December 2001

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Bush Nominates at Lightning Speed 12/28/2001 6:20 PM President Bush made more presidential nominations his first year in office than his two predecessors, but finds more than a third of his administration's positions still unfilled. Frustrated with a slow confirmation process that Republicans blame on Senate Democrats, Bush is considering using recess appointments to install some nominees while Congress is away, aides say. At the top of the list are Otto Reich to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs and Eugene Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to be the Labor Department's top lawyer. Read the article September 11 Proved Bush Legitimate Leader 12/28/2001 11:43 AM September 11 dramatically transformed a political year that began with uncertainty about George W. Bush's legitimacy as president after his contested election. The president and his foreign policy team became clear winners in 2001 in a political world turned on its head, analysts say. Much of the year's politics before the attacks became irrelevant. "He lost the popular vote and ended the year with stratospheric poll ratings. He began the year as Clark Kent and ended up as Superman," said conservative analyst Marshall Wittmann of the Hudson Institute. Read the article Marc Racicot Names RNC Transition Team Led by Jack Oliver 12/28/2001 11:13 AM Former Montana Governor Marc Racicot, the President's designee for Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman, today named a transition team that will be led by Jack Oliver and includes Ann Wagner, Mindy Tucker, Matthew Dowd, Mike Duncan, Michael Toner, Blaise Hazelwood, Bev Shea, and Jay Banning. Jack Oliver is RNC Deputy Chairman. Ann Wagner serves as RNC Co-Chair and is Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party. Mindy Tucker serves as Communications Director at the Department of Justice and was Press Secretary for Bush/Cheney 2000. Tucker will begin working on RNC transition matters after she leaves the Department in January, 2002. Matthew Dowd is an RNC pollster and a top party strategist. Mike Duncan is RNC Treasurer, and Michael Toner is the RNC's Chief Counsel. Blaise Hazelwood is Deputy Chief of Staff at the RNC, Bev Shea is RNC Finance Director, and Jay Banning is the RNC's Director of Administration. "If elected by the full RNC in January, I want to be ready to hit the ground running. As a result, Governor Gilmore and I have been working together to assure a smooth transition for the party," Racicot said. Read the article Giuliani Says Farewell at Historic Chapel Near Ground Zero 12/27/2001 12:26 PM Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said goodbye Thursday to the city where he battled crime, his critics and the Sept. 11 crisis across eight years in City Hall. "Although I have to leave you as mayor soon, I resume the much more honorable title of citizen of New York, and citizen of the United States," Giuliani said, standing on an altar one block east of ground zero. Giuliani, 57, leaves on the highest note of his administration: his acclaimed handling of the city following the terrorist attacks that collapsed the World Trade Center and killed more than 2,900 people. Read the article Airline Pilot, Armey's Son File in Lone Star State 12/20/2001 5:02 PM Perennially targeted Rep.Charlie Stenholm (D) drew a Republican challenger this week who has never held elective office but could be buoyed by post-Sept. 11 sympathy for airline pilots. Russell Gill, a pilot for Delta Air Lines, filed last week to run in the new 17th district, which a federal court this year drew into an even more conservative seat. The filing deadline in Texas is Jan. 2. And in the Texas race to succeed retiring House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R), another top Republican has bowed out. State Sen. Jane Nelson said this week that she would run for re-election instead, leaving Denton County Judge Scott Armey, the House Republican's son, as the only major candidate in the Dallas-area district. Read the article Comeback Kid: Republicans Eager To Recruit Lazio To Challenge Israel 12/20/2001 4:59 PM Former Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) is being actively recruited by national Republicans to run for his old House seat and has met with Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) to discuss regaining his seniority and committee assignments, according to a Republican source. Lazio, 43, is seen by the National Republican Congressional Committee as their strongest potential challenger to Rep.Steve Israel (D), who won the open seat Lazio vacated to wage his 2000 Senate campaign against now Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D). Lazio represented the competitive Suffolk County based 2nd district for eight years and entered the Senate race after New YorkCity Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) bowed out. Read the article Coming Soon, Decision Time: Maryland GOP Wants Answer From Ehrlich 12/20/2001 4:42 PM Facing increasing impatience from party leaders eager to see him enter the race, Rep. Bob Ehrlich (R) appears to be leaning towards a run for the Maryland governorship and is expected to make some sort of announcement early next year. If he does run, he could face off with current Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the frontrunner for the Democratic nod. Ehrlich, who has held the 2nd district based inBaltimore County since 1994, has been publicly considering the gubernatorial race for more than a year. Read the article The Other