, often staring off into space during discussions on the nation’s security and other issues. Card has responded to the crisis by cutting back on the number of staff members with direct access to the President and jumping in to answer questions when Bush’s mind wanders. “Some people say Karl Rove is ‘Bush’s brain,’” says one increasingly-concerned West Winger. “Well Andy has become the President’s voice. He’s there to speak when the President seems unable to find form an answer.” Bush’s mental state is a hot topic on Internet blogs and has increased since this web site disclosed last year that the White House physician had placed the President on anti-depressant medication – a story the administration never denied. Others, including prominent psychiatrists like Dr. Justin Frank of George Washington University, wonder if Bush, an admitted heavy drinker who claims he quit without any professional help, is hitting the bottle again. An increasing number of mainstream media outlets, including Newsweek, The Washington Post and the New York Daily News recently confirmed our earlier reports about Bush’s temper tantrums. “Bush usually reserves his celebrated temper for senior aides because he knows they can take it,” the Daily News reported. “Lately, however, some junior staffers also have faced the boss’s wrath.” “This is not some manager at McDonald’s chewing out the help," a source with close ties to the White House told the paper. “This is the president of the United States, and it’s not a pleasant sight.” Bush loyalists claim the President can survive his current spate of political troubles and emerge stronger than ever but an increasing number of White House aides express increasing doubt. Some even go so far as to speculate if the President’s deteriorating mental condition can survive another three years in office. “The President has lost his focus, his ability to govern and the trust of the American people,” says one longtime GOP operative. “Those are things that are difficult to recapture when you’re on top of your game and this President has taken one too many blows to the head.”"

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 1:49 PM. Reason : .]

11/8/2005 1:48:40 PM

Quote :

"An uncivil war rages inside the walls of the West Wing of the White House, a bitter, acrimonious war driven by a failed agenda, destroyed credibility, dwindling public support and a President who lapses into Alzheimer-like periods of incoherent babbling."

Scary.

Fortunately, President Nancy Pelosi will be taking over in '07.

11/8/2005 2:11:33 PM

remember this?

http://www.susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=383

Quote :

" I, too, felt that something organic was wrong with President Bush, most probably dyslexia. But I was unaware of what Fallows pointed out so clearly: that Bush's problems have been developing slowly, and that just a decade ago he was an articulate debater, "artful indeed in steering questions and challenges to his desired subjects," who "did not pause before forcing out big words, as he so often does now, or invent mangled new ones." Consider in contrast, the present: "the informal Q&As he has tried to avoid," Bush's recent faltering performances," "his unfortunate puzzled-chimp expression when trying to answer questions," "his stalling, defensive pose when put on the spot," "speaking more slowly and less gracefully." Not being a professional medical researcher and clinician, Fallows cannot be fualted for not putting two and two together. But he was 100 percent correct in suggesting that Bush's problem cannot be "a learning disability, a reading problem [or]dyslexia," because patients with those problems have always had them. Slowly developing cognitive deficits, as demonstrated so clearly by the President, can represent only one diagnosis, and that is "presenile demential"! Presentile dementia is best described to nonmedical persons as a fairly typical Alzheimer's situation that develops significantly earlier in life, well before what is usally considered old age. It runs about the same course as typical senile dementias, such as classical Alzheimer's--to incapacitation and, eventually, death, as with President Ronald Reagan, but at a relatively earlier age, President Bush's "mangled" words are a demonstration of what physicians call "confabulation," and are almost specific to the diagnosis of a true dementia. Bush should immediately be given the advantage of a considered professional diagnosis, and started on drugs that offer the possibility of retarding the slow by inexorable course of the disease."

http://www.adbuzz.com/bushbuzz/BrainTenYrs*.mov

11/8/2005 2:33:45 PM

Don't forget the dry drunk rumor.

But then again, I'm more willing to believe it's simply stress related. Imagine the pressure of knowing that 60% of Americans disapprove of the way you're doing your job. That's gotta be enough to weigh you down.

11/8/2005 3:22:19 PM

So, Gamey, how precisely did anything in this thread lead you to believe that your Capitol Blue madness was anything but?

11/8/2005 3:37:34 PM

so y'all really think that President Bush has deteriorated in his capacity since 2000?

[Edited on November 8, 2005 at 3:48 PM. Reason : b/c i don't see it. maybe it's just really gradual, but i thought all of this was evident then, too]

11/8/2005 3:47:23 PM

Quote :

"President Nancy Pelosi will be taking over in '07."

nobodys going to vote for that cunt

11/8/2005 3:50:48 PM

(i think he meant when the dems retake power in the House)

11/8/2005 4:16:42 PM

Sorry, GrumpyGOP. I'm a busy staffer, and can't recall.

11/8/2005 4:32:44 PM

Quote :

"An uncivil war rages inside the walls of the West Wing of the White House, a bitter, acrimonious war driven by a failed agenda, destroyed credibility, dwindling public support and a President who lapses into Alzheimer-like periods of incoherent babbling."

we call those periods "speeches."

11/8/2005 5:43:12 PM

IVE NEVER SEEN AN ADMINISTRATION LEAK SO MUCH INFORMATION IN ALL MY LIFE

11/8/2005 5:47:24 PM

On CNN they ar talking about the possibility that this could boomerang. They think that a GOP staffer (and possibly Cheney himself) could have been involved in the leak.

