Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) has signed Mary Matalin to serve as treasurer of a committee designed to raise money for his 2006 reelection race and Virginia's Republican Party.
I do not agree.For more info go to http://www.apartments.waw.pl

The Power: I can see what you're saying but given the hue and cry that would've ensued had Clinton done the same thing ("Treason! Blasphemy! Burn the witch") the dichotomy is appalling.

With Mary it is all about the $.

The White House may not be as far off base or have as much hubris as it may apear on declassification as it seems. Of course this White House doesn't give a damn what anybody thinks about them, or what the Law says. Along those lines, this week is the first time I have ever, repeat ever, heard anybody attribute declassification authority to the Vice President.

But for the sake of discussion, let's say that there was an ethical President and Vice President in office:

For many years I've heard people say that the President has the authority to declassify at will. That if he made a slip in a speech and revelealed classified information (I think Carter is accused of doing that with one of the Stealth aiprplanes), then it is immediately declassified. Maybe harm, but no foul; he gets away with it under his authority. Though none of the reporters, pundits, etc. ever cited any law or regulation to back that up.

Last night though on MSNBC, John Dean described the process, saying that the President creates and controls the process, and that Presidents make changes periodically. He went on to say that the President was bound by the process in place at the time.

Sounds okay, but, what if the President summarily decides to change the process? He is the ultimate authority. Nothing says that he can't do it.

Reminds of the Pope who issued an edict that the College of Cardinals was a specific size, and that it could never be changed. Which was true until he decided he changed his mind; or if he never did, the second the second his successor was named.

The three-year old's tantrum justification may just apply here. The White House may be right on this one.

Did Allen steal Cheney's Kool-Aid? Whenever I hear Matalin on Imus now, I can't get the phrase "Drinking the Kool-Aid" out of my mind.

I'd bet that if she worked for Cunard-White Star she would have been touting that the Titanic sinking was the fault of the passengers in steerage, because they didn't sacrifice themselves by throwing their bodies into the gashes in the hull, to save the "swells" on the top decks.

Thanks to "Robert in..." for the tip on Allen's right eye twitch when he begins to lie. I'd almost bet that "Mr. Jefferson" did that also?

As if to verify that they're officially Drunk With Power:
"President Bush's chief spokesman said today the president has the right to declassify sensitive information whenever he chooses and that when he does, it is effective immediately."

I am reminded of my three-year-olds favorite tantrum: "I can do what I want when I want to do it!"

At what point did Bush become an expert on what should remain classified and what should not? What clear, military justification exists for what he did? "Incompetent in Chief" sounds more and more apt every day. This stuff just keeps coming thick and fast. What're we up to now, about two incredibly stupid moral lapses/month? I can only recall one with Clinton.

I agree with you J. Crozier; been looking for that too. Certainly it's more substantial than the initial topic of this thread. My guess is that CC is still trying to figure out (as is everyone) how much trouble Bush/Cheney/etc are really in about this. How much blatant abuse of power will the spineless, morality-free GOP reps in Congress take before they pick up the pitchforks and torches they put down after Clinton left office? Makes you wonder if Nixon would have been left to serve out his term if this same group was in charge.

Except for people who live in the DC area, no one else has ever heard of Allen. I guess being the son of a football coach qualifies one for office. Look what baseball did for Bush.

At some point I assume The Fix is going to run something about the impact of Scooter Libby's fingering of Bush authorizing him to leak important national security information for political purposes?

Did it run and I missed it?

You called it Judge C.

Has she ever been on a winning campaign? She's Cheney's gal not Bush's, so you can't say the 2000 run had anything to do with her.

She really turns me off--cold, lack of human qualities (has she ever smiled on camera???), no empathy for anyone whatsoever.

She totally screwed the whole Cheney shooting incident, you can blame Cheney for all of that, but Mary was the face on TV defending his actions. It was a reflection on her inability to handle such a story.

What'd I tell ya, Gravy? CHE is 100% predictable.

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/
www.onlinejournal.com
www.takingaim.info
www.wsws.org
otherside123.blogspot.com

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 6, 2006 LATE EDITION After weeks of informed speculation that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was preparing to issue at least one indictment against White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove in the CIA leak matter, well-placed sources have revealed that Rove continues to "cooperate" with the prosecutor in an effort to shield Bush from the ever-widening scandal. This has temporarily delayed new indictments, according to informed sources.

