This Is Diplomacy?

In his remarks this morning, Bush had this to say on the topic: "You know, I hear people say, well, civil war this, civil war that. the Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box. And a unity government is working to respond to the will of the people."

But for a little reality check, Tom Lasseter writes for McClatchy Newspapers: "While American politicians and generals in Washington debate the possibility of civil war in Iraq, many U.S. officers and enlisted men who patrol Baghdad say it has already begun."

Claude Allen, Katrina Victim

Ernesto Londoño writes in Saturday's Washington Post: "Former White House adviser Claude A. Allen took responsibility yesterday for shoplifting from stores in Montgomery County last year, saying that the months leading up to the thefts were marked by huge stress and sleep deprivation. . . .

"His wife cited Hurricane Katrina as one of the stressful issues that Allen was grappling with last fall. . . .

"'Claude's 14-hour workdays became more demanding after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.''

According to Scott McClellan on August 31 of last year, Allen was at that point in charge of the White House's Katrina task force. And in September, Allen took part in a briefing about hurricane-related initiatives.

But inside the White House, Allen was not considered a major player; he was mostly trotted out to attempt damage control.

For instance, as William Douglas wrote for the Knight Ridder News Service in October: "Claude Allen, Bush's domestic policy adviser, said the president is responding to the needs of African-Americans in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast regions severely damaged by Katrina.

"'Just the mere fact you have pictures of the president on TV embracing grieving mothers, embracing pastors of churches that have been destroyed,' Allen said. 'That speaks about the personal character of our president, who is truly concerned about healing our nation.'"

Avoiding Bush

Michael Abramowitz writes in The Washington Post about the "diverse ways, large and small, that Republican candidates are trying to put distance between themselves and the president and his most unpopular policies. . . .

"For now, a White House that once brooked little dissent from Republicans appears to be taking a pragmatic approach to new freelancing from GOP candidates. Its attitude, GOP strategists say, is that candidates need to do what is necessary to get reelected given the huge stakes involved -- though there are limits to its tolerance."

For instance, "White House aides did little to disguise their distress" over "Maryland GOP Senate candidate Michael S. Steele, who caused a tempest with his comments knocking Bush for the Iraq war and the administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina." Abramowitz writes that "senior adviser Karl Rove called Steele to find out what happened, sources said."

Cheney Watch

Nancy Benac writes for the Associated Press that in certain circles, Vice President Cheney remains a rock star.

"Cheney, always a stalwart campaigner for the party, is outpacing his schedule from the 2002 midterm elections. He has logged 80 fundraisers so far this election cycle, bringing in more than $24 million, with the heaviest campaign travel still to come. By comparison, he logged 106 fundraisers for all of 2001-2002."

And yet: "Some GOP candidates are finding ways to put distance between themselves and Cheney, even as they happily gather up the campaign checks that his visits attract. Some Cheney fundraisers are closed to the media, for example. . . .

"In March, when Cheney visited New Jersey to raise money for GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr., the candidate didn't arrive until 15 minutes after Cheney left. Kean said he got held up in traffic; Democrats were skeptical."

Vacation Watch

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "Instead of parking here for the whole month, Mr. Bush, who arrived Thursday night, will spend just 10 nights before returning to the White House. During his stay, his aides are taking pains to present Mr. Bush as deeply engaged in world events; on Saturday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, arrived to brief him on the Middle East. . . .

"'It was a political calculation that his advisers persuaded him that he needed to do, and I think he knew it,' said one Republican with close ties to Mr. Bush, who would discuss internal White House decisions only if not quoted by name. He added, 'I don't think he is resentful or angry or anything; I think he is resigned to it.'

"Mark Knoller of CBS News, whose statistics on presidential trips to Crawford are so comprehensive that the White House refers inquiries to him, said the current visit was Mr. Bush's 59th trip to his ranch since taking office; as of Saturday, he had spent all or part of 384 days there."

Snow Mocks Sheehan

Richard Benedetto writes for USA Today: "Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil outside President Bush's ranch dogged the president during August 2005, returned Sunday for another unsuccessful attempt to meet him."

Last summer, the Bush White House stood by as the moral authority of a mother who had lost her son in Iraq cost them dearly in the battle for public opinion.

This time around, press secretary Tony Snow came out swinging with sarcasm.

Here's what he had to say at Saturday's gaggle : "I would advise her to bring water, Gatorade, or both.

"Q Are you going to send anybody out to see her, any surrogates?

"MR. SNOW: You know what, honestly, when you're talking about the kind of issues we've been talking about, Cindy Sheehan just has not risen to the level of staff meetings at this point."

Noted Without Comment

The Associated Press reports: "As he did last year, Bush took three history books along to his Texas ranch. . . .

"Two of the books were about Republican Party hero Abraham Lincoln -- 'Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power,' by Richard Carwardine, and 'Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural,' by Ronald C. White Jr.

"His third choice, 'Polio: An American Story,' by University of Texas historian David M. Oshinsky' won the Pulitzer Prize. It tells the story of polio in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, including the establishment of the March of Dimes and the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines."

Poll Watch

Heidi Przybyla writes for Bloomberg: "President George W. Bush's hopes of attracting a new generation of voters to the Republican Party may be fading, as younger Americans are far more critical of his job performance than the broader population.

"A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll of Americans age 18 to 24 found Bush's approval rating was 20 percent, with 53 percent disapproving and 28 percent with no opinion. That compares to a 40 percent approval rating among Americans of all ages in a separate Bloomberg/Times poll."

Doonesbury Watch

Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau imagines Mark Slackmeyer at a Bush press conference: "Sir, I've noticed that whenever you frame a debate, it always contains false choices. . . . The 'debate' you're willing to have is always between options of your own choosing. It's the same as if we were to ask you, 'Which would you prefer, admitting you're wrong or tearing the country apart?'"

New Yorker Quiz

Paul Slansky 's latest Bush Quiz is out.