Top Items:
White House:
Press Conference of the President — THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. Please be seated. Thanks. — Last night I addressed the nation about our strategy for victory in Iraq, and the historic elections that took place in the country last week. In a nation that once lived by the whims of a brutal dictator …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report, Sister Toldjah, Brendan Nyhan, PSoTD and BrothersJudd Blog
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CNN:
Bush: U.S. must think, act differently — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush held a year-end news conference in the White House on Monday. The president followed up on his Sunday night speech on Iraq, addressed the controversy surrounding the Patriot Act and took questions on those and other subjects.
Bulldogpundit / anklebitingpundits.com:
Live Blogging The Bush Presser — We "liveblogged" the Bush presser, and you can see our live recap by clicking "Read More". In general, the message was obvious on both the Patriot Act and the "spying" - It's my job to protect the American people, and I'm using whatever I'm doing to do that.
Washington Post:SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Discussion:
Let Freedom Ring
David Sirota / The Huffington Post:Bush's "Need for Speed" Argument Runs Into the Truth
Discussion:
Sirotablog
White House:
Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence — MR. McCLELLAN: Good morning, everybody. I've got with me the Attorney General and General Hayden here this morning to brief you on the legal issues surrounding …
Discussion:
Balkinization, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Eschaton, www.AndrewSullivan.com, Stop the Bleating!, In Search Of Utopia and First Draft
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Washington Post:
Gonzales Defends Eavesdropping Program — Congress 'Authorized' Domestic Surveillance in Iraq War Resolution, Claims Attorney General — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales this morning defended the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping operation, saying it derived its legality …
Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE NSA DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM: Was the secret NSA surveillance program legal? Was it constitutional? Did it violate federal statutory law? It turns out these are hard questions, but I wanted to try my best to answer them. My answer is pretty tentative …
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:Which Is It, Mr. President? — In his press conference this morning …
Ann Althouse / Althouse:About those wiretaps and the constitutional separation of powers.
Discussion:
PoliBlog, neo-neocon, Unclaimed Territory, The Glittering Eye, The American Mind and Prometheus 6
John / AMERICAblog:
Did Bush domestic spy program eavesdrop on American journalists? — I had an interesting discussion this morning with DC political consultant Marc Laitin. We both came to the conclusion that it sounds like Bush's super-secret illegal domestic spying program may be targeting US journalists …
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National Review:
Why Bush Approved the Wiretaps — In the days since the revelation that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to bypass, in certain cases of suspected al Qaeda activity, the special court set up to provide warrants for national-security wiretaps, the question has come up repeatedly: Why did he do it?
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, The Counterterrorism Blog, protein wisdom, The Decembrist, The Right Coast, Power Line and BrothersJudd Blog
Washington Post:
President's Approval Rating Rebounds — President Bush's approval rating has surged in recent weeks, reversing what had been an extended period of decline, with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism and the U.S. economy …
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David Stout / New York Times:
Bush Says U.S. Spy Program Is Legal and Essential — WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - President Bush offered a vigorous and detailed defense of his previously secret electronic-surveillance program today, calling it a legal and essential tool in the battle against terrorism and saying that whoever disclosed it had committed a "shameful act."
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rawstory.com:
Democrats plan sharp rebuke of pre-war intelligence, Iraq war in massive new congressional report — House Judiciary Committee Democrats, spearheaded by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), are set to release possibly the sharpest congressional critique to date surrounding Iraq, RAW STORY has learned.
Discussion:
Pensito Review
Judith / Kesher Talk:
Welcome to the RINO Carnival — Welcome to the 20th RINO Sightings Carnival! (RINO sightings is cancelled for Christmas/Hanukkah week, and returns January 2nd at Louisiana Libertarian.) (You can check out other carnivals at the uber-carnival site, and submit posts to any of them at Conservative Cat.)
Discussion:
Dr. Sanity
Media Matters for America:
Couric pitted constitutional scholars versus "Americans" who "don't want another September 11" … On the December 19 broadcast of NBC's Today, host Katie Couric asked NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert whether the debate over the Bush administration's secret use of domestic surveillance without …
John McIntyre / realclearpolitics.com:
Have The Democrats Walked Into a Trap......Again? — The political pendulum is swinging back towards President Bush. The President's approval rating has a pattern of dipping when he takes his Crawford vacation every August then bouncing back in September upon his return to Washington.
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, TigerHawk, Blogs for Bush, TAPPED, Power Line, The Strata-Sphere, Carol Platt Liebau and Southern Appeal
