The Rap on Karl Rove

"What comes next depends on whether Bush or the Democrats blink."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Carl Hulse write in the New York Times: "Mr. Bush and Congressional Democrats are already deadlocked over the Democrats' demands for testimony from top White House officials in an inquiry into the firing of federal prosecutors. The president's remarks on Wednesday, a day after the Senate voted for the first time in favor of setting a withdrawal date, set the stage for a second clash.

"That puts Mr. Bush in the difficult position of fighting the new Democratic majority on two fronts, both the war spending and the prosecutors. On Wednesday, he seemed in no mood to back down from the war spending fight. . . .

"'We hope it doesn't have to come to this type of brinksmanship, staring down the Congress, but as you saw today the president feels very strongly,' said Dan Bartlett, counselor to Mr. Bush. 'The feedback we've been getting from our allies on the Hill -- and we agree with them -- is that this is an issue we shouldn't shirk from.'"

The New York Times editorial board writes that Bush's reaction to Tuesday's Senate action "was instantaneous, familiar in its contempt for views that do not follow his in lockstep, and depressing in its lack of contact with reality."

Poll Watch

CBS News reports: "More than half of Americans support the U.S. House provision setting a timetable that calls for most U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by September, 2008. According to a new CBS News poll, 59% of those surveyed favored the provision while 37% are opposed."

Et Tu, Abdullah?

Hassan M. Fattah writes in the New York Times: "King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq was illegal and warned that unless Arab governments settled their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region's politics. . . .

"King Abdullah has not publicly spoken so harshly about the American-led military intervention in Iraq before, and his remarks suggest that his alliance with Washington may be less harmonious than administration officials have been hoping....

"Last week the Saudi king canceled his appearance next month at a White House dinner in his honor, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The official reason given was a scheduling conflict, the paper said."

Immigration Watch

Nicole Gaouette writes in the Los Angeles Times: "With President Bush looking to counter a legacy increasingly marred by the war in Iraq, the White House has launched a bold, behind-the-scenes drive to advance a key domestic goal: immigration reform.

"For a month, White House staffers and Cabinet members have met three to four times a week with influential Republican senators and aides to hash out a consensus plan designed to draw a significant number of GOP votes. . . .

"The intense effort -- conceived by the president's chief political strategist, Karl Rove -- is intended to ensure that Bush will achieve at least one crucial policy victory in the last two years of his presidency."

Democrats consider some aspects of Bush's plan much too restrictive -- but far from shifting his position to appeal to them, Bush is apparently adding even more restrictions, in an attempt to win over Republicans.

David Espo writes for the Associated Press: "The Bush administration floated elements of an immigration plan on Wednesday that would make it harder for millions of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship than under legislation passed by the Senate last year, according to officials in both parties."

Oval Office Watch

Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush met at the White House this week with a Russian general who has been accused of overseeing some of the most notorious atrocities against civilians during the brutal second war in Chechnya.

"Bush welcomed Gen. Vladimir Shamanov to the Oval Office Monday in Shamanov's capacity as co-chairman of a U.S.-Russian commission on missing soldiers. . . .

"Russian troops under Shamanov rampaged through the village of Alkhan-Yurt in December 1999, killing 17 civilians, according to human rights investigations. The soldiers looted homes and shot those who got in the way, including a woman over 100 years old. Shamanov threatened to shoot villagers who pleaded with him to halt the 'cleansing operation,' investigators found. Rather than prosecute, the Kremlin gave Shamanov a medal -- a medal he appeared to wear to the Oval Office."

Nomination Withdrawn

Rick Klein writes in the Boston Globe: "President Bush yesterday abruptly withdrew his choice to become ambassador to Belgium in the face of blistering criticism from Senator John F. Kerry and other Democrats over the nominee's financial support for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that tarnished Kerry's war record in the 2004 presidential campaign.

"The White House withdrew Sam Fox's nomination less than an hour before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was to vote on whether to recommend his confirmation by the full Senate. . . .

"The decision surprised observers and lawmakers, including Kerry, who said he was prepared to strongly argue against Fox's nomination at the hearing. The White House had been privately telling senators in recent days that Bush badly wanted Fox, one of his top fund-raisers, confirmed and dispatched to Brussels."

Bush's Book Club

Jacob Weisberg writes in Slate about the latest selection in Bush's "book club": "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900," by conservative British writer Andrew Roberts. "Bush invited Roberts for a discussion over lunch at the White House earlier this month. The author was joined by Dick Cheney (who was recently photographed carrying the book), Rove, and a group of neoconservative intellectuals including Norman Podhoretz and Gertrude Himmelfarb, along with various other officials and conservative journalists."

After eviscerating the book, Weisberg concludes: "Are we sure we want a president who spends so much time reading? The leader who loves books that tell him he is great and right may be worse than the leader who does not love books at all."

Perino Watch

Howard Kurtz writes in The Washington Post about White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, who is subbing for ailing press secretary Tony Snow: "At 34, the former Capitol Hill aide has been thrust into what can be a harsh spotlight, but for now seems to be coping without too much squinting. While she lacks Snow's practiced ease before the cameras, Perino projects an earnest, ever-polite demeanor, like an airline ticket agent who keeps smiling as irate customers demand to know why their flight has been canceled."

More RTNDA Humor

Karl Rove may have stolen the show, but his boss had a few moments at the radio and television gala last night. Here's video of Bush's speech; here's the text.

Matea Gold writes in the Los Angeles Times: "The annual gathering of scores of broadcast journalists in the low-ceilinged ballroom of the Washington Hilton has long generated its share of provocative humor, such as Bush's jokes in 2004 about not being able to find weapons of mass destruction.

"This year's atmosphere, however, was decidedly more rollicking than usual."

Some of Bush's lines:

"I have to admit we really blew the way we let those attorneys go. You know you botched it when people sympathize with lawyers," he said.

"Between the Congress and the press, there is a lot of scrutiny in this job. Not a day goes by that I don't get scrutineered one way or the other. The press is a lot tougher the second term. It's reached the point I sometimes call on Helen Thomas just to hear a friendly voice.

"No matter how tough it gets, however, I have no intention of becoming a lame duck President -- unless, of course, Cheney accidentally shoots me in the leg. . . .

"Considering what's next -- President Clinton, of course, wrote a very successful presidential memoir, with 10,000 pages or something. I'm thinking of something really fun and creative for mine -- you know, maybe a pop-up book."

Incidentally, Bush's line about the "good old days" was recycled from the Alfalfa Club dinner in late January, as reported in my January 30 column.

Online Humor

The satirical Onion writes: "White House Secret Service Agent Anthony Panucci is being called a hero after intercepting what could have been a critically damaging question aimed directly at President Bush during a press conference in the Rose Garden Tuesday. . . .

"Although Panucci is not allowed to discuss the specifics of his White House anti-interrogative work, Secret Service director Mark Sullivan said Wednesday that in recent weeks agents had picked up 'a lot of chatter' targeting Bush."

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles on time limits; Ann Telnaes on who to blame.