Talking Points Live

washingtonpost.com Chief Political Correspondent Terry Neal took your questions and comments on politics, politicians and his latest columns Friday, Oct. 7, at noon ET.

Read more Talking Points.

The transcript follows.

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Terry Neal: Good morning everyone. Thanks for joining me for my weekly chat on politics. Lots going on in the world today, so why don't we just jump right in it.

Terry

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Anonymous: Delay, Frist, Rove, Libby, Safavian. The list of those under indictment or under investigation seems to grow daily. Are we going to have to start building more federal prisons to hold all these folks?

Terry Neal: Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. No one has been convicted yet. And even if it gets to that point, there's at least a chance that they, or some of them, could be pardoned by the president and serve no time. But as I said, that's all hypothetical.

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Louisville, Ky.: Terry,

Liberals have successfully attached the modifier "crony" to every recent Bush appointment. They have created a successful memo and should be commended for it.

When it comes to Harriet Miers, which label is more likely to stick: crony or mediocre? I'm not sure which is worse.

And considering the makeup of the Senate, one would think she would face no difficulty being confirmed, if she makes it through committee. Is it possible that she doesn't?

Terry Neal: You can be defensive if you'd like, but it's not just "liberals" using those words. Most of those who are using that term with regard to Miers in particular are conservatives.

Second, the administration has opened itself up to that criticism by promoting people to powerful positions within the government (and I'm not even talking about Miers here), who have less than stellar credentials in the area in which they are being chose to serve.

It is not new for presidents to appoint their friends and associates to high level positions. But the term cronyism pops up when people question whether those friends and associates are actually qualified.

As for your question...I suppose it is possible that she not be confirmed, although I don't know if I'd say that was probable at this point. We'll see.

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San Antonio, Tex.: I'd like to know why everyone seems to avoid the obvious conflict of interest Miers has if appointed to the Supreme Court. She's been the private counsel and friend of the President's for many years. It stinks of impropriety. I see this as a lack of independence if she's appointed. It's as if the Executive branch is seeding the Judicial branch with a "mole." What's your take?

Terry Neal: I don't know if I'd go that far. But I do think you have a right to your opinion. And I do think this issue has been raised in the media--but perhaps not to the extent you'd like to see it.

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Washington, D.C.: Terry,

You mentioned in your column that the White House intends to focus on Ms. Miers conversion to evangelical Christianity as a way to reframe the debate on her. Is this not somewhat hypocritical of them? I recall there being quite a bit of outrage from the right when they thought that Senate Democrats were rejecting judges based on religion, and now they are selling her as qualified based on that?

Terry Neal: I think the strategy is to deflect criticism from the right by focusing on her conversion to to evangelic Christianity. This is a way of saying "trust me" she will do what we want her to do.

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Silver Spring, Md.: How does the Post justify its failure to cover the theft of Maryland Lt. Gov. Steele's credit report by staffers of Sen. Schumer at the DSCC?

Terry Neal: The Post has done several stories on this issue, including one just last week...

I'm cutting and pasting from Nexis...

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September 25, 2005 Sunday

Final Edition

SECTION: Metro; C05

LENGTH: 470 words

HEADLINE: Steele Denounces Democrats' Ploy

BYLINE: Matthew Mosk, Washington Post Staff Writer

BODY:

Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele used an hour-long radio appearance yesterday to lash out at Democratic Party operatives who resigned after improperly obtaining copies of Steele's credit reports.

"It tells you the depths to which some folks will go to try to win," Steele (R) said during a regular appearance on the WBAL radio program "Stateline With Governor Ehrlich." "I've asked for and I think these individuals deserve to be brought to the full extent of justice."

Steele's records were obtained as part of an effort by researchers at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to delve into his background as he explores a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2006.

Last week, a spokesman for the DSCC acknowledged that two employees had resigned as a result of the episode, and the matter was subsequently referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Under federal law, it is illegal to knowingly and willfully obtain a credit report under false pretenses. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney confirmed that its fraud and public corruption section is investigating the matter with the assistance of the FBI.

The DSCC, the arm of the Democratic Party that promotes Senate candidates, declined to name the employees involved. But sources with knowledge of the episode identified them as Katie Barge, the committee's former research director, and Lauren Weiner, an employee who had been researching Steele before he formed an exploratory committee for the Senate in June.