Whip Race 12/20/2001 4:18 PM With House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and Chief Deputy Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) both claiming to have a lock on the next rung of the GOPleadership ladder, names are already surfacing for the one position that will be left open by their potential joint ascension. If the Republicans retain control of the House next year, whoever wins the Majority Whip slot will select his own chief deputy, the head coach of a team of some 20 Deputy Whips all dedicated to rounding up the votes to pass critical legislation. Ever since Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) announced that he was joining Blunt in the Whip race last week, all eyes have focused on that contest. But behind the scenes, especially among the current members of the Deputy Whip team, many of whom are working to elect DeLay and Blunt, the jockeying for the Chief Deputy Whip position is under way. Read the article September 11 Named Patriot Day 12/19/2001 9:17 PM President Bush signed legislation yesterday that designates a holiday in honor of those who were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. Without fanfare, Bush signed a House resolution naming Sept. 11 Patriot Day. The measure requires the president to issue a proclamation each year and order flags lowered to half-staff in observance. Read the article Wilson Sworn in to House to Succeed Late Boss 12/19/2001 9:15 PM South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson was sworn in Wednesday to fill the 2nd Congressional District House seat of his former boss, longtime Rep. Floyd Spence, who died in August. Wilson, 54, a Lexington attorney, served in South Carolina's Senate for 17 years and managed or was chairman of Spence's re-election campaigns six times. He will complete Spence's term, which ends next year. "I will do everything in my power to keep alive the legacy of service Congressman Spence exemplified and I pray that his spirit will always be with me," Wilson said during his first speech on the House floor. Read the article Mindy Tucker to Leave Justice Department Job 12/19/2001 9:12 PM Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker is leaving the agency to become a senior communications official at the Republican National Committee. Tucker, a former spokeswoman for President Bush's presidential campaign who was a voice for the GOP candidate during the Florida recount, runs the press operation at the Justice Department and is chief spokeswoman for Attorney General John Ashcroft. She will leave the position in early January. Read the article South Carolina Republican Wins House Seat 12/18/2001 10:00 PM A South Carolina state senator, who styled himself a political understudy to the late Rep. Floyd Spence, handily beat his Democratic opponent in a special election Tuesday to succeed the congressman. Republican Joe Wilson received 40,289 votes, or 73 percent, to political newcomer Brent Weaver's 14,088 votes, or 26 percent. Wilson is a former campaign worker and aide to Spence, who died in August. He also worked for Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond. Read the article Dick Morris: What Bush Did Right 12/18/2001 9:58 PM It's easy to say that one approves of the job President Bush has done in fighting the war on terror. But lest we gloss over the true brilliance of his conduct in this dangerous and difficult period, pause for a moment to consider each decision he has made, and understand how correct they've all proven to be. Read the article Wealthy Investors Seek California Governor 12/18/2001 3:35 PM Their numbers are growing on America's campaign trails: rich businessmen like Michael Bloomberg and Jon Corzine with millions - even billions - of dollars to burn on a political race. Voters in California are seeing the phenomenon in the 2002 governor's race. Two wealthy investors - former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and businessman Bill Simon - are seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Rich candidates may have the edge in buying TV commercials, but analysts say they are also under greater scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest and face the challenge of convincing voters they care about them. Read the article Delay Woos Centrists 12/17/2001 12:34 PM With House Majority Whip Tom DeLay's (R-Texas) ascension to the No. 2 position in the GOPleadership a foregone conclusion 11 months before the election, moderates are seeking his assurance that he will not alienate centrist voters in his new post. In the so far uncontested race for the Majority Leader's job, DeLay backers contend that in the past few days the tough Texas tactician has secured support from nearly every House GOP moderate, even though some prominent centrists report that they have yet to be contacted by the DeLay camp. Still, DeLay has definitely won over one early critic of his plans to move up the leadership ladder. Read the article Bush Gets Behind Hall: Blue Dog May Back GOP Leader 12/17/2001 11:06 AM House Republicans last week backed off threats to target Texas Rep. Ralph Hall (D)after the Blue Dog secured strong support from President Bush and suggested he would back the GOPcandidate for Speaker if his vote would be decisive in a leadership race, several sources said. Hall also opened the door on a potential party switch. The National Republican Congressional Committee's retreat is likely to derail an expected bid by Tyler Mayor Kevin Eltife (R), who said he only considered challenging Hall because NRCCofficials had aggressively recruited him. Read the