Political Posturing: Shrinking Christians
• Ashcroft, Evansresign; next attorney general could be first Hispanic (Gonzales) or African American (Thompson) to serve, orRacicot. [ WP , WP , NYT , NYT , USAT , WSJ ]
•Dems are defiant, hope GOP's stranglehold on government gives lie to idea of Democrats as the problem.Pelosi: "The president won't be able to blame anyone, because the Republicans have full control." [ WP ]
• Bushmakes sixth visit to wounded troops at Walter Reed: "[I]t's so uplifting to see their spirit, their drive to become rehabilitated, their love of their country, their support of the mission." [ NYT ]
• Rovehighlights significance of gay marriage laws: "I do think it was part and parcel of a broader fabric where this year moral values ranked higher than they traditionally do. . . I think people would be well advised to pay attention to what the American people are saying." [ NYT ]
•Liberal Christian leaders grumble "values voters" oversimplifies, misrepresents their motivations: "How can you shrink all of our Christian ethics and values down to one or two hot-button issues?" [ LAT , WP ]
• Bushsees immigration reform as a priority;Powelltells Mexican officials administration wants temporary workers program but passage is difficult. [ WP , NYT , WT ]
• KE04officials deny conspiracy theories, doubt any irregularities would have changed outcome. [ BG ]
• Fristunder pressure of high expectations to unite party and win over a few Democrats; also could be eyeing '08 run. [ LAT ]
•Republicans believe ANWR drilling could be running next year. [ WSJ ]
• Nader, citing irregularities favoringBush, calls for recount in New Hampshire. [ WP ]
• Shapirosuspects Democrats divided into four quadrants: the party of cultural permissiveness; the anti-war party; the party of economic justice; the status quo party. [ USAT ]
•Pennsylvania Avenue reopens for pedestrians. [ USAT ]