In his first extensive public comments on the matter, the lieutenant governor said he believes public figures deserve some privacy.

"What does it matter to any voter whether or not you paid a bill on time?" Steele asked. "There has to be, I think, a veil of privacy, even around public figures. The expectation is, to run for office doesn't mean I turn over everything I've ever done in my life for you to sit in judgment of. It's one of the reasons why it is very difficult to find individuals who are capable, competent and committed to public service, who want to get into this business."

During the broadcast, Steele acknowledged that he had encountered tough financial times before being elected on Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s ticket in 2002.

"Two years ago, I came forth with all that information voluntarily," Steele said. "As an entrepreneur, I left a high-paying job at a law firm to start my own business. It was going well, and then I had clients who didn't pay, and of course you get in a hole and you have trouble."

Steele reported personal and campaign debts of more than $60,000 when he was elected in 2002. He is paid $120,833 a year as lieutenant governor. According to the most recent financial disclosure he submitted to the Maryland State Ethics Commission, which covers 2004, he has paid off most debts.

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Warrenton, Va.: Terry, the Democrats have many valid criticisms of the Bush administration and why not they have made themselves an easy target. Yet the Dems don't seem to come across with a positive, alternative voice. They seem to appear as naysayers. Do you think they recognize that?

Terry Neal: I think they recognize that but are unsure how to address that problem. Polls show Congressional Democrats to be only slightly more popular than Republicans right now, and much of that has to do with the difficulty the party is having promoting its agenda and defining itself as something other than just the "no" party. I'm not suggesting that the party has no platform, but certainly it is not as cohesive as the GOP side was when it was an opposition party on the verge of taking over Congress in the early 1990s.

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Boston, Mass.: I turned off the news station I listen to at work because they were going to carry Bush's speech live and quite frankly I just can't stand listening to the same talking points over and over and over. My question is this, were there people on the right who hated Clinton as much as people on the left to the point where they couldn't even listen to his voice? I see Clinton's approval ratings were in the 60s for most of his second term so I'm thinking the disgust was not as strong as it is now for this President.

Terry Neal: Bill Clinton's approval rating did get down into the dangerous low-40s territory during a part of his first term, after divisive debates over gays in the military and universal health care. But you are correct, his poll numbers did rebound and stayed high through most of his second term. Clinton's approval rating was 15-20 points higher even around the time of his impeachment than Bush's numbers are now.

A new CBS has Bush's approval rating at a stunningly low 37 percent.

Predictably, his support among Republicans is still pretty high, and it's very low among Democrats. What's stunning is his erosion of support among independents, who make up roughly a third of the electorate. Only 29 percent of independents approve of the president's performance.

These are scary numbers.

In Clinton's second term, his overall approval rating stayed high because he remained relatively popular among independents.

Bush has got to get those numbers up if he's going to be able to help his party keep both chambers of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

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washingtonpost.com: CBS News

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Mt. Lebanon, Pa.: George Bush's speech this morning was a defensive rear-guard action -- an army almost ready to be routed. Pol Pot was invoked! I was half-hoping he'd mention Vespasian, Alaric, and other "evil-doers" from the world's dim past.

Are we witnessing the high point of his administration before it all crumbles in the dust or are we past that point now?

The more Bush dissembles the more I'm reminded of: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Empty words and a headless statute eroded by history's desert storms.

Thanks much.

Terry Neal: Wow. I'll respond to this email after I locate my thesaurus, dictionary and encyclopedia.

Haha. Just just joking.

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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Neal,

Here is a link to a Barack Obama blog. To me, it is brilliant. Why does he not get more attention? I really believe he is the last good (truly good) Politician left.

Obama Blog

Terry Neal: Interesting. I had dinner with a senior aide to Sen. Obama last night. I don't think his feeling was that they need more attention. In fact, Obama has received more attention than most first-year, first-term senators in the minority party would receive--but then again, that's not saying much.

I think there's almost no question that a lot of folks are watching what the senator does, and I think you can expect there to be much more coverage of him and his agenda over the years as he settles into the senate.

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Wilmington, N.C.: With CBS poll Prez favorable at 37%, R's under 80%, is he officially the "unpopular President", now? Are we seeing some leakage from "the base"?

