Post Politics Hour
washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion

John Solomon
Washington Post Money and Politics Reporter
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 11:00 AM

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 Money and Politics reporter John Solomon was online Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest news in politics.

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The transcript follows.

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LaVale, Md.: Do you think the Democratic Congress will do anything to address the dramatic and increasing disparity between the people at the very top of the income ladder and everyone else? I think I heard recently that in the 1950s the CEOs of companies made something like 20 times what their workers did, now it is hundreds of times more. Is there anything Congress can do to address this issue? (though I doubt any legislation they pass would not be vetoed.)

John Solomon: This is a question I heard a lot about while traveling through the Midwest last November. Average Americans' jaws often drop at the numbers from executive compensation packages. The Democrats I have talked to in Congress say they have some solutions. But there's no magic bullet. In a free-market economy, the government can't dictate corporate salary decisions. One of the ideas I have heard recently involves stronger oversight by congressional committees, examining whether the SEC is doing enough to police publicly traded companies. Are executives accurately reporting earnings? Are they hiding money for themselves or overstating earnings to inflate bonuses? My sense is several Democratic committee will be aggressively examining these questions, putting pressure on corporate America. Another area to continue to watch is pensions and how they are protected. Much has been done in this area in recent years but I suspect more will happen.

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Detroit, Mich.: What exactly do these Democrats hope to achieve with this symbolic resolution instead of the more meaningful one by Ted Kennedy? History has given them a a second chance to live up to their words: "if I knew then what I know now, I would have voted against the war resolution." Why are they passing it up? Will we not get any real leadership from anybody? Failure to show real teeth at this critical juncture will doom the Democratic cowards. Even supporters of the surge say that 20,000 troops will not have any positive long lasting effect.

John Solomon: I suspect Democratic lawmakers are hearing similar sentiments from their constituents. The message of the past election was about change for sure. But there is a fine line in the politics of war. Democrats will want to use their new bully pulpit to pressure Bush to exit Iraq. At the same time, they want to avoid the appearance that they don't care about troops or are taking actions that might jeopardize soldiers. If troops were overrun by militants during a drawdown because they didn't have enough resources, Democrats would likely share the blame. The symbolic vote gives them a chance to start the pressure while giving Bush the first shot at designing an exit strategy.

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Minneapolis, Minn.: Thanks for doing the chat. With Scooter Libby's trial in the news, I'm reminded that you did some great coverage of the CIA leak investigation. My question is: You were on the initial list of journalists whose contacts with administration figures investigators were interested in? Do you know why? Did you receive a leak about Valerie Plame?

John Solomon: Thanks for your nice comments. The truth of the matter is that I did no reporting on the CIA leak case when the initial story was breaking. I was still working at that time on some investigative projects examining what the Bush administration, FBI and intelligence community knew about al-al Qaeda and terrorist threats before the 9-11 attacks. I rolled into the reporting when Fitzgerald took over the investigation in 2004. Because I did no original reporting on Plame, there should have been no reason for my name to be on any subpoena lists. I've heard this rumor many times, but have never found any records to substantiate that Justice intended to examine my contacts with sources on the CIA leak. Of course, Justice did seize my home phone records in a 2001 leak investigation. And in 2002, the FBI seized, without a warrant, a mailed package sent to me by a fellow reporter. The FBI later apologized and returned my mail. It's possible people have confused those events.

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Portland, Ore.: When John Kerry ran for president he talked about tax incentives for businesses to promote hiring within the United States as opposed to off-shoring. Is there any talk of these policies surfacing now that the Democrats have gained a majority?

John Solomon: A good question. The exporting of jobs and profits was a big issue back in 2004. It seems to have slowed over the last year. I'd keep an eye on Charles Rangel, the new House Ways and Means chairman. He's got the perfect committee to raise this issue. Also, John Edwards is likely to raise the issue on the presidential trail. Carolina's textile industry has plenty of examples of jobs lost to cheaper overseas labor.

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Atlanta, Ga.: How likely is it that President Bush will endorse a candidate in the GOP primary?

John Solomon: I think it is highly unlikely. Sitting lame-duck presidents have a long, rich tradition of sitting on the sidelines and not interfering during their party's primary. After a nominee is chosen, of course, a president often does plenty to try to help his party's nominee succeed him. The big question in 2008 will be how helpful a weakened President Bush might be to the nominee. This was a problem last year when some GOP congressional candidates shunned Bush's help, especially in places where the Iraq war was extremely unpopular. Bush's value on the 2008 campaign trail will likely be determined by how Iraq goes the next year and whether Bush can achieve some domestic policy achievements with a Democratic Congress. Time will tell.

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Chicago, Ill.: Mr. Solomon,

Welcome! Thank you for taking questions on these chats. They are an important and novel feature that provide a valuable service to us news junkies.

My question: what do you say to the people who have criticized your reporting on Senator Reid? How you think journalists should handle the newfound onslaught of criticism they receive from bloggers? The Reid story aside, what would you do if a blogger found a legitimate fault in one of your stories?

Thank you.

John Solomon: Thanks for asking this question. Many readers might be surprised by this, but I welcome the bloggers and their free-exchange of ideas. Journalists shouldn't fear this. We write stories specifically to inform the public so people can have a more complete and informed discourse. And Lord knows there's been plenty of discourse in cyberspace about the Reid stories!

If a blogger raised a question of fact or omission in one of my stories, I would immediately examine it. I'd also bring it to the attention of my editors. That's how the editorial process works. In Harry Reid's case, the AP extensively reviewed all of the bloggers allegations and determined, independently of me, that my stories were accurate, fair and balanced.

