The Administration

I was particularly displeased with Abe Foxman’s response to my posting because he deliberately miscast my critique of the Administration’s handling of Middle East policy and then had the gall to suggest that I had turned a blind eye to the regional threat posed by Iran.
Abe, it is not I who stood by while Iran and extremists were strengthened in the region. It is policies, pursued by this Administration and, I dare say, supported by you, that are responsible for the nightmare we see before us.

The disastrous war in Iraq, the unilateralism of the Sharon/Olmert governments, our neglect of Lebanon and now, the onslaughts against Gaza and Lebanon—have all contributed to making a Middle East that is more dangerous and more anti-American than at any time in history—with Iran sitting in a corner licking it chops.

The current wars raging in the region are neither “clarifying Read more...

John Bolton is still the wrong man, for the wrong job, at the wrong time.  His record over the past year has shown that the Senate was right to not confirm him last time around.  The world is literally blowing up around us.  We need someone who can advance America’s interests and get results.  And whether it’s North Korea, the Middle East or Darfur, John Bolton isn’t getting the job done.

If President Bush were determined about installing at the UN a proven Republican who could work the art of diplomacy at this critical time, he need look no further than his own father - President Bush "41" - who would be - as he was in those days after the tsunami - the right man, for the right job, at the right time.

The first thing would be for the president of the United States to actually follow the law of the Constitution, which he is not doing. The second would be for the Republican rubber stamp Congress to actually hold the president to the laws it has passed.

Today I joined with the Center for American Progress in releasing a report card that graded the Bush Administration's Iraq policy on four key areas:

*        Security and Stability: F
*        Governance and Democracy: C+
*        Economic Reconstruction: D-
*        Iraq's Impact on U.S. National Security: F

This report card is a sobering report.  Too often this Administration has dealt in slogans and glib assumptions.  This is an accurate assessment of where we are and what we must do to really make progress. Read more...

This was a very rational bill that was a compromise between homeowners’ associations and condominium associations that worry about the values of homes depreciating, and the rights of Americans to present their country’s flag. They can place reasonable limits on how and when to present the flag but they cannot stop you from presenting it.

It’s great to get a bill through the process and it takes a long time to get it through the bureaucracy. You just assume that people can fly the flag but then you learn that this isn’t the case and we felt in this case legislation was needed to solve the problem.

I was asked to make available a report issued today by an American Bar Association task force on presidential signing statements. I asked this bipartisan group of constitutional experts and former government officials to examine whether presidents can sign new laws, but then issue statements saying they do not intend to enforce all or part of them.

This group found that presidents of both parties have used this tactic with increasing aggressiveness in the last 25 years, in ways that thwart the will of Congress and undermine our delicate system of checks and balances. I was especially gratified that the task force, which includes several conservatives including former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards, all agreed that the president can’t pick or choose what parts of a law he likes. He must sign or veto it as a whole.

I urge you to look at the report, prepared by the American Bar Association Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine.

Yesterday, I sent a letter with Chairman Tom Davis to ask the President's Council on Environmental Quality to provide information about serious allegations that a political appointee had tampered with government scientists' and experts' work on global warming.

Last year, the New York Times reported that the council's chief of staff, Phillip Cooney, had altered scientific government reports to downplay the connection between emissions and global warming. The White House claimed last year that Mr. Cooney's edits were routine. Mr. Cooney had no background in science. Before joining the Bush Administration, he'd been an oil industry lobbyist.

Days after the Times story ran, Mr. Cooney resigned. And went to work for Exxon Mobil.

Yesterday's Government Reform Committee hearing on climate change science presented me with an opportunity to ask Chairman Tom Davis to join me in an effort to get to the bottom of the controversy. Our letter asked CEQ's current chairman James Connaughton to provide any internal documents related to climate change, and we expect them by August 11. Chairman Davis has agreed to schedule a hearing with the CEQ chairman after the August recess.

During his first address before our nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, President Bush said the right words, but time and time again, he has failed to back up such words with action.

To truly make an impact, today's photo-up must include a follow-up. The visuals and script he presented must be the beginning of a strong production.

I am pleased that President Bush acknowledged that racism and discrimination still exist in America - a fact some in the Republican party continue to deny.

He discussed giving priority to eliminating racial disparities by providing quality education for all children, encouraging the growth of minority-owned businesses, increasing home ownership in the African American community, expanding access to healthcare, addressing the epidemic of HIV/AIDS and helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

However, mere words do not help children who attend low-performing schools. Catchy sound-bites don't help Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their lives. And his appearance at an NAACP convention doesn't make poverty disappear for millions of Americans.

The President put politics before the American people yesterday when he vetoed H.R. 810, a bill that would have expanded life-saving stem cell research.  How can he claim to value life, when he is depriving millions of Americans the promise of life-saving medical cures?

We have always been a nation of progress and advancement.  But the majority party's election year political pandering will reverse that rewarding course and deprive millions of ailing Americans the promise of life-saving cures.

We can’t let this slow response by the Bush administration become another Katrina.  There are thousands of Americans who desperately want out of Lebanon, but their government cannot seem to do what many European countries have already done - get their people out.