Congressman Henry Waxman is in charge of developing health care overhaul legislation that can pass the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He’s not having much success, as a few moderate Democrats have insisted on cost-cutting measures. Today Waxman made clear that he’s willing to make en end-run around the moderates, and bring his radical legislation straight to the House floor. In doing so, he made | Read More »
When President Obama selected Rahm Emanuel to serve as White House Chief of Staff, most commentators hailed it as a coup. We were told that Rahm was brilliant, and that his love for brass-knuckles politics would prove invaluable in moving the president’s agenda through Congress. As a veteran of the Clinton White House, he would be sure not to repeat the mistakes Clinton made early | Read More »
Dan Balz looks at the White House’s clumsy handling of the debate over terrorist interrogation. Interestingly, there’s no hint – either from Balz’s piece or from other administration officials – that the President’s change of position was intentional. Read the piece and judge for yourself: The legacy of George W. Bush continued to dog President Obama and his administration yesterday, as Congress divided over creating | Read More »
It’s a poorly kept secret that Rahm Emanuel hates most Republicans and most Republicans hate him back. But now it turns out that any House Democrat who wants to be Speaker is also probably hoping that Rahm fails in his current job. That’s because Rahm’s let it slip that his ambition to be Speaker is so strong, he intends to pursue it again once he’s | Read More »
You have to hand it to Barack Obama: he can separate the wheat from the chaff. So rather than bring Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi into his administration, he selected Tom Daschle and Rahmbo. In each case he eschewed the titular leaders with a reputation for being somewhat hamhanded, in favor of the shrewder powers behind the throne. Both Emanuel and Daschle can be counted | Read More »
When Tim Mahoney (D-FL) announced his bid for Congress in 2006, he had little reason to expect he would win. He was running against a popular incumbent in a safe seat. When Mark Foley self-destructed he wound up a surprise winner, and it was only a few months before the former businessman publicly complained about not liking his job, even though (we now know) he | Read More »
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