2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2008:/roughsketch/369 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-08:/roughsketch2008/07/risky_business.html

The waiters were still clearing the breakfast dishes yesterday when John McCain's most prominent adviser raised the subject of erection enhancement. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief who is now the Republican National Committee's "Victory Chairman," was discussing consumer-driven health insurance at a breakfast with reporters when she proposed "a real, live example which I've been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-04:/roughsketch2008/07/spinning_the_economy.html

Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck. The assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, Swagel came out for his monthly economic briefing yesterday, 90 minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country had shed jobs in June for the sixth straight month. Does this mean the economy is worse than the Bush administration expected? "We shouldn't, in a sense, be surprised when the data are, are, soft," Swagel managed to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-03:/roughsketch2008/07/not_so_quiet_on_the_third_fron.html

At this rate, the October Surprise won't be very surprising. The threats, counterthreats, and counter-counterthreats between Israel, Iran and the United States have reached new levels of hysteria in recent days. Israel openly threatens to attack Iran's nuclear program, Iran threatens to shut down oil-shipping lanes, and the commander of the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf, Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, says this would be an "act of war" requiring an American military response. That...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-27:/roughsketch2008/06/cheneys_cheney_live_and_unfilt.html

Throughout the Bush presidency, he toiled in secrecy deep within the White House, a mysterious and feared presence who never stepped into the sunlight of public disclosure. Until yesterday. There he sat, hunched and scowling, at the witness table in front of the House Judiciary Committee: the bearded, burly form of the chief of staff and alter ego to the vice president -- Cheney's Cheney, if you will -- and the man most responsible for...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-26:/roughsketch2008/06/energy_creates_friction.html

One shudders to think about how much carbon dioxide was emitted into the atmosphere by members of the United States Congress yesterday as they bemoaned high gas prices. Lawmakers scheduled no fewer than 12 events relating to energy costs: six news conferences and six hearings. The Washington Sketch went to all of them, while also checking in on the debates on the House and Senate floor, which, while ostensibly discussing housing and taxes, also returned...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-25:/roughsketch2008/06/hillarys_triumphal_loss.html

Hillary Clinton was taking the elevator up to her Senate office yesterday for the first time since she lost the Democratic presidential nomination when one of her aides, Philippe Reines, warned her about the condition of her office. In her months-long absence, Reines cautioned, "things have gotten a little casual." The vanquished candidate swung open the door of her private office and found two of her legislative assistants in T-shirts, caps and sunglasses playing at...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-24:/roughsketch2008/06/the_other_fossil_fuel.html

Here's something to ponder as you park your Prius: What if gas guzzling isn't the problem? That rather counterintuitive theme emerged yesterday from a visit to Washington by James E. Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute and one of the first to sound the alarm about global warming in a congressional hearing 20 years ago yesterday. As he undertook a commemorative, I-told-you-so tour, from Diane Rehm's radio show to ABC News to the National Press...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-20:/roughsketch2008/06/scotts_congressional_book_club.html

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, set the tone with his first words: "Welcome, everyone, to the Judiciary Committee's first Book of the Month Club meeting," he declared. "Today, it's Scott McClellan's 'What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.' I propose that next time we consider Ann Coulter's book, 'How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must).'" Throughout the hearing, Republicans worked...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-19:/roughsketch2008/06/russerts_grand_goodbye.html

Luke Russert has his father's sense of mischief. Speaking to the well-heeled mourners at Tim Russert's funeral yesterday, he read his father's favorite biblical passage: To whom much is given, much is expected. "And after seeing the make of some of the suits and dresses in this room," Luke teased, "a lot is expected from this crowd." Uncomfortable laughter rose from the pews at Georgetown's Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Young Russert was spot on. In...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-18:/roughsketch2008/06/pentagon_amnesia.html

If ever there was a case that cried out for enhanced interrogation techniques, it was yesterday's Senate appearance by the Pentagon's former top lawyer. William "Jim" Haynes II, the man who blessed the use of dogs, hoods and nudity to pry information out of recalcitrant detainees, proved to be a model of evasion himself as he resisted all attempts at inquiry by the Armed Services Committee. Did he ask a subordinate to get information about...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-17:/roughsketch2008/06/mccains_dance.html

If John McCain keeps dancing like this, he's liable to break a hip. Last month, he shimmied to the left on energy policy, infuriating conservatives with a plan to cap carbon emissions. Yesterday, he shuffled back to the right, demanding an end to quarter-century-old bans on offshore oil drilling. "There are areas off our coasts that should be open to exploration and exploitation, and I hope we can take the first step by lifting the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-13:/roughsketch2008/06/why_tomatoes_hate_america.html

The tomatoes attacked us brutally and without warning. Yesterday, our leaders struck back against the pernicious produce. "As we hold this hearing, grocers and restaurants nationwide have been pulling tomatoes from the shelves and menus," announced Rep. John Shimkus, the ranking Republican member of the House Commerce subcommittee assigned to skewer the tomatoes. One hundred sixty-seven people have been sickened by salmonella-tainted tomatoes -- and that's not the worst of it. "I tried to get...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-12:/roughsketch2008/06/impeach_bush_then_you_get.html

The House had a busy day yesterday. There was the Amtrak bill, an extension of unemployment benefits, and legislation on NASA's budget. Oh, yeah: And lawmakers decided whether or not to impeach the president of the United States. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Gadfly) thought it would be a swell idea, so he spent 4 1/2 hours Monday night reading his impeachment articles aloud on the House floor and forced the House clerks to do the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-11:/roughsketch2008/06/struggling_with_the_party_unit.html

It was billed as a post-primary unity event at Democratic National Committee headquarters yesterday. But the unity fell apart before the opening "thank you all for coming." As 18 elected Democrats filed into the party's conference room for the show of force, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, evidently not realizing the microphone was picking up his words, took a swipe at Sen. Chuck Schumer, the loquacious leader of the Senate Democrats' campaign effort. "Wait until Schumer...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank 2008-07-08T16:54:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-06-10:/roughsketch2008/06/indiana_jones_at_the_zoo.html

It was hotter than the Sumatran jungle in Woodley Park for yesterday's unveiling of the National Zoo's latest animal exhibit. Two hundred dignitaries waited, fanning and mopping themselves, as the creature approached. It cocked its head and looked warily at the spectators, revealing its silver mane and the scar beneath its mouth. It sat on its haunches, and its eyes darted as the cameras flashed. Then it put on reading glasses and it spoke. "Thank...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Dana Milbank