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Kensington, Md.: Could you tell me what is the best Web site (or sites) a NON-subscribing reader can go to to see how much money each of the potential presidential candidates have raised? The information is supposed to be public, I think(?). Thanks!

John Solomon: There are many great and public sources for examining campaign finance information. The most obvious is the Federal Election Commission's Web site. It regulates political donations and collects all of the candidates', PACs' and parties' reports. You can access it at the FEC's Web site. The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (Web site) also has many great online resources.

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Sewickley, Pa.: With all the investigations (Abramoff, Cunningham, Wilkes) and planned Congressional hearings, what do you think will be the biggest sup rise in the new year? Also, while there are much bigger issues, a tiny little part of me really wants to know more about the poker/hooker parties at the Watergate and how CIA official figured into that. Will my curiosity be satisfied?

John Solomon: I think an area of government that could get lots more scrutiny in 2007 is federal contracting. Over the last decade, the percentage of no-bid contracts has rapidly grown. Most of these were awarded without competition in the name of national security or war. I think the media and Congress are primed to more deeply examine who makes these decisions, who reaps the benefits and how Congress enables many of these targeted contract decisions through spending bill conference reports. The CIA/Wilkes case may be the tip of the iceberg. Now it's up to reporters and lawmakers to dig deeper.

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Roseland, N.J.: So the surge is going to happen. Obviously we all hope it works... but it goes without saying, expectations are low.

Edwards is already calling it "the McCain doctrine". If the escalation turns out badly, will it torpedo the Senator's candidacy?

John Solomon: There's no doubt that Sen. McCain is inextricably linked to Iraq through his strong support of Bush. If things get better in Baghdad, McCain won't have to worry as much. If Iraq stays the same or gets worse, McCain will have lots of money to try to change the subject to others issues, or to remind people he was a POW in an unpopular war decades earlier.

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Des Moines, Iowa: Dear Sir,

There are about 10 official presidential exploratory committees so far, and I understand they serve to pay for travel costs, an office, staff, and other items needed to test the water for a run in 2008.

My question is, with over 20 Web sites and groups now dedicated to promoting Condi Rice for president, are they also seen as exploring the race IF she were to run?

By attending political events in Iowa and Texas and spending money on TV and radio ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, do you see these acts as testing the political waters?

With Secretary Rice being included in various national polls, can a case be made that people are hearing the message and thinking about Condoleezza Rice as a contender which shows up in support in those polls?

Thank you.

John Solomon: I think most of official Washington takes Secretary Rice at her word that she has no interest in running. And at this point, it would be fairly hard for her to build an infrastructure to compete in a GOP primary against candidates who in many cases have spent several years building a primary machine.

Secretary Rice's plight feels a lot like Colin Powell's back in 2000. And that means Rice's name likely will remain on political lips right up until a VP nominee is chosen by Republicans in summer 2008.

One distinction to make. Presidential exploratory committees are created by candidates who have decided they are interested in running. The "Draft Condi" committees are created and run by supporters or admirers. They can cheer Rice on all they want, but only Rice can make a candidacy official.

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Denver, Colo.: Why is this administration basically ignoring a warming climate that will make devastating change in our world? There are so many economically viable ways to address our energy needs that would also protect the earth. Isn't this an important, really vital subject to report on?

John Solomon: I think this past year's weather, the warmest in a century, is getting plenty of news attention. That includes treatment on the Post's front page this week. Al Gore's movie still has people talking. And the scientific community has plenty of enthusiasm and resources for continuing to collect data on the reasons for these changes. I think this is a political issue that's going to stick around and likely gain attention. After all, weather affects everyone.

One of the most interesting dynamics to watch is what the United States and other Western countries can do to influence or change China's behavior on industry, cars and pollution.

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Acton, Mass.: Why did the Reid situation merit so much reporting, while almost no reporting is done about Denny Hastert making millions when he inserted an earmark to build a highway past land that he had just acquired?

John Solomon: Denny Hastert's conduct got plenty of media scrutiny. Well before I wrote my first Harry Reid story in February 2006, I broke the story back in November 2005 about how Hastert and the entire House GOP leadership signed a letter pressuring Interior on behalf of one of Jack Abramoff's tribes. The letter was sent the same week Abramoff hosted a major fund-riser for Hastert at the lobbyist's restaurant. Hastert belatedly had to reimburse Abramoff for use of the restaurant. You also mention the earmark story. And then there were all the stories about Hastert's role in the Foley page scandal. I'd say Hastert got fairly similar scrutiny from the media.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you for chatting. I thought I had read somewhere that Barack Obama has a PAC for his presidential run. Did I just dream that?

John Solomon: Like many of the presidential hopefuls, Sen. Obama has run a leadership political action committee called Hopefund that collects donations and can fund things like travel to primary states, donations to local politicians and other costs while he is unofficially testing the waters. It's one of the ways presidential candidates can spend money laying the groundwork for a campaign without having to declare a candidacy.

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Boulder, Colo.: Why won't the congress and especially the press insist that Iraq war funds be included in the regular appropriations process? It's not like the President is being surprised by this massive and apparently ongoing expense. Any deficit projections need to include Iraq war funds, whether or not they are "on budget". We are spending this money, but the President doesn't account for it in his deficit estimates.

John Solomon: Folks, thanks for all your questions. I look forward to chatting some more over the next few months _ and learning more about the issues and ideas that interest you the most. There's no better way for a reporter to stay grounded than to talk with readers in the real world!

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