Terry Neal: Well, I don't think any president could be at 37 percent and be considered a popular president.

Just fyi, some of you may find this interesting. Here's a link to a state-by-state break down of the president's approval rating. It's a bit outdated now, but it shows that he is struggling even in many of the red states.

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Olney, Md. : In the morning, the President speaks of foiled AQ plots. In the evening, NYC announces a possible plot against the public transit system. All of this against a back-drop of low poll numbers, bad news from Iraq, Karl Rove feeling the walls close in, and conservative dissent over Harriet Miers.

Coincidence?

Terry Neal: Um, yes!

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washingtonpost.com: Approval Rating for President George W. Bush as of 9/22/05 (surveyusa.com)

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Bethesda, Md.: Different topic: Was today's Nobel Peace Prize announcement a deliberate poke in the eye from Sweden to the Bush administration?

Terry Neal: That's a good question. Not sure I know enough about the selectors to make that judgment. But I certainly see how it would be viewed that way by many people. The administration brushed off Mohamed ElBaradei's assertions that Iraq had not rebuilt its nuclear program. Some of the president's supporters portrayed him as a tool. And as Fred Barbash and Dafna Linzer reported this morning on washingtonpost.com, "ElBaradei, whose ouster was sought by the Bush administration led by controversial United Nations appointee John Bolton, is a longstanding critic of the president's decision to go to war in Iraq."

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Freeport, Tex.: It seems to me that we are stuck in Iraq for a very long time. Now that we have disrupted their country, we don't have a choice now but to stay. This is money that could have been spent on protecting our homeland. What is your take on the situation there ?

Terry Neal: I wrote about this a few months ago....Here's the link to the column.

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Washington, D.C.: Why is Miers getting so hammered on the abortion question by conservatives? In contrast, it seems like Robert was given a pass -- even though his comments on precedent, etc., could have made some conservatives nervous. Is it just that Miers has no public record? Putting aside for the moment the question of qualifications and experience, Roberts didn't have a huge paper trail either, so why were conservatives comfortable with him?

Terry Neal: Roberts didn't have much of a paper trail, but he had more of one than Miers has.

While there are some conservatives who fret over not knowing her specific position on abortion, I think it's more complicated than that. I think what concerns many conservatives is not necessarily that she might support abortion rights, but that she might lack the intellectual heft and gravitas to move the court to the right on issues such as abortion, gay rights, civil rights, etc.

They did not have that concern about Roberts, who was more well known among inside-the-beltway conservative social and professional circles.

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washingtonpost.com: Talking Points: Iraq War Hasn't Made United States Safer, Author Says (July 18)

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Germantown, Md.: Terry, do you see the 90-9 vote on the McCain amendment as directly related to the Bush poll numbers. I hate to be cynical, but the torture issue was raised when Bush's numbers were higher, and nothing came of it...

Terry Neal: In short, yes. Bush's low approval ratings have made it possible for his own party to buck him, which is what happened with so many Republicans signing on to that bill. Don't really have to worry about retribution when the president has sub-40 percent approval ratings.

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Alexandria, Va.: Terry:

I looked at the Bush Approval rating chart by state that you linked to. Whoa, I think I see why the Republicans are almost in panic mode. The erosion of support in the battleground states is truly alarming. Have Republicans approached you with concerns about the slippage of support for Bush in these states?

Terry Neal: I'm hearing lots of chatter and concern about it. They know they have a problem. I'm not sure anyone is panicking just yet, but the concern is real.

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Leander, Tex.: Hi Terry,

I enjoy your stuff. A small (actually large) correction. In a discussion of the deficit and politics a few days ago you referred to the government's ability to print money as a reason some people think deficits don't matter. The government may handle the actual printing process, but creates no money. The privately owned Federal Reserve creates money out of thin air, then loans it to the government. You could look it up. It makes a big difference. Thanks, Mark T.

Terry Neal: Actually, what I said is that people believe that the government can just print money. My point is why people don't care about federal deficits. It was about perception. It was not a civics lesson.

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Terry Neal: All righty folks, it's been fun, but I've got to run.

Sorry if I missed your question. But feel free to try me again next week.

Take care,

Terry

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