Top Items:
New York Times:
Republicans Testing Ways to Blunt Leak Charges — WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - With a decision expected this week on possible indictments in the C.I.A. leak case, allies of the White House suggested Sunday that they intended to pursue a strategy of attacking any criminal charges as a disagreement …
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Michelle Malkin:
SEN. HUTCHISON'S BLUNDER — The Left had a field day over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's remarks on NBC's Meet the Press this morning in which she downplayed possible perjury and obstruction of justice indictments this week in the Rove/Plame/Miller/Libby/God-knows-who- else leak case.
Washington Post:
Inquiry as Exacting As Special Counsel Is — A Tough Investigation Is Also Praised as Nonpartisan — CHICAGO, Oct. 23 — Patrick J. Fitzgerald's final witness was behind bars, refusing to testify, and no one was budging. Hunting for room to maneuver, the special counsel talked with one side, then the other.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Eschaton, firedoglake, The Next Hurrah, Daily Kos, The Agonist, Needlenose, The Left Coaster and Crooks and Liars
Thomas M. DeFrank / NY Daily News:
Bushies feeling the boss' wrath — Prez's anger growing in hard times - pals — WASHINGTON - Facing the darkest days of his presidency, President Bush is frustrated, sometimes angry and even bitter, his associates say. — With a seemingly uncontrollable insurgency in Iraq …
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
What Went Wrong — Lessons the White House should learn from the Miers debacle. — President Bush has returned from a weekend in Camp David, where much of the discussion centered on the beleaguered nomination of Harriet Miers. While the president is determined to press forward, the prognosis he received was grim.
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Letters Show Frist Notified Of Stocks in 'Blind' Trusts — Documents Contradict Comments on Holdings — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was given considerable information about his stake in his family's hospital company, according to records that are at odds with his past statements …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside The Beltway, Eschaton and Prometheus 6
Bradley Graham / Washington Post:
Enemy Body Counts Revived — U.S. Is Citing Tolls to Show Success in Iraq — Eager to demonstrate success in Iraq, the U.S. military has abandoned its previous refusal to publicize enemy body counts and now cites such numbers periodically to show the impact of some counterinsurgency operations.
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Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Protecting the Presidential Seal. No Joke. — You might have thought that the White House had enough on its plate late last month, what with its search for a new Supreme Court nominee, the continuing war in Iraq and the C.I.A. leak investigation. But it found time to add another item to its agenda …
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Bush Choice Gets Criticisms Rare for Nominees to Court — WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - On Oct. 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon nominated to the Supreme Court a corporate lawyer and former bar association president with no judicial experience. On Dec. 6, his choice, Lewis F. Powell Jr., was confirmed with fanfare by a vote of 89 to 1.
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Mike Schneider / Associated Press:
Wilma Barrels Across South Florida — Hurricane Wilma plowed into southwest Florida early Monday with howling 125 mph winds and pounding waves, swamping Key West and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people as it began a dash across the state toward Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
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Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
On Trip to South, Rice Uses an Atypical Topic: Herself — BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 23 - At the University of Alabama this weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seemed taken aback when the chairwoman of the campus College Republicans asked for advice on how to prepare for a career in politics.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
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Michael Barone / Townhall.com:
The error of a political indictment — For more than two years, many in the mainstream media have been buzzing about the prospect that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove or Vice President Chief of Staff Scooter Libby would be indicted for revealing the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame.
Michael Yon / Online Magazine:
Purple Fingers — Baghdad — The Perch — I was in Baquba during the January elections. I'd hitched a ride with the US Army to a polling site. There were bombs exploding, mortars falling, and hot machine guns. The fact that the voting was going great despite the violence was something few people expected.
Gateway Pundit:
All Quiet from The Quagmire — Listen carefully! Do you hear that? — ** crickets chirping ** — This past week we heard no comforting words of "occupation" from Cindy Sheehan (although she is planning more civil disobedience and Thanksgiving turkey in Crawford, Texas!) …
Discussion:
The Peking Duck
Balkinization:
What Should Democrats Do About Miers? Beyond the Popcorn Strategy — What should the Democrats do about the Miers nomination? Currently, the Democrats are engaged in a "popcorn" strategy. Metaphorically speaking, they are sitting back, munching on popcorn, and enjoying the show as Republicans fight among themselves.
Discussion:
ACSBlog
Billmon:
Fitzgerald's New Boss — Josh Marshall wonders what it might mean for the special prosecutor's case now that U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty has been nominated for the number-two job at the Justice Department. I suspect the short answer is: nothing good. — McNulty, U.S. Attorney …