article Daschle Predicts Denial Of Scalia Nomination 12/17/2001 10:56 AM Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) predicted yesterday that Eugene Scalia, President Bush's nominee for Labor Department solicitor, will be denied confirmation, and the White House stepped up a behind-the-scenes campaign on Scalia's behalf. The solicitor is responsible for defending department regulations in court. Scalia, 38, a conservative Washington labor lawyer, was a vocal opponent of President Bill Clinton's efforts to tighten standards designed to reduce repetitive motion injuries, and Democrats contend that his confirmation could undermine worker protections. Scalia said Clinton wanted factories to change whole assembly lines because one employee's off-duty injury might be aggravated. Jack Oliver, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued a statement accusing Daschle of a "misinformation campaign" and of "playing the role of the Grinch who stopped the nomination process." Read the article Ad Distances Illinois Lieutenant Governor, Mentor 12/17/2001 10:55 AM In politics, like love, breaking up is hard to do. That's why Illinois Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood (R) is turning heads and bruising egos as she distances herself from her former mentor and ticket mate, Gov. George Ryan. Ryan, plagued by a series of controversies, isn't seeking reelection next year. Wood wants his job and is running a new TV ad "to try to distance herself from the politically unpopular governor," the Chicago Tribune reported. The ad uses newspaper headlines "to show how she rejected overtures from Ryan and other leading Republicans to give up her bid for governor," the paper reported. Wood says in the ad: "I'm not in this campaign for the political insiders." Read the article Armey Won't Endorse Anyone in Brewing House Leader's Race 12/16/2001 10:45 PM Though House Majority Whip Tom DeLay is "a good, able guy," House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Sunday that he will not endorse DeLay, or anyone else, in the race to succeed him as leader of the House Republicans when he retires next year. In an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press," Armey, who announced this week that he won't run for re-election in 2002 and will give up his post as the No. 2 GOP leader in the House, said the decision on who should be the next majority leader will be up to the Republican caucus. "I don't endorse this. I'm not in that race," he said. Read the article Bush Attends Church, Jogs in D.C. 12/16/2001 5:02 PM President Bush took communion at church and went for a brisk jog with his dog on a rare weekend spent in Washington. The president and Laura Bush usually go to Camp David, where he can roam the woods and jog. It was clear that Bush pined for the open spaces of the 143-acre presidential retreat and of his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas. Immediately after returning from St. John's Church across from the White House, Bush swapped his blue suit and tie for a blue windbreaker and black running tights. Read the article Black GOP Woman Stuns Virginia Politics 12/16/2001 5:00 PM For 31 years, no one came close to breaking the hold that Democrats William P. Robinson Sr. and William P. Robinson Jr. had on a House of Delegates seat in their predominantly black Norfolk district. Then Winsome Sears came along. Sears, a black Republican who is a former Marine and Scripture-quoting mother of three, denied the younger Robinson an 11th consecutive term last month -- a stunning victory in a district that consistently votes Democratic by a 2-to-1 ratio. Sears, who was 6 when she moved to the United States from Jamaica, is the first foreign-born woman and the first female veteran elected to Virginia's House. Read the article Oklahoma First Lady Drops Out of Race 12/15/2001 12:52 AM Oklahoma first lady Cathy Keating on Friday dropped her campaign to succeed U.S. Rep. Steve Largent, saying she wants to avoid a difficult runoff that could be harmful to the Republican party. Keating finished behind state Rep. John Sullivan in a special GOP primary Tuesday. Sullivan had 46 percent of the vote to Keating's 30 percent. A runoff had been scheduled for Jan. 8 because neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. "A divisive and bitter runoff election will do nothing to ensure the election of a Republican and that is not who I am as a person nor as a candidate," Keating said in a statement Friday. Read the article Watts May Take a Stab at Majority Leader Spot 12/14/2001 9:45 AM Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., the fourth-highest Republican in the House, is "seriously considering" a run for either House majority leader or majority whip, Fox News has learned. Yesterday, the current House majority leader, Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, announced he would retire at the end of 2002. If Watts goes for majority leader, it would put him in a head-to-head race with House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas. If Watts chooses the whip's race, he would go up against Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., DeLay's current deputy. Read the article Sullivan Trounces Keating in Primary; Both Are Headed for Runoff 12/13/2001 6:35 PM John Sullivan overcame a 4-to-1 cash shortfall, scant name recognition and an early polling deficit on Tuesday to outpace Oklahoma first lady CathyKeating in the GOP primary to succeed Rep. Steve Largent (R-Okla.). "I'm shocked, Ireally am,"said Sullivan, 36, a businessman and state Representative. "We got broad, broad