A weekly roundup of the buzz from the Sunday talk shows

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) announced that he would introduce resolutions to censure President Bush for the conduct of the Iraq war and some of his administration's counterterrorism initiatives.

Feingold, one of the Senate's most liberal members, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the censure measures, which carry no legal weight, would be one way to do "something serious in terms of accountability."

They will address, he said, the administration's decision to invade Iraq, its failure to "adequately" prepare the military for the war and its "outrageous attack on the rule of law" through the warrantless surveillance program and "torture" of detainees through "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales might also face censure resolutions, Feingold added.

Censure resolutions are nothing new for Feingold, who introduced one such measure last March attacking the surveillance program. It picked up only three co-sponsors and died in committee.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ridiculed the proposal. "The kind of stunt . . . gives you a sense why this Congress has a 14 percent approval rating," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Even Feingold's caucus leader, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), was not prepared to endorse Feingold's plan.

"The president already has the mark of the American people that he's the worst president we've ever had, and I don't think we need a censure resolution in the Senate to prove that," Reid said.

Also on the Sunday shows, Frances Fragos Townsend, the White House homeland security adviser, indicated that the United States would consider direct assaults on al-Qaeda in northwest Pakistan -- drawing a stern warning from Pakistan's foreign minister. [See story, A11.]

By Zachary A. Goldfarb