Bush's Alternate Reality

Thomas: "Supposed to be a government for the people, of the people, by the people?"

Perino: "I would submit to you that people across America, if asked what type of a President do you want: one that stands on principle or that one that chases polls? And I think that they would want --"

Thomas: "What's the principle of going to war against the people who did nothing to us?"

Mission Accomplished

The Associated Press points out a Perino gaffe: "Who knew? President Bush wants to be unpopular.

"Not really, of course, but that's what his press secretary said Thursday.

"Spokeswoman Dana Perino was making the case that it's no surprise that Bush has low poll ratings because he is overseeing an unpopular war. But then her argument went off the tracks.

"'Both the president and the vice president have long believed, and it's a part of what has made them the leaders that they are, which is not to chase popularity polls but to hold themselves to a standard that requires people not to like them,' she said."

Poll Watch

Ernie Paicopolos writes for Fox News: "With far more Americans identifying themselves as Democrats than Republicans, President Bush's job rating has hit a new low, according to the latest Fox News poll.

"Three in 10 Americans (30 percent) now approve of the job Bush is doing as the nation's leader, with 6 in 10 disapproving.

"While disapproval of the president has been higher (for example, 61 percent in both July and March of 2007), his approval rating has never sunk this low before.

"Majorities in every major sub-group except Republicans, conservatives and born-again Christians give a negative rating to Bush's performance in the White House. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (65 percent) approve of Bush.

Here are the complete results. Asked if they think Bush's endorsement will help or hurt Republican presidential candidate John McCain, 27 percent said it would help -- 47 percent said it would hurt.

China Watch

Glenn Kessler and Michael Abramowitz write in The Washington Post: "President Bush is avoiding public statements on the intensifying Chinese crackdown on Tibet, relying instead on private messages to the Chinese leadership, pressing Beijing to show restraint, allow U.S. observers into Tibet and have open trials of people arrested, administration officials said.

"The president, one senior administration official said, is counting on what he regards as an 'extraordinary relationship' with President Hu Jintao to help guide Chinese political leaders to change their response to anti-China demonstrations in Tibet and to begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader. The White House yesterday ruled out linking the Tibet issue -- or other human rights concerns -- to Bush's attendance at the Olympics this summer in Beijing. . . .

"Administration officials privately acknowledge that, on Tibet, they have little to show for their efforts."

Fraud Watch

Lara Jakes Jordan writes for the Associated Press: "House Democrats demanded documents Thursday about a multibillion-dollar overseas contracting loophole to track down how -- and why -- the Bush administration slipped it into plans to protect taxpayer money. . . .

"Last May, facing growing cases of fraud and increasing spending overseas, the Justice Department introduced plans to force companies to notify the government about evidence of contract abuse worth $5 million or more. Currently, contractors report evidence of abuse on a voluntary basis, and the number of company-reported fraud cases has declined steadily over the past 15 years.

"By November, after it left the Justice Department and was published in the Federal Register, the proposed rule specifically exempted 'contracts to be performed outside the United States.' . . .

"'Preventing fraud by contractors overseas should be a high priority,' Democrats wrote in letters sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget and four other executive agencies. 'Instead, the exemption for contracts to be performed overseas appears to have been inserted in the rule late in the process and against the wishes of the Department of Justice, which raises serious questions as to why and how such a policy was developed.'"

Which office is the most likely culprit? Well, let's just quote Jordan: "OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy has repeatedly declined to comment on the loophole or how it was added to the overall fraud crackdown."

Contempt Watch

John Bresnahan writes for the Politico: "The House General Counsel's Office, which is representing the Judiciary Committee in a civil contempt lawsuit against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers, has asked a federal judge to set up an expedited schedule to resolve portions of the case, a schedule that would require a ruling by this summer, according to court documents filed today."

Karl Rove Watch

Karl Rove argues in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Democrats are still weak on security. But what his cherry-picking of poll results really demonstrates is that when pollsters frame the issue in Republican terms, Republican positions do better in polls.

Churns Like a Duck . . .

Mark Silva blogs for Tribune about Perino's interview of Dee Dee Myers, press secretary to former President Clinton, for C-SPAN's BookTV.

The two commiserated about facing the press corps. Myers said she sometimes invited friends to watch her briefings, and they were shocked at how rough it was.

Perino replied: "Mine'll say, 'You're so -- How do you stay so calm?' Well, maybe I might look like it on the outside sometimes. But it's like a duck. You look really calm above the water, but underneath, you're churning."

Late Night Humor

Jon Stewart revisits five years of war and concludes: "Maybe we've all been wrong in viewing this war on a linear space-time continuum. Perhaps to view this war as a success, we have to look at it the way the president does: Backwards."

It does seem to get better and better, if you look at it that way.

Stewart also reviews the dismal results of the vice president's foreign trips, and casts Cheney as the International Man of Misery.

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles, Jim Morin, Stuart Carlson, Tony Auth and David Horsey on the fifth anniversary; Mike Luckovich on Iracking the economy; John Sherffius on the public's opinion; and an Ann Telnaes animation on what Cheney is smoking.