support. It was everywhere. I even beat her in the precinct she votes in." Five months after some Republicans predicted his support would never reach the double digits, Sullivan's 15-point lead over Keating in Tuesday's balloting catapulted him into the frontrunner's position in a post-primary runoff scheduled for Jan. 8. Read the article Roy Blunt Hopes to Move up GOP's Power Ladder When Armey Steps Down 12/13/2001 6:34 PM The announcement Wednesday by House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, that he plans to retire at the end of next year set off a shuffle for party leadership - and some quick footwork by Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Blunt's staff said that in the hours after Armey's announcement, Blunt, a third-term congressman from Stafford, Mo., contacted almost 150 House Republicans and sought their support to make him the party's whip, the third-ranking position in the House leadership. By the end of the day, he had lined up enough "hard yeses" from a majority of the Republican Caucus, according to a staff aide, to ensure his selection if those numbers hold between now and January 2003, when the next Congress chooses its leadership. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., one of the Democrats who has tangled with DeLay, said he would just as soon see his fellow Missourian as leader. "I've had good relations with Roy," said Gephardt, of St. Louis County. He cited their cooperation in devising a redistricting plan earlier this year for Missouri. "You can negotiate and work with Roy. With some of the other Republicans, you can't." Read the article DeLay Appears To Have Backing To Follow Armey 12/13/2001 11:33 AM House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday appeared to have wrapped up the race to succeed retiring Majority Leader Richard K. Armey as the House GOP's second-ranking leader, prompting some moderates to insist the party install a less combative figure in the third-ranking whip post. DeLay deftly used his extensive political network to all but ensure a move up the leadership ladder in the wake of Armey's departure, which was officially announced only yesterday. With DeLay's election seemingly assured, lawmakers' attention shifted to the race to replace him. DeLay's deputy, Roy Blunt (Mo.), has already begun running for whip, and only a few other Republicans -- John Boehner (Ohio), Ray LaHood (Ill.) and GOP Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (Okla.) -- have expressed an interest in succeeding DeLay. Read the article The Best Defense: Rumsfeld's Overwhelming Show of Force on the Public Relations Front 12/12/2001 11:24 AM Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, stands at the lectern with a Cheshire Cat grin so expansive that his lips have disappeared. The reporters fill their molded plywood seats. One of the generals -- they're all tall dour fellows with big ears -- is posted like a four-star straight man in uniform beside the real star in pinstripes. It's another episode of The Rummy Show. In today's plot twist, the war is going well, and members of the Pentagon press corps demand to know why. After weeks reporting the sputtering pace of the offensive, they are assembled one November afternoon in the Pentagon briefing room. Why has the Taliban faded so fast? "Well, I'm not a psychiatrist," says the secretary in a sparring mood. "There's no way I can climb in their heads, individually or collectively, and know why they're doing what they're doing." Read the article Armey’s Son Eyes Bid to Succeed Father 12/12/2001 11:07 AM House Majority Leader Dick Armey's (R-Texas) retirement has turned the national spotlight on his son, Scott (R), who told The Hill he is "very strongly considering" a bid for his father's seat should he retire. "Watching dad work and seeing what he's done has always [made me] want to be a part of what's happening up there," Scott Armey said, noting that he won't make a final decision until the first of next year. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Last November, Scott Armey won a special election to fill out the term as Denton County judge after serving eight years as county commissioner. The office expires in 2002. Read the article House Majority Leader Armey Announces Retirement 12/12/2001 11:03 AM House Majority Leader Dick Armey announced his retirement Wednesday, saying the conservative causes he has championed, "peace through strength and supply-side economics," have changed the world for the better. "To my Republican colleagues, we should be proud of what we have done in our young majority," Armey, R-Texas, said in remarks prepared for delivery on the House floor. Armey's retirement plans, effective at the end of next year, have been an open secret for more than a day. Already the GOP whip, Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, was at work lining up commitments to replace him. DeLay's deputy, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, also was seeking to move up the leadership ladder. Read the article Rove Says Bush is Same Person as Before September 11 12/11/2001 5:01 PM While polls show President Bush's popularity has leapt since the terrorist attacks three months ago, his senior adviser Karl Rove maintains that Bush has not changed as a leader -- that he's "exactly who he was before September 11th." "When Andy Card went in and told the president that the second plane had flown into the World Trade Center, there was a lot of fog of war and confusion. The president came walking into the room and took one look at the television set and said, 'We're at