Adding Insult to Expulsion

In my Live Online yesterday, a reader from Dallas wondered how many of those papers had endorsed Bush in 2004. I thought that was a great question, and asked my readers for help tracking that down.

Reader Nicole from Minnesota was the first (of several) to respond.

She wrote: "I found this list of 2004 presidential endorsements. The papers in your column broke down this way:

"Kerry: Florida Today; Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader; Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer; The Buffalo News; The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle.

"Bush: Appleton (Wisc.) Post-Crescent; Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic; Loveland (Colo.) Daily Reporter-Herald; Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News."

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Iowa) Courier did not endorse either candidate. And none of my readers could determine who the Reading (Pa.) Eagle endorsed.

But the point it, it's pretty bipartisan.

In the Bunker

Michael Bronner writes in Vanity Fair, based on never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters: "In his bunker under the White House, Vice President Cheney was not notified about United 93 until 10:02 -- only one minute before the airliner impacted the ground. Yet it was with dark bravado that the vice president and others in the Bush administration would later recount sober deliberations about the prospect of shooting down United 93."

Claude Allen Update

Ernesto Londoño writes in The Washington Post: "Former White House adviser Claude A. Allen is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to a misdemeanor theft charge after reaching a deal with Montgomery County prosecutors that probably will spare him from jail, according to court documents filed yesterday. . . .

"Allen was arrested after Montgomery police accused him of stealing more than $5,000 in merchandise from Target and Hecht's stores through a refund scheme."

But Barbara Barrett writes for McClatchy Newspapers: "Allen, 45, will plead guilty to fraudulently stealing items worth less than $500 from a Target store in suburban Montgomery County, Md., near his Gaithersburg home, according to documents filed Wednesday in the county's Circuit Court. . . .

"The prosecutor and defense attorneys have asked that Allen receive no jail time, but rather pay $850 in restitution to Target Corp. and serve one month's probation. . . .

"Friends of Allen, a well-known conservative who rose from a senator's press aide to one of the top jobs in the White House, said Wednesday that the criminal conviction shouldn't keep him from a future in politics."

Cuba Watch

Laurie Kellman writes for the Associated Press: "The White House and Congress, caught unaware by Fidel Castro's illness, prepared Wednesday for a possible showdown in Cuba as lawmakers drafted legislation that would give millions of dollars to dissidents who fight for democratic change. . . .

"The handover was a surprise to the White House and Congress, one senator said.

"'The president's comment was that everybody was caught by surprise, and we'll have to wait and see' what U.S. action is necessary, said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, who discussed the developments with President Bush on Tuesday."

Poll Watch

Two new polls show Bush's approval rating at 40 percent.

A Gallup Poll earlier this week found Bush with 40 percent approval, up from 37 the week before -- but found an all-time high of 55 percent of American wanting U.S. troops in Iraq either withdrawn immediately (19) or within a year (36).

And here is this morning's Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll . From the summary: "[N]o matter what the president does, he cannot shake the perception of the American public that his policies -- foreign or domestic -- are not working, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. . . .

"The poll is continuing to show an intensity gap on the way people feel about Bush's job performance. Since the beginning of the year, respondents have expressed more intense negative feelings than those who have expressed more positive feelings. . . . For example, nearly three-fifths of those surveyed disapprove of the way the president is handling his job, which includes nearly 43% who 'strongly' disapprove, compared to just 20% who 'strongly' approve (overall approval rating is 40%).

"The war in Iraq and now the war in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is a huge gray cloud over Bush's administration. . . . Most Americans think Bush is reacting to dealing with the problems of terrorism rather than having a clear, formulated plan. . . .

"One reason for the weaker support of the president's handling of the war on terrorism is belief that terrorism has increased because of the situation in Iraq (52%), a dramatic shift since a January 2006 Times/Bloomberg where just a third felt that way. . . . They also feel it is just a matter of time before there is an attack, rather than any thing the government or intelligence agencies can do."

The Amazing Shrinking President

Daniel Engber of Slate tries to explain why Bush latest medical report shows that he's lost one-quarter of an inch in height.

Older people do shrink, he writes, "but it's usually a slow process. Men who are around Bush's age -- he just turned 60 -- tend to lose around a tenth of a centimeter in height every year. . . .

"We can only speculate that the apparent shrinkage is the result of a measurement error."

Is This Mic On?

Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write for Newsweek.com that Bush and British Prime Minister Blair, who was visiting last week, "coordinated their jokes as much as their foreign policy. Bush opened his joint press conference with Blair by joking about his recent encounter with an open microphone in St. Petersburg, Russia -- which the British media have dubbed his 'Yo Blair!' moment. 'As you know, we've got a close relationship,' Bush deadpanned. 'You share with me your perspective -- and you let me know when the microphone is on.' Bush tapped his White House microphone and Blair chuckled out loud.

"In fact, the two leaders rehearsed their moment of levity. Bush had alerted Blair to the joke before the two left the Oval Office, moments earlier. One of Blair's aides suggested that Bush could milk the joke by tapping the microphone for good measure. 'They all thought it was hilarious,' said the senior Bush aide."

Cartoon Watch

Here are Mike Luckovich on Bush's moment of opportunity; Stuart Carlson on oil dependency; John Deering on Bush's Middle East policy; Bob Gorrell on Bush's desktop; and Tom Toles on Bush on Jeopardy.

Online Humor

AddictingGames is out with the Bush Backrub game. "President George Bush's back rub to German Chancellor Angela Merkel had her flailing her arms with fury and the rest of us in tears (of laughter or embarrassment). Now you can relive the legendary moment. . . . "