On Quoting bin Laden

Background Briefing Watch

It's been a while, but the White House today is holding an "off-camera background briefing by senior administration officials," presumable about the military tribunals.

Why on background? Will reporters persuade the officials to go on the record? Will anyone walk out otherwise? Will anyone leak the official's identity to an eager columnist? Stay tuned.

Doublespeak Watch

The libertarian Cato Institute is out with a new report on Doublespeak and the War on Terrorism .

"Since the catastrophic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government has routinely employed a disturbing new vocabulary -- or doublespeak -- to expand its police powers," Cato announces.

On Wiretapping

Jonathan Weisman writes in The Washington Post: "Deepening Republican divisions over the future of President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program may jeopardize GOP leaders' hopes of making terrorism surveillance legislation a centerpiece of their final legislative push this month."

Briefing Follies

Editor and Publisher takes note of the kerfuffle at yesterday's gaggle which "turned rancorous with NBC's David Gregory telling Press Secretary Tony Snow, 'Don't point your finger at me,' and Snow accusing the newsman of being 'rude' and delivering Democratic talking points.

Here's how it started:

Gregory: "Okay. There's so much emphasis by the President on his resolve and on the consequences of failure, which seems to dovetail to the political strategy of casting the vote as not a referendum on his leadership or his conduct in the war on terror, leading the war on terror, but on a choice between two parties and their visions. And I'm curious whether, in this document, there's any reflection on the fact that this White House, this administration failed to anticipate a violent terrorist-based insurgency in Iraq, and also failed to adapt once it learned of its presence? And shouldn't that be put before the voters this fall?

"MR. SNOW: I think you've admirably expressed the Democratic point of view, but I don't think -- . . . .

"Q It's not a Democratic argument, Tony.

"MR. SNOW: Let me answer the question, David.

"Q But hold on, let's not let you get away with saying that's a Democratic argument.

"MR. SNOW: Okay, let me -- let's not let you get away with being rude. Let me just answer the question, and you can come back at me.

"Q Excuse me. Don't point your finger at me. I'm not being rude.

" MR. SNOW: Yes, you are.

"Q Don't try to dismiss me as making a Democratic argument, Tony, when I'm speaking fact."

Greg Sargent blogs for the American Prospect: "What you have here is the perfect expression of this White House's desperate desire to avoid accountability. Anyone asking whether the electorate should be evaluating Bush's actual performance in Iraq and even in the 'war on terror,' his supposed strong suit -- or anyone asking God forbid if the administration should reflect on past failures to better decide how best to proceed going forward -- is simply expressing the 'Democratic point of view.' Of course, Snow was later forced to backtrack and say that the White House is 'perfectly happy' to have its performance judged. But the first reaction was far and away the more telling one."

Rove Book

The new book about Karl Rove by James Moore and Wayne Slater -- "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power" -- is making some waves.

Marcus Baram writes for Radar Online: "While the authors' description of Rove's relationship with indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is certain to have D.C. buzzing, their revelations about his family life are even more intriguing: According to the book, the architect of the Bush administration's anti-gay policies was raised by a homosexual father who abandoned his family to lead an openly gay life in Palm Springs."

James Moore publishes an excerpt from the book on Huffingtonpost.com.

Plame Watch

While I was away, a new book by David Corn and Michael Isikoff revealed that the first official to disclose Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as a C.I.A. operative to columnist Robert Novak was then-deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage.

Joe Conason writes in the New York Observer that as a result of this revelation, "numerous pundits and talking heads have deduced that [Karl] Rove and [Scooter] Libby were guiltless, that there was no White House effort to expose Ms. Wilson, and that the entire leak investigation was a partisan witch hunt and perhaps an abuse of discretion by the special counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald. The same pundits now proclaim that Mr. Armitage's minor role somehow proves the White House didn't seek to punish Valerie Wilson and her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, for his decision to publicly debunk the Presidential misuse of dubious intelligence from Niger concerning Iraq's alleged attempts to purchase yellowcake uranium.

"But whatever Mr. Armitage did, or says he did, in no way alters what Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby did in the days that followed, nor does it change their intentions. It's a simple concept -- two people or more can commit a similar act for entirely different reasons -- but evidently it has flummoxed the great minds of contemporary journalism."

And now Corn reveals in the Nation that Plame was chief of operations for the CIA's Joint Task Force on Iraq, "frantically toiling away in the basement, mounting espionage operations to gather information on the WMD programs Iraq might have."

He Writes a Letter

Chief of Staff Josh Bolten yesterday made public his reply to a letter from Democratic leaders about Iraq.

Writes Bolten: "Regardless of the specifics you envision by 'phased redeployment,' any premature withdrawal of U.S forces would have disastrous consequences for America's security. Such a policy would embolden our terrorist enemies; betray the hopes of the Iraqi people; lead to a terrorist state in control of huge oil reserves; shatter the confidence our regional allies have in America; undermine the spread of democracy in the Middle East; and mean the sacrifices of American troops would have been in vain."

Protest Watch

Petula Dvorak writes in The Washington Post: "The antiwar activists who picketed near the president's ranch this summer traded dusty Texas for soggy Washington yesterday, when they set up camp near the White House to continue their vigil. . . .

"Camp Democracy, a spinoff from Camp Casey in Crawford, Tex., started by antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, will feature a series of speeches, lectures and discussions under white tents pitched on the Mall at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW."

Always Time for Baseball

Joe Strauss writes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "On the same day that he gave a major speech regarding the nation's war on terror, President George W. Bush hosted a contingent of Cardinals in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning.

"Bush, former general partner of the Texas Rangers and a close friend of Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., received a group that included DeWitt, general manager Walt Jocketty, manager Tony La Russa, the team's coaching staff and five players. . . .

"La Russa said he was impressed by the time spent and the message Bush delivered.

"'He spoke about the responsibilities he has, the decisions he has to make and how he goes about making them,' La Russa said. . . .

"In greeting [Gary] Bennett, Bush referred to the catcher's game-ending grand slam against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 27.

"'He's one of the most powerful men in the world. He's got a lot more important things on his mind,' Bennett said. 'To remember something relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things . . . it's pretty impressive.'"