Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post national political reporter Jim VandeHei was online Friday, June 9, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest in political news.

Political analysis from Post reporters and interviews with top newsmakers. Listen live on Washington Post Radio or subscribe to a podcast of the show.

The transcript follows.

____________________

Jim VandeHei: Good morning, folks. We killed al-Zarqawi. The Democrats killed the gay marriage amendment and a full estate tax repeal. So who won the week in politics? I would love to hear your take...

_______________________

Jim VandeHei: Programming note: Ellen Knickmeyer will be online from Baghdad @ 11:30 ET.

_______________________

Greenville, S.C.: Jim - Is it purely coincidental that you left your position covering the White House at about the same time Tony Snow took the job as White House press spokesman?

Jim VandeHei: This is a good question to tackle first, since this is my first chat in my new role as national political reporter for The Washington Post. My decision to leave the WH beat is completely unrelated to Tony Snow, of course. I decided some time ago that I would much rather cover Washington more broadly by exploring how WH, Congress, lobbyists and the money men interact and shape Washington and policy. I did some of this while working on the WH beat, but found the day-to-day duties of watching Bush's every move made it difficult to dig as deep as I would like. My replacement, Mike Abramowitz, is terrific and hopefully will be joining the roster of chatters. Bram, as we know him, has been a driving force behind our coverage for years as national editor. He brings a ton of smarts and energy to the team. Fletcher and Baker will remain on the beat and along with Mike will continue to dominant WH coverage. As the elections draw near, I assume all of us will be even more engaged in politics since the House is definitely in play.

_______________________

Boca Raton, Fla.: Ann Coulter caused a stir for her comments regarding the Jersey Girls. However, Cindy Sheehan has called the President and Donald Rumsfeld a murder, he is committing genocide, a liar, etc. No one in the MSM ever called Cindy Sheehan on her comments as over the top or cruel because she lost a son. Does this not prove Ann Coulter's point and also show that as long as you say bad things against Bush and Rumsfeld no matter how horrible it is, it's ok?

Jim VandeHei: Seems like dangerous waters, but I will tread. Coulter has been so over the top in her comments, which is her (lucrative) style, that she has generated a ton of controversy. Well, guess what? controversy sells books and she happens to be selling one. She has had some nasty things to say about the women who lost husbands in 9-11 and then spoke out. You are right that Cindy Sheehan got relatively favorable coverage early on, mostly because she had a lost a son. I think she was scrutinized more closely as her attacks sharpened. Most people, I presume, think Bush (like any other politician) is fair game as political and very public figure. the equation is different with 9-11 windows and mothers who lose sons to war.

_______________________

Dallas, Tex.: Based on the numerous radio ads in Texas before the state convention, would you agree with the national movement to promote Condi Rice as a contender for the White House is making an impact on the debate?

What do you think about the high numbers of support for her to run in state polls and in straw polls from Republican events? Could she get into the race as late as September 2007 and still be viable? Thank you.

Jim VandeHei: There is no debating Rice would be an attractive candidate. She is secretary of state, well-spoken, etc. She said she will not run, so I guess she will not run. That said, any ambitious person like Sec. Rice would seem persuadable to running if victory seemed possible or likely. Straw polls, to me, are silly. But draft so-and-so movements can put in place a network of supports that could prove helpful to any run. I certainly have noticed that those around Sec. Rice love to leak stories about her power, her personality and even her workouts. This strikes me as a form of testing the waters or at least laying the ground work for something. It remains to be seen if her politics are right for the conservative voters who dominate the selection process known as primaries. She is not an outspoken opponent of abortion and strikes many as a moderate on social issues across the board.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: EJ Dionne makes some pretty good points in his op-ed today about the failure of some populist initiatives in California. The heart of the matter is that "government is a bad thing" and "tax and spend policies are for losers" rhetoric, while being pretty tired arguments, still have significant currency among enough voters to tilt the playing field. Do you see any pathways for progressives to make any headway in re-legitimizing government? We are hoping for a big success with the Massachusetts health-care plan, of course.

Jim VandeHei: This is such a complicated question. The public by and large distrusts government, often for good reason. government can be very wasteful, slow to act and too quick to spend money for the wrong reasons. But I also think the public embraces government spending on programs they care about. Take education. Polls show people want more spending on it, not less. They just want to know it is being spent wisely. Why do you think Bush framed his ideology as "Compassionate conservatism" and went on to expand spending in a way not seen since LBJ? He always knew voters did not want to hear about cuts and sacrifice. They wanted solutions, even if they were costly. Gee, the education law and Medicare prescription drug benefit for massive expansion of both the size and function of government -- and bush thought both were winners politically. Sorry for meandering...

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: Is it true that the next item up for discussion in the senate is the flag burning amendment? And that there is a rumor that it might even pass? Have we learned nothing about freedom of expression?

Jim VandeHei: I believe it us up next week. So watch out all you flag burners!

_______________________

Louisville, Ky.: What do you make of the Yearly Kos convention? Getting some pretty major players -- Wes Clark, Joe Wilson, Barbara Boxer, Mark Warner -- to come to speak in one place is a pretty astonishing feat, if you consider Daily Kos's roots.

Any chance that we're watching the beginnings of the restructuring of the Democratic party?

