2006associated pressbellsouthbloggersbudgetdaily briefingDemocratsdick cheneyfoiageorge w. bushguantanamo bayhomeland securityhouseimmigrationkarl rovenational guardnsapentagonrandy cunninghamrepublicanssenatetom shalestreatment of detaineeswar on terrorismwilliam jefferson
Daily Briefing: A Sour Time
- Bush, seeking a "rational middle ground" on immigration to rescue his second term, announces the deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops to the southern border; Karl Rove indicates that Bush supports the Senate's immigration plan. Bush: "We do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that." [WP, NYT, USAT, WSJ]
- Immigration issue could go from "opportunity to expand the Republican Party" to a "historic liability"; Bush sought to "define the middle ground in a debate where consensus has been difficult." 74% of Americans, in poll conducted before the presidential address, supported the use of Guard troops on the border. [WP]
- BellSouth denies "any link" with the NSA for the logging of phone calls; USA Today stands by its story. [USAT, NYT, WSJ]
- Pentagon releases the full list of those detained at Guantanamo Bay after the Associated Press files a FOIA request. [AP]
- Rove is optimistic for the GOP's chances in November: "Look, we're in a sour time. I readily admit it. I mean, being in the middle of a war where people turn on their television sets and see brave men and women dying is not something that makes people happy and optimistic and upbeat. But I'm absolutely confident [that] we're going to be just fine in the fall elections." [WP]
- Emergency spending bill has yet to be slimmed to Bush's specifications. [WP]
- Bush maintains that the border will not be militarized: "The Border Patrol will remain in the lead." [WP]
- Bush's speech "reflected the more subtle approach of a man shaped by Texas border-state politics and longtime personal views." [NYT]
- Tom Shales reacts: "The speech itself was like an anticlimax, a mere technicality positioned amid the clatter and clamor that preceded and followed it -- and will continue to follow it perhaps for the entire week." [WP]
- The Bushes report assets totaling between $7.2M and $20.9M; the Cheneys report assets up to $94.6M. [NYT]
- House resists request from the Justice Department for committee documents related to former Rep. Randy Cunningham. [NYT]
- Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), under investigation for bribery, says he will not resign. [USAT]
- Recent rumors about the possible indictment of Rove illustrate how bloggers have "changed both the dynamics of the reporting process and how political rumors swirl." [WSJ]
