Static on the Left

"And when you are given the opportunity to sit down with the President of the United States for an on-the-record interview, you never ask him about the war, the genocide, or the leaked lies. Instead, you actually say this: 'But in the meantime, the news channels then hear what you're saying, and then later on, we have this Michael Jackson update. I mean, his trial and his ongoing saga has gripped the nation for the past four-and-a-half, five months as you've been on this campaign [to gut Social Security like a flopping carp]. . . . Do you think that the focus on Michael Jackson has hurt you?' "

The phrase "straining credibility" was invented for this: Remember that White House guy the New York Times caught watering down global-warming reports?

Dick Cheney tells "Hannity & Colmes" (I bet it's just Hannity) that there are no plans to close Guantanamo Bay and that "bad people" are detained there.

"A former oil industry lobbyist who changed government reports on global warming has resigned in a long-planned departure, the White House said Saturday," reports the AP.

"Philip Cooney, who was chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, left Friday, two days after it was revealed that he had edited administration reports on climate change in 2002 and 2003.

"His departure was 'completely unrelated' to the disclosure, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said."

Just a coincidence. Totally unrelated. Out of left field. Like, why would anyone think he quit 48 hours after being outed on the front page of the Times?

Fred Barnes asks which party has the upper hand, and you won't be surprised at his answer:

"Who's winning in Washington right now? Republicans, President Bush included. But they are winning ugly, and just barely. Actually, if success on Social Security reform is the yardstick, Republicans aren't winning at all. What changes the score is success on judges. Thanks to the Gang of 14 deal to save the filibuster, a parade of relatively young and attractive conservatives are now being confirmed for the federal appeals courts, putting them in position to be nominated later for vacancies on the Supreme Court.

"When the agreement on judicial nominations was struck in May by seven Republican and seven Democratic senators, many conservatives agreed with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid that it was a victory for Democrats. They were wrong. Since the agreement, the three prime targets of Democrats -- Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor -- have all been confirmed, plus two other less controversial nominees. And more conservatives are in the confirmation pipeline. So while Bush's chances of creating personal investment accounts have faded, his goal of shifting the ideological tilt of the federal judiciary is closer at hand."

Frank Rich does actual reporting -- well, he got a phone call -- in clearing up one Watergate misconception:

"The morning the Deep Throat story broke, the voice on my answering machine was as raspy as Hal Holbrook's. 'I just want you to remember that I wrote "Follow the money," ' said my caller. 'I want to know if anybody will give me credit. Watch for the accuracy of the media!'