Washington Post-ABC News Poll Has Obama Up 6 in Ohio

Read the Post article.

Are GOP Representatives Leaking Classified Information for Political Purposes?

ABC News reported on how two Republican Representatives, including Ohio's own John Boehner, apparently leaked classified information for political purposes. Boehner stated on a Fox News program that the secret court established under the FISA had issued a ruling against the Bush Administration and that was why the FISA needed to be amended. Now "Representative Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., reported the top-secret budget for human spying had decreased -- the type of detail normally kept under wraps for national security reasons."

In both cases the reason for the leaking of apparent classified information was to gain a political advantage. In the case of Boehner it was to help pass the FISA amendment. In the case of Hoekstra it was to take a shot at funding for national intelligence set by a Democratic controlled House of Representatives. In neither case, however, has there been any repercussions for the Republican involved.

Can you imagine the manufactured outrage if Democrats had done something similar? There would be gnashing of teeth at Fox News and condemnations from the White House. This is just another example of Washington Republicans believing that the rules apply to others but not to them.

Jordan's King Predicted Three Civil Wars in Middle East in November, 2006

If you click on the link in this entry's title, you can read the transcript of an appearance by King Abdullah of Jordon on ABC's This Week on November 26, 2006. During that appearance he predicted three civil wars in the Middle East in 2007. One in Iraq, one in Lebanon and one in the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Now, with 2007 not yet halfway over, we have seen two of the three civil wars take place, or rather, the continuing civil war in Iraq has been joined by the civil war between Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinian Authority. Only Lebanon has not yet seen an outbreak of civil war.

Yet, despite this record of devastation across a crucial area of the world, Tony Snow today, June 18, 2007, said it was "hard to say" whether the Iraq War has helped the peace process in the Middle East or whether the removal of Hussein has helped stabliize the Middle East, a claim made by the Bubble-Boy before the War.

Well, here is a hint, Tony, Iraq is now in the middle of a civil war, which wasn't happening before we invaded and took down its government. The Palestinian Authority is no longer functioning as any kind of government, and Hamas, a terrorist supporting political party, controls the Gaza Strip. Lebanon saw a war last year between Hamas and Israel and could see a civil war this year between Hamas and Christian factions. So, clearly Tony, this War hasn't done a thing to encourage the peace process in the Middle East or helped stabilize the Middle East.

The truth is that we are going to be dealing with the blowback from Bush's insanity for the next 50 years. Think how many terrorists we are creating in Iraq. How many Islamic terrorists are being generated by our involvement in Iraq. How many Iraqis are going end up hating the United States because our military has killed their husbands, fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, and other relatives.

Clearly not all of the violence can be traced back to the Iraq War, but it is just as clear that the Iraq War is contributing to great instability in the region. Since 2003 there has been violence in Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran has gained influence with organizations such as Hamas. Meanwhile, there is continued violence in Afghanistan and a resurgence of the Taliban in that country, you know, the people that bin Laden to use their country as a terrorist training camp. And because of Bubble-Boy Bush and Cheney the Duck Hunter, America is right smack dab in the middle of it all.

Duck Hunter's Staff Working Against Bubble-Boy

Steve Clemons, who runs ABC's political website called The Note, writes in the Huffington Post that Cheney's staff is working to undermine Bush's policies. This is a quote from the article:

Multiple sources have reported that a senior aide on Vice President Cheney's national security team has been meeting with policy hands of the American Enterprise Institute, one other think tank, and more than one national security consulting house and explicitly stating that Vice President Cheney does not support President Bush's tack towards Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic efforts and fears that the president is taking diplomacy with Iran too seriously.

If this is true, the implications are staggering. First of all, if you are President you cannot allow your VP to undercut your efforts in anything, let alone diplomacy in the MidEast. Second, again if true, you cannot allow staffers to the VP to undercut your Secretary of State, who is a cabinet official that you appointed. Finally, if true, it shows why Cheney shouldn't have been given the power that Bush gave him, especially in matters of national security.

All of this, though, is probably good news for Democrats from a purely political point of view. The 2006 election meant that Bush had to realize that there are now peple in positions of power to act as a check on him. He is realizing this far more than Cheney. Cheney is still in full combat mode, acting as if nothing has changed for the Bushies since the election. This means that the Bushies are starting to fight among themselves.

We have seen this very recently in Gonzales's Justice Department, and now we may be seeing it in fighting between Cheney and Rice for Bush's support. The more they fight among themselves, the less power they can exercise.

Of course, from the point of view of American diplomacy in the world, this is not good news. Nor is it good news for the residents of the Persian Gulf because, if Cheney wins the struggle, the changes of a war with Iran increase.

Washington Post Shows Bush At Record Low

The Washington Post and ABC News released a poll showing that Bush's approval rating is at 33% while his disapproval rating is at 65%. It also shows that there is no issue on which they poll that his approval rating is above 50%. 71% of those polled think the country is on the wrong track, up 12% since 11/4/2006. Meanwhile 54% of those polled approve of the job that Nancy Pelosi is doing as Speaker of the House.

The poll also asked about preference among Democrats for President for 2008 and the results were as follows:
1/19/07 12/11/06
Hillary Clinton 41 39
Barack Obama 17 17
John Edwards 11 12
John Kerry 8 7
Al Gore 10 10
Wesley Clark 1 1
Tom Vilsack * 1
Evan Bayh NA 1
Bill Richardson 1 2
Joe Biden 3 2
Chris Dodd * *
Dennis Kucinich 1 NA
Mike Gravel * NA
Other (vol.) 1 *
None of these (vol.) 2 2
Would not vote (vol.) * 1
No opinion 3 4

The poll also showed Clinton beating either McCain or Guiliani in head to head trial heats, with Clinton polling 49% to 47% against Guiliani and 50% to 45% against McCain. Obama polls stronger than McCain at 47% to 45% but is trailing Guiliani by 45% to 49%. What is interesting is that McCain's attempt to get closer to Bush by supporting him on the war is driving his popularity down with the public at large. Smart move, John.

ABC News Reports: Senators Regret Iraq War Vote

ABC News is reporting that at least 57 Senators would vote against the Iraq War Resolution if it was presented for a vote today. ABC News reports that, at most, only 43 Senators would vote for the resolution. _________________________________________________________________
You can get the full details by clicking on the arrow next to this entry's title. Thanks to the blogger Minor Ripper who sent us the link to this story.