Post Politics Hour

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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 congressional reporter Lyndsey Layton was online Friday, April 6, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest news in politics.

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The transcript follows.

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Lyndsey Layton: Good morning political animals! It's been a somewhat quiet week, with Congress on recess. But the president held a little press gathering, the first-quarter money reports are in from the campaign trails and Attorney General Gonzales has been practicing his hearing testimony. What's on your minds?

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Venice, Fla.: With the recess appointment of "Ambassador" Fox, how can he perform as a volunteer and carry out the responsibilities of the job to include the use of representation funds, performance appraisals of the embassy staff, intelligence oversight of the attache personnel, and all of the other nitty-gritty tasks an ambassador performs?

washingtonpost.com: Dems Call for Review of Bush Appointment (AP, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Venice,

That's an interesting question. If you forgo a salary, can you still assume all the responsibilities of the job? I don't know if there's a precedent for that. He might be able to accept some nominal salary, like $1 a year, to erase the question. But there's another that's been raised regarding this recess appointment, and that's whether the President is able to make them during a relatively short recess. The practice has been that recess appointments are made when the recess is longer than 10 days, which isn't the case here.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: Lyndsey: In your glowing profile of Adam Putnam today (gift citrus basket on the way!) why didn't you mention his gaff last month of accusing Pelosi of requesting a jumbo jet to travel back and forth to her district when no such request was made, where he later admitted he got the information from an article in another D.C. daily? Not to mention that he accepted a $1,000 donation from Mark Foley last year after Foley's troubles were known? Please tell me an editor deleted this from your story.

washingtonpost.com: Rep. Putnam Stays on Message (Post, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Dunn Loring, how did you know? The Pelosi plane was the original lede on that story and it was sliced from the final version because the editor felt the reference was dated.

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Bethesda, Md.: When Robert Gates says that the troop escalation is "working" in Iraq, does anyone outside of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. believe him? After "rose petals," "cakewalk," "Mission Accomplished" and "last throes" is anyone still listening to this Administration?

washingtonpost.com: Defense Secretary Sees Encouraging Signs in Baghdad (Post, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Bethesda,

There are some folks at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue who believe him, or at least who have grabbed those statements as evidence that Congress shouldn't attach withdrawal language to the war supplemental spending bill. But in private many of those same Republican lawmakers are skeptical about the surge.

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New York: How ridiculous that Cheney comes out yet again to make the tired and discredited claim that al-Qaeda and Iraq were working together. This from the man who said we would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes. Why can't journalists just come out and label this man for what he is, a liar. Look up the definition in the dictionary if you need clarification.

washingtonpost.com: Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted (Post, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi New York,

The conventions of daily newspapers don't allow us to write "Vice President Dick 'Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire' Cheney today repeated the claim that al-Qaeda had ties to Iraq".

But I think that reporting both the VP's comments and the consistent findings that contradict those statements does the trick.

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Farmington Hills, Mich.: Ms. Layton, I'm sending this in early because I won't be able to make the chat and this question has been bugging me. As I understand it Barack Obama's mother is white and his father is black. He consistently is referred to as a black man and from what I understand considers himself a "black" man. This however seems to negate 50 percent of him as the science of DNA teaches us. Why isn't there more discussion about this? Certainly we no longer live in a time where people believe that if "white" blood is tainted that you cannot be even "half white." Don't you think if he was part Hispanic and part black that there would be discussion about his Hispanic heritage as well. To me he is a wonderful candidate, and the fact that he is both black and white makes him such an American candidate. I wish there was equal emphasis on his white heritage.

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Farmington Hills,

If Senator Obama considers himself a black man, that seems enough for me. In every profile written about him, his biracial heritage is mentioned, so it doesn't appear that his "white" side is ignored.

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Re: Obama's fundraising: It is certainly interesting that Obama raised so much money (and is neck-and-neck or, by some calculations, ahead of HRC), but I was wondering how he turns that into votes. So far most of the polls do not show him neck-and-neck with Clinton. In short, why does he meet or beat Clinton in money but not in the polls?

washingtonpost.com: Obama's Campaign Takes In $25 Million (Post, April 5)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi, good question. I'm not a pollster but I know that to some extent polls can be affected by the perception of inevitability. If HRC looks like she's got on the nomination as evidenced by a ginormous fundraising machine, it gives her some advantage when people are telling pollsters who they'd vote for. The interesting thing to watch is whether Obama now catches HRC in the polls since his impressive showing in the early money race.

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To Farmington: And I just wish Obama's race wasn't an issue at all! It really shouldn't be in this day and age ... but sadly, we haven't come as far as we probably should have as a color-blind society.

Lyndsey Layton: Thanks, Farmington

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Chicago: I think Mike Huckabee just made one of the most intelligent comments about presidential politics that I've heard in a long time. Obviously, he's talking about Newt Gingrich, but could also be referring to the radio talk show host of your choice:

"Former President Bill Clinton could be owed an apology by some Republicans if they don't take character issues in candidates' personal lives seriously in the upcoming presidential election, former Gov. Mike Huckabee says. Without naming names, the GOP presidential hopeful complained that some in his party -- particularly Christian evangelicals -- 'talk as if, in this election cycle, Republican candidates aren't going to be held to a standard of personal accountability and responsibility for their personal lives. If that's true, there are going to be a lot of Republicans who will owe Bill Clinton a great big public apology,' Huckabee said. 'We can't have a set of rules that we apply to Democrats that we don't apply to ourselves. If we apply a different set of rules, then we have exposed one of the greatest levels of hypocrisy in the last generation of politics,' Huckabee said."

