The White House's Weak Denials

Jeremy Pelofsky writes for Reuters: "President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that North Korea remained -- for now -- part of what he once branded an 'axis of evil', but hoped the list would some day be empty."

Steven Lee Myers writes in the New York Times: "When asked if North Korea had fundamentally changed since he first linked it to Iraq and Iran in 2002 as an axis of the world's most dangerous countries, Mr. Bush said that North Korea continued to have a repressive government and that its leader had yet to disclose fully the country's nuclear weapons work.

"But he added that there were signs of progress, including the destruction of the cooling tower at the plutonium reactor at Yongbyon, which was filmed by invited television channels. . . .

"'In order to get off the list, the axis-of-evil list, the North Korean leader's going to have to make some certain decisions,' he said. . . .

"'And my hope is that the "axis of evil" list no longer exists,' Mr. Bush said, referring somewhat ambiguously to the current status of North Korea and Iran as international pariahs. 'That's my hope, for the sake of peace. And it's my hope for, you know, for the sake of our children.' . . .

"Mr. Bush has rarely repeated the use of the phrase after he first introduced it in the State of the Union address more than six years ago, though he has often been asked."

Michael Abramowitz and Stella Kim write in The Washington Post: "As President Bush rode a motorcade out of Seoul air base on Tuesday night, he was greeted by hundreds of people waving South Korean and American flags and signs announcing 'Friends Forever.' But in downtown parts of the capital, anti-Bush protests drew thousands of marchers, and police used water cannons to keep them at bay."

'Beijing George'?

Jackie Kucinich and Sam Youngman write in The Hill: "A House Republican leader is lambasting President Bush on his decision not to call Congress back into session to deal with the energy crisis.

"In a legislative update sent to GOP members and staff on Tuesday, Republican House Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) accused 'Beijing George' Bush of throwing House Republicans 'under the bone-dry bus' on his way to the Olympics in China.

"House GOP leaders last week called on Bush to convene an emergency session of Congress, but the White House said such a move would not make a difference because Democrats would not call for an up-or-down vote on offshore drilling legislation.

"McCotter, known for his frank and sometimes unusual political opinions, was not pleased with that decision. His memo stated, 'Today, in his final term, the wildly unpopular President George W. Bush boarded Air Force One bound for the Beijing Olympics and a meeting with his chum Hu Jintao, the dapper ruler of a nuclear armed, communist dictatorship."

Executive Privilege Watch

Matthew Blake writes for the Washington Independent: "In light of a recent ruling that restricts the extent of executive privilege, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) is getting in touch with White House officials who made such a claim to skirt giving the House oversight committee official documents related to an array of embarrassing White House scandals. Waxman fired off letters to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, and Susan Dudley, the head of regulatory affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, looking for each to answer why, exactly, executive privilege absolves them from turning over subpoenaed documents.

Hillary Watch

Hillary Clinton writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed: "There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from [former Halliburton subsidiary] KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc., a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies.

"But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were contaminated with formaldehyde.

"While touting fiscal responsibility, President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1 ratio.

"If we're going to get serious about putting our nation's fiscal house in order, let's talk about putting an end to billions in no-bid contract awards to unaccountable contractors. Let's talk about the number of lucrative contracts and bonuses being paid for duties never performed, promises never fulfilled, and contracts falsely described as complete. And let's talk about reforming the federal contracting system so that we can take on the real waste, fraud and abuse in our federal government."

Assassination Attempt Watch?

Dan Morse writes in The Washington Post: "Police found a map of Camp David marked with a presidential motorcade route inside the Bethesda home of the teenager at the center of a bombmaking probe, along with a document that appears to describe how to kill someone at a distance of 200 meters, a Montgomery County prosecutor said yesterday at a court hearing. . . .

"At the house last week, police found more than 50 pounds of chemicals, assault-style weapons and armor-piercing bullets."

Cheney Convention Watch

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. writes in the American Spectator: "Vice President Dick Cheney will not make an appearance at the Republican convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul next month, according to sources in his office. Cheney has not sought a speaking slot at the convention, nor has his staff sought a role for him at the convention."

CNN reports: "One GOP official told CNN there's a 'mutual understanding' between Cheney's office and the McCain camp that he is 'unlikely' to attend the convention.

"A second Republican official said there are still 'talks going on' between Cheney's office and the McCain camp and both sides are 'still trying to work it out.'"

William Schneider had this to say on CNN: "Cheney may be the only non-incarcerated politician in America who is less popular than President Bush. . . . It doesn't sound like a big draw if the convention is going for ratings."

The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes: "If John McCain wants next month's GOP convention in the Twin Cities to be about Dick Cheney instead of his own candidacy, his campaign is on track. . . .

"Now would be a good time for Candidate McCain to step in and say publicly, 'Of course, my good friend the Vice President will be there.' The longer he waits, the worse this is going to get. By signaling that a sitting Republican Vice President might not be welcome at a Republican convention, the McCain campaign is handing the press corps an opening to fill the next few weeks with stories highlighting a divided GOP. Come convention time, you can expect lots of on-air jokes that the missing Mr. Cheney 'must be at an undisclosed location.'"

Late Night Humor

Conan O'Brien, via U.S. News: "John McCain does not want Dick Cheney to attend the Republican convention, because he says he's too unpopular. . . . When asked to comment, Cheney said, 'I hope the Senator reconsiders.' Then he turned into a bat and flew away."

Jon Stewart notes that Bush has now broken the record to become the most traveled president in history -- as well as the president with the most vacation days. "I think it's pretty clear," he says. "There's something about being at the White House our president cannot stand."

Stewart also looks at Bush's use of language over the years.

Cartoon Watch

Lee Judge on the monkey on McCain's back; Kevin Siers on a dissident's view; John Sherffius on the forged letter.