Fitzgerald's decision to use Libby's statement as part of the prosecution's evidence is a sign that the prosecutor has other statements from high-placed White House individuals like Rove that implicate both Cheney and Libby in the leak of a CIA covert agent's name to the media. However, Fitzgerald also has testimony from Libby that places blame on Bush, in addition to information obtained from over 200 e-mails first reported by the White House to have been mistakenly deleted. Some of the e-mails also implicate Bush and Rove.

Potomac scandal fever: Renewed CIA leak scandal blossoms along with the cherry trees

Sources say that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's testimony before a grand jury that President Bush, acting through Vice President Dick Cheney, authorized the leak of a 2003 classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to the New York Times is part of bitter internecine finger pointing between Bush and Karl Rove on one hand and Cheney, Libby, and Cheney's current staff on the other. By directly implicating Bush, Cheney can argue that he was merely carrying out the president's orders and passed instructions to Libby to use his media contacts like Judith Miller of the Times and Matt Cooper of Time to pass along selected portions of the NIE, which stated that aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq were intended for uranium enrichment. However, a one-page executive summary included with the NIE was withheld from the leaked segments because it contained a statement that the State and Energy Departments believed the tubes were for conventional weapons, which turned out to be the case. That information would have undercut the Bush administration's claims that Iraq had reconstituted its nuclear program.

Fitzgerald's court filing states: "According to defendant [Libby], at the time of his conversations with Miller and Cooper, he understood that only three people -- the President, the Vice President, and defendant [Libby] -- knew that the key judgments of the NIE had been declassified. Defendant [Libby] testified in the grand jury that he understood that even in the days following his conversation with Ms. Miller, other key officials -- including Cabinet-level officials -- were not made aware of the earlier declassification even as those officials were pressed to carry out a declassification of the NIE, the report about Wilson's trip [to Niger] and another classified document dated January 24, 2003."

The bottom line is that there is now a severe rift between Bush and Cheney. Rove continues to protect Bush while Libby, who at first provided cover for Cheney, is now willing to let the chips fall where they may. As one source put it, Rove is more than willing to "throw Cheney under the bus to protect the president." There is also the possibility that Libby is cooperating with the prosecutor in return for a reduction in his criminal charges.

Washington insiders who were involved in Watergate and maintain contacts with the current administration report that the situation within the Executive Mansion has never been so tense since Watergate. Even the Clinton impeachment pales in comparison to the current situation they claim.

Allen is going to get beat by Webb. He has absolutely no substance.

He is a rubber stamp for Bush, and has shown zero leadership in the Senate.

Matalin is a great choice, from a Democrat's perspective.

Most people in Virginia will not relate to her.

I don't get it.

Why is Allen fighting so hard for the Senate seat he is salivating to abandon?

He should resign the Senate and campaign 100% for President.

Mary Matalin is a disgrace. All she does is run her mouth about "President Bush this, President Bush that." She just exploits the Republican Party and conservative movement for profit. She doesn't believe in anything. For example, she is pro-abortion, but she is perfectly fine working for pro-life candidates as long as they pay her big $$$$$. Also, anytime she opens her mouth, Tim Russert puts her and her goofball husband on his show so that he can begin kissing up to them. After all, they are all part of the same cocktail party circuit.

At least her husband is entertaining and has a sense of humor. She is just an annoying zero. She is a scary-looking individual. How about when she chopped off virtually all of her hair - what was up with that?

Is this one of those know-it-all women Tom Delay was talking about? Maybe he can treat her to the same treatment as that 70 year old woman his goons attacked at Lampson's press conference.

Has anyone else noticed that whenever George Allen starts lying in an interview, his right eye starts twitching ever so slightly? It's so predictable, you can set your watch by it.

With John McCain falling apart, and every other national GOP figure under indictment or under investigation, Allen could jump out ahead of the pack very quickly with Matalin and Gillespie on board.

More importantly, Mary Matalin is an undoubtedly unique woman who is married to James Carville, political strategist for the Democratic Party. In the 1992 political campaign both Matalin and Carville were staffing opposite campaigns.