What do you think? Also, did The Post carry this AP story? I couldn't find it online. Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: Campaign Briefs (last item) (AP, April 5)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Chicago,

We did run that wire item - here's the link. I think Huckabee makes a lot of sense but don't know about the GOP attack on Clinton as 'one of the greatest levels of hypocrisy in the last generation of politics'. Hypocrisy seems endemic to political life.

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New York: Derek Jeter has a white mom and a black dad and refers to himself as biracial. I am half Irish and a bunch of other stuff in the other half, but when asked I say I am Irish ... in other words, it's up to the individual. If Obama considers himself a black man, so be it. It is his decision.

Lyndsey Layton: Ooooh, Derek Jeter. Sorry, New York, I was just having a moment. Thanks for sharing, you make an excellent point.

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Rochester, N.Y.: You write "The conventions of daily newspapers don't allow us to write 'Vice President Dick "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" Cheney today repeated the claim that Al Qaeda had ties to Iraq.' "

Why did they allow you to write "President Bill 'Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire' Clinton"?

Lyndsey Layton: Hey, Rochester, I just did an electronic search of our Post archives and couldn't find that phrase. Maybe you could cite the date it ran.

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New York: Considering that President Bush seems to giving the finger to Congress with recess appointments (while Congress is "recessed" for all of a week) why can't the Senate halt all further action on, say, judicial appointees? Even if the President goes ahead and appoints judges during the next congressional recess, they can only can serve until January 2009.

washingtonpost.com: Dems Call for Review of Bush Appointment (AP, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi New York,

I suppose that's an option, but it carries the political risk for Democrats of being attacked as obstructionists.

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New York: Is Obama for real, or will he pull a Howard Dean?

Lyndsey Layton: Well now, that's the question, isn't it? Will the rock star who's packing in the crowds and exciting people who don't ordinarily get involved in politics disintegrate and fall to the ground?

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Bethesda, Md.: The recent study showing that global warming will make the Southwest even hotter and drier over the next few decades was troubling. Now that the reality of this is hitting home to those who have had their heads in the sand for so long, do you see any shift in the Republican electorate on this? Will John McCain -- virtually the only GOP member of congress who hasn't been living in denial -- have increased credibility among right-leaning voters? Or will it hurt him, as they take out their chagrin on the messenger?

washingtonpost.com: Southwest May Get Even Hotter, Drier (Post, April 6)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Bethesda,

It's clear that climate change is becoming a high profile issue on the Hill, and there are plenty of Republicans who are warming -- badoom -- to the idea of legislation. The propulsion behind this is not just the drip, drip, drip of scientific studies but increasing pressure from usual GOP allies, like the coalition of 10 Fortune 500 companies that is lobbying Congress for a mandatory greenhouse gas trading regime.

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Bristow, Va.: Since it's Good Friday, I would like to ask you about the personal faith of politicians. I think you wrote about Nancy Pelosi's inauguration and how she celebrated her Catholicism then. Do reporters ask them much about whether they are regular churchgoers, or is that too private an inquiry?

washingtonpost.com: Pelosi Aims To Recast Self, Party (Post, Dec. 22, 2006)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Bristow,

I think the intersection of politics and religious faith is interesting, and don't believe that it's off limits to ask public figures about their beliefs and how it informs their philosophy or political positions - especially when the politicians themselves raise it, the way Pelosi, HRC, Obama and others have. Give it a little time and you'll be seeing plenty of stories about Mormonism as it relates to Romney.

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Obama on race: The man himself knows the deal, and said so on CBS's "60 Minutes": When asked by Kroft if growing up in a white household had caused him to make a decision to be black, Obama replied, "I'm not sure I decided it. I think if you look African-American in this society, you're treated as an African-American. It's interesting though, that now I feel very comfortable and confident in terms of who I am and where I stake my ground. But I notice that I've become a focal point for a racial debate."

Lyndsey Layton: From the man himself. Thanks

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Pittsburgh: Quoting from an AP story in the Post, "...the Army is sending large units back to Iraq without giving them at least a year at home, defense officials said Monday." Since 2003, military families have experienced repeated deployments, extended tours and involuntary activation, not to mention stop-loss orders. Now the president wants us to believe it's the Democrats' fault! Does this exceed federal specifications for the bursting strength of our credulity?

washingtonpost.com: Stretched Army Sends Troops Back to Iraq (AP, April 3)

Lyndsey Layton: Hi Pittsburgh,

Seems like the White House is trying to raise those specifications for bursting strength of national credulity.

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Lyndsey Layton: You've done it again - sent me more questions than my 10 fingers can feverishly answer. Thanks so much for spending the hour with me and I apologize if I didn't get to your question. Have a great weekend, and visit again with me in two weeks.

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