Jim VandeHei: Good political eye, Louisville. We have two reporters at the event - Dan Balz, our top political ace, and Chris "the fix" Cillizza. This will be a tricky dance for both sides. The blogs make their living by hammering on us - the MSM -- and Democrats who they think are too timid. Well those timid politicians will be addressing the angry masses this weekend. Not coming: Hillary Clinton. But many others are. There is no doubt that liberal activists are the energy of the democratic party at its grassroots, and many of these bloggers are pit stops if not primary or secondary homes for the most energetic of liberals. I think this relationship between the pols and the blogs will be one of the great story lines of the 2008 prez elections.

_______________________

Chicago, Ill.: Jim, do you feel Zarqawi's importance has been overstated? I have read a few reports stating the Bush administration has played this up in order to draw a connection between 9/11 and Iraq.

Jim VandeHei: It depends on how you view the death. If you look at it through a political lens with a short view, this is a big moment for Bush. He needs to show progress in Iraq and this is something the average consumers of news can understand and appreciate. It should help him. I can not read the future, but I presume Bush will need to pull out troops and show a durable Iraq army and gov't is in place to turn public opinion around. Read our paper today for the substantive meaning of all this. Tune into Ellen. She is on the ground and wrote a very smart piece today about how the problems in Iraq are so much bigger than Zarqawi. Maybe we can post her story.

_______________________

washingtonpost.com: After Zarqawi, No Clear Path In Weary Iraq , ( Post, June 9, 2006 )

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: On the Protection Of Marriage Act, why didn't the Democrats allow the end of the filibuster and then vote it down when it came up again. The vote required a two-thirds majority. Shouldn't they be minimizing the use of the sixty percent rule for critical votes, not spending capital on ending filibusters on bills that were not obviously going to be passed anyway?

Jim VandeHei: They typically do not vote for cloture, which cuts off debate, on controversial bills. They would rather kill the legislation before it even comes up for a vote. There is no limit on the number of times a party can prevent a bill from a final vote, so there is no real downside.

_______________________

Oxford, Ohio: Good morning Jim! Two things, EJ has confirmed that liberals have changed their names to progressives. Was there a conscious effort to effect this change by anyone or organization? It was probably due as talk radio and certainly put the hiss in the word liberal.

Killing the estate tax was good politics but bad tax policy. There are two key studies by CBO sources that indicate the estate tax barely raises more than the cost of compliance and lost economic opportunities. Why doesn't anyone use these reports to promote tax repeal, after all they are paid for and ostensibly unbiased?

Have a good one!

Jim VandeHei: There are a lot of Democrats who think progressive sounds better than liberal. The reasoning is that liberal has been defined in some quarters as pro-big government, pro-choice, anti-guns. Progressive sounds so damn nice, like a party that just wants progress. What are you, anti-progress? Words matter. In the 1990's, Newt Gingrich and others grew convinced that calling Democrats the Democratic party seemed too inclusive and positive. So they always called it the Democrat party.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: Among the many things that impresses me about the Post's writers is that, in their role as chatters, they always know a lot about what's in the paper.

How early do you have to get up to read the paper, get to work, and begin the day before signing onto one of these chats? What parts of the paper are you most likely to read? to skip?

Jim VandeHei: I typically get up early, a little after 5. I read The Post, the New York Times, skim the LA Times and the WSJ. My first stop is to three sites that write about the Packers. But I also look at a lot of web sites.

As for sections, I am a news and sports guy.

_______________________

Atlanta, Ga.: I was struck by Trent Lott's pro-estate tax comments after yesterday's vote. I know that Republicans on the whole would love a full repeal, but it seems that such a repeal would hurt more than help the citizens of Mississippi, where a negligible number of estates are taxed each year.

I guess my point is: I'm amazed at the hold an estate tax repeal has on Republican legislators. Ideology or no, most Senators seem to behave much more pragmatically when the interests of their constituents are at stake. Or maybe I'm just thinking about pork-related compromises.

Jim VandeHei: Lots of interest in this estate tax debate, it seems. I agree it might seem off that so many lawmakers feel so passionately about a tax that hits the tiniest percentage of Americans. As for Lott, he like most Republican, loves tax cuts. Does not much matter what shape or size. I think what you have seen with this debate as it has unfolded over the years is the triumph of anti-tax lobbyists and clever PR gimmicks. The GOP's success is labeling this the death tax often made this tax seem like something that hit a ton of people at the worst time. In truth, it hits only a few has been tweaked to hit even fewer. It looks like a total repeal will not happen. But further adjustments could.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Loved your article the other day that touched on the Wave (Democratic support) and the Wall (Congressional districts that favor incumbents). How do you feel about the wall? What's to be done?

Jim VandeHei: Thanks for reading. maybe we can link to it.

_______________________

washingtonpost.com: Technology Sharpens the Incumbents' Edge , ( Post, June 7, 2006 )

_______________________

Jim VandeHei: Oops. clicked send too early on the last one. Do not discount the strength of that wall when you consider these elections. The system is essentially rigged to elect incumbents. it will take a very very fired up Dem base to win back the House. That is why Dems were so bummed by the loss in California's Fiftieth district this week. Yes, it was a GOP district. But the Dem candidate did not outperform standard Dem performance in that district.

_______________________

Wilmington, N.C.: "The common lament over the recent rise in political partisanship is often nothing more than a veiled complaint about the recent rise of political conservatism," DeLay said.

Would you agree?

Jim VandeHei: No.

On that note, I must leave early. Take care and tune into Ellen who is chatting as we speak.

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.