11/8/2005 7:07:27 PM

OMF, gotta agree with this:

Quote :

"So, Gamey, how precisely did anything in this thread lead you to believe that your Capitol Blue madness was anything but?"

11/8/2005 7:24:18 PM

^^ I'm hearing that, too.

They can't do anything right these days.

11/8/2005 7:33:41 PM

This could get good.

11/8/2005 7:36:15 PM

well, maybe they figure they can get someone indicted this time

11/8/2005 7:40:57 PM

Someone has already been indicted.

But I wouldn't mind seeing mroe people go down.

11/8/2005 7:43:36 PM

How do you agree with a question?

My guess is that I figured it was an administration official who leaked the info and that a probe into the matter would further damage the administration's image. I could be wrong.

11/8/2005 7:46:50 PM

Quote :

"In meetings, leaders and strategists have suggested a number of things that Bush must do to try and save his presidency and GOP prospects in upcoming elections, including: - Apologize to the American people, Congress and our allies for misleading them on the reasons for invading Iraq; - Revamp the White House staff from top to bottom; - Fire Rove."

Well, this is pure craziness. I mean, ok I may grant you the third thing. And even that would likely be a disaster since they'd be admitting a crook had been running the show. But number one in this list? Who could they possibly sway to their side by admitting to being liars?

11/8/2005 8:10:12 PM

I didn't write the article.

11/8/2005 8:17:45 PM

Right. All you said was this:

Quote :

"After seeing this, I can believe it, so here goes"

11/8/2005 8:23:35 PM

I'm surprised they did this. The last thing that the pubs need now is the taint of another leak. If this gets anywhere near Cheney or Rove, Bush is in for a long ride.

Maybe they're just throwing Bush under the bus for a run at the 08 elections?

11/8/2005 8:27:39 PM

So, after seeing that there's going to be an investigation into another potentially damaging leak--this time called for by the GOP leadership, I said that I could believe that Bush might be off his rocker and furious.

The problem?

11/8/2005 9:37:10 PM

Quote :

"Too funny. Hastert and Frist make a big show of calling for an investigation into a leak allegedly affecting national security -- the locations of secret "black site" torture prisons. And then -- BOOM!!! Lott just said, Tuesday afternoon, that he thinks it was a GOP Senator who leaked the info to the Washington Post last week. He says the details had been discussed at a GOP Senators-only meeting last week, and that many of those details made it into the WaPo story. Money quote from Lott; "We can not remain silent. We have met the enemy, and it is us.""

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/8/153025/799

KABOOOOM

11/8/2005 9:52:05 PM

o shit

i've been waiting for Lott to wreak vengeance

whenever i've heard him talk, i've always identified with a certain tone in his voice.... a tone of biding... a tone of confident patience... a tone of mastery over his enemy

11/8/2005 10:02:27 PM

11/8/2005 10:15:01 PM

This is TOO funny (and sad).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901976_pf.html

Quote :

"Senator Seeks to Defer Probe of CIA Prison Leak The chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence told Senate leaders yesterday that Congress should hold off on a probe of the disclosure of classified information on secret prisons to The Washington Post until the Justice Department completes its own inquiry. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said he will "respectfully" request that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) back off a strongly worded request that a bicameral investigation into the disclosure be convened immediately. Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said the majority leader had not decided how to respond. "He always takes what his chairmen say into consideration," she said. Frist and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) surprised both Roberts and House intelligence committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) with a joint letter demanding a House-Senate inquiry after the Nov. 2 publication of a Post article detailing a web of secret prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, maintained by the CIA to detain suspected terrorists. The CIA general counsel's office also has notified the Justice Department that a release of classified information took place in connection with The Post's report. After the CIA details what it sees as the damage done by the article, Justice prosecutors will determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted. Asked how long that could take, Roberts joked, "Decades," indicating he is in no rush to convene his own inquiry. Hoekstra said he has not decided how to proceed. After months of partisan charges over the White House release of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name and false information on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, disclosure of classified information has become an issue among Republicans. Hoekstra said some Republican lawmakers were livid when a top administration intelligence officer inadvertently released the annual budget for U.S. intelligence operations, a figure that is classified and closely held by lawmakers who draft the budget. At an intelligence conference last week in San Antonio, Mary Margaret Graham, deputy director of national intelligence, said the annual intelligence budget is $44 billion, a slip witnessed and recounted by a U.S. News & World Report writer. Keeping the figure secret was a contentious issue as Congress retooled the intelligence structure after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Hoekstra, who battled to maintain the budget figure's classification. Some lawmakers want to see disciplinary action against Graham. Hoekstra said he personally raised concerns with Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte."

So basically, now that a GOP senator is most likely responsible for the leak, it's best to back off and let some more perjury and obstruction of justice fuck up the Justice Department's investigation.

11/10/2005 1:28:09 PM

Quote :

"a slip witnessed and recounted by a U.S. News & World Report writer."

this is the type of behavior that is directly contributing to the plummeting respect the american public has for journalists

his paper should fire him and his editor

(NO THEY SHOULD NOT FACE ANY LEGAL CONSEQUENCES STFU ABOUT FREE SPEECH)

[Edited on November 10, 2005 at 1:45 PM. Reason : s]

11/10/2005 1:44:25 PM

What do you mean "this is the type of behavior...?" Why should they be fired?

11/10/2005 2:17:14 PM