Hands Across the Border

"Shifting course, U.S. officials said two weeks ago that it would be sufficient for the North Koreans to acknowledge U.S. concerns about their nuclear activities. In return, administration officials would remove North Korea from the stigmatizing U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism and Pyongyang would no longer be subject to U.S. trade sanctions under the Trading with the Enemy Act, a 1917 law.

"The administration shift appeared to give ground to North Korea in the negotiations, spurring fierce criticism from U.S. conservatives and debate over the broader plan to ease sanctions as a step toward dismantling Pyongyang's weapons programs. . . .

"Some administration officials are believed to be unhappy with the latest developments in talks with North Korea. But several analysts were skeptical of speculation that the briefing might have been initiated by internal opponents who hope to set off an outcry that would scuttle any deal with Pyongyang."

In my Sept. 21, 2007 column, I noted how Bush snapped at reporters who asked about the air strike at a news conference, flatly refusing to comment.

Equal Pay Watch

Lori Montgomery writes in The Washington Post that "the White House threatened to veto a bill that would make it easier for victims of discrimination to sue their employers over unequal pay.

"The measure, which is scheduled for a vote today in the Senate, aims to reverse a controversial Supreme Court decision from last spring. That ruling held that Lilly Ledbetter, the lone female supervisor at an Alabama tire plant, could not sue her employer over unequal pay because the alleged discrimination that cut her wages occurred years before she filed a complaint.

"The House approved the bill, dubbed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, last summer. . . .

"Yesterday, officials reasserted a veto threat issued in July, saying that the Ledbetter ruling was fair and that the bill 'far exceeds the stated purpose of undoing the Court's decision.'"

Carl Hulse writes in the New York Times that Bush may not need his veto, as Senate Republicans said they were confident they would be able to block the legislation.

The New York Times editorial board writes: "Far from eliminating the current statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination claims, as some opponents claim, it merely restores a reasonable notion of when the clock starts running....

"The act's defeat would please the Bush White House and the United States Chamber of Commerce. It would be a significant civil rights setback."

Anatomy of a Bush Trip

Mark Pazniokas writes in the Hartford Courant: "President Bush is coming to Connecticut on Friday to talk about saving millions of Africans from malaria and one Republican congressional candidate from defeat.

"One topic will be tackled publicly near a housing project in Hartford, and the other will be privately addressed at Henry Kissinger's estate in the Litchfield Hills.

"They are linked.

"By holding an official event on malaria in Hartford, public funds can be used to pay for a presidential trip that also will include a fundraiser in Kent for a congressional challenger, David Cappiello."

The White House's Secret Weapons

There's been remarkably little response to David Barstow's report in the New York Times over the weekend that the Pentagon used military analysts who commented regularly on radio and TV "in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance."

Salon's Glenn Greenwald says the lack of follow-up is all about the media's own culpability: "Media organizations simply ignore -- collectively blackout -- any stories that expose major corruption in their news reporting, as evidenced by the fact that no major network or cable news programs have ever meaningfully examined the fundamental failures of the media in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq."

Los Angeles Times entertainment writer Scott Collins blames the television networks, bad timing, and the fact that "[m]any Americans confronted with stories of media manipulation by government officials aren't, at this point, shocked and awed."

Phil Carter blogs for washingtonpost.com that the article is "a reminder of the Bush administration's modus operandi, which goes something like this: 'We know what's best for you; we'll tell you what you need to know; trust us.' Once the administration decided on its strategy for Iraq, it adopted that position with all possible certainty, leaving zero room for doubt, dissent or discussion. Every organ of the administration focused on marshaling support for this policy. In the public affairs arena, that meant delivering a message that supported the policy -- regardless of the ground truth. . . .

"Our democracy has broken down as the result of this logic, with the result that the people no longer support this war, yet the war grinds on anyway."

Poll Watch

Gallup reports that Bush "averaged a 31.3% approval rating in his most recent quarter in office (spanning Jan. 20-April 19), a new low for his presidency."

Laura Bush Watch

Tom Shales writes in The Washington Post: "If Laura Bush had a real, honest-to-goodness day job, she would be well advised to keep it. The first lady, taking time out from whatever she would normally be doing, made her debut yesterday as the anchor of a network morning show, co-hosting the third hour of 'Today' on NBC. For a president's wife, she was okay, but it's unlikely she'll be a candidate to take over for Oprah should Winfrey ever retire.

"Daughter Jenna, on the other hand, showed a striking poise during her moments on camera, seemingly more enthusiastic about being there than either her mother or her twin sister, Barbara, who was a more passive presence."

Here video of the first lady's tour of the Bush home in Crawford.

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Jon Stewart Watch

Jon Stewart takes note of the recent government audit disclosing that the Bush administration lacks a comprehensive plan to combat terrorism in the parts of Pakistan where al-Qaeda is regenerating its ability to attack the United States.

"Senior military analyst" Rob Riggle responds: "I knew it! I knew it! I knew this [expletive deleted] didn't know where he was going. I mean all of us, we were all in the back seat, America was just in the back seat, you know, acting like, 'You know, I don't think this is the way to defeat al Qaeda,' and he's like 'Heh. I know what I'm doing. Heh heh. I know a shortcut through Iraq. Everybody, come on know, just trust me! Heh heh heh.' And we're all like, 'I don't know, maybe we should ask for directions, you know? I'm pretty sure al Qaeda is the other way.' And he's like, 'Shut up! Shut up! What the hell? I'll dump your ass in Yemen. You're just like your mother. Keep your hand off the radio, [expletive deleted]."

Cartoon Watch

David Horsey suggests a new approach for the White House press corps.