war, get me the vice-president, get me the director of the FBI,'" Rove told reporters at the American Enterprise Institute Tuesday. "The great moments require great things of people and he's exactly who he was before September 11th, just called to this moment, and people either do or they don't." Read the article Democrat Rangel to Support Republican Candidate Over Cuomo 12/11/2001 5:00 PM As they approach next year's gubernatorial race, New York Democrats desperately want to avoid the sort of intra-party divisions that crippled them in this year's New York City mayoral campaign. But a new schism opened last week when Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said -- for now, at least -- he would support the Republican incumbent if his only alternative was Democratic hopeful Andrew Cuomo. Read the article GOP Readies to Fill Armey Seat 12/11/2001 4:59 PM Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the hard-nosed House Republican whip, launched a bid to move up in the GOP hierarchy Tuesday, jumping ahead of potential rivals as Majority Leader Dick Armey reached unexpectedly for retirement. One member of the whip's organization said he contacted DeLay and the deputy whip, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who also is looking to move up, with offers of help. They asked him to contact members of the GOP rank-and-file on their behalf, said Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and both men said they would provide "talking points" for their candidacies, "and off we'll go." One source said DeLay, known as "The Hammer" for his take-no-prisoners style of politics, already had begun making calls to seek commitments for an election more than a year in the future. The source spoke on condition of anonymity. Read the article Blunt May Enter House Leadership Race 12/11/2001 4:54 PM Maneuverings within the House Republican leadership could boost the standing of Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Blunt serves as chief deputy to the House's third-ranking Republican, Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas. A GOP leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that depending on DeLay's plans, Blunt will likely run for whip, or possibly for the No. 2 job, majority leader. Reports are that the current majority leader, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, may retire at the end of his term. Read the article Dole Leads Bowles Big in Elon Poll 12/10/2001 2:12 PM Elizabeth Dole (R) continues to hold a huge lead in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jesse Helms (R) in both the primary and general elections, a new independent poll showed. The Elon University survey also indicated that investment banker Erskine Bowles, the early Democratic frontrunner, fared no better against Dole than did his two main primary rivals, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and state Rep. Dan Blue. Dole led Bowles 60 percent to 13 percent, according to the poll of 519 registered voters conducted Dec. 3 to 6. The margin of error was 4.4 percent. She was ahead of Marshall by 59 percent to 12 percent, and Blue, 57 percent to 13 percent. Read the article Tight Race In Tulsa: Keating Stumbles Before GOP Primary 12/10/2001 2:10 PM Oklahoma first lady Cathy Keating (R), widely touted as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Rep.Steve Largent (R), faces what new polls show is a tightening three-way primary Tuesday, leaving some top Republicans questioning her appeal among conservatives. During a closed-door luncheon last Wednesday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who held the Tulsa-based 1st district seat from 1987 to 1995, predicted that Keating would ultimately lose the GOP race, in part because she lacks the conservative credentials of her main Republicanrivals, state Rep. John Sullivan and state Sen. Scott Pruitt, according to sources who attended the Free Congress Foundation gathering near Capitol Hill. Read the article Rumsfeld's Hands-On War 12/9/2001 6:26 PM At a White House meeting on national security matters on Friday morning, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ordered several lower-ranking administration officials out of the room so he could talk about a sensitive matter with President Bush and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Rumsfeld is unapologetic about his tight-fisted approach to information. "It's true, it's hard to get information from me," he said in an interview in his Pentagon dining room later that day. "It is true that I clean the damn room out." Nor does he much care about stepping on the toes of White House aides. "With the president's full blessing, I reduce down the size of the room," he continued. "And of course, when people are asked out of the room, that is not something that pleases them. So it's not surprising for me that some person who's not in the loop, and ought not to be in the loop, is expressing that thought, and it bothers me not one whit." Read the article Bush Marks Pearl Harbor Anniversary 12/7/2001 4:01 PM President Bush ruled out "a truce or a treaty" with any Taliban or terrorist enemy in Afghanistan as Taliban fighters abandoned their last bastion, Kandahar. The president and 25 living witnesses to the attack on Pearl Harbor gathered with hundreds of uniformed sailors Friday on the deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. The president marked the 60th anniversary of the attack and honored U.S. forces responding to the September terrorist attacks. "Like all fascists, the terrorists cannot be appeased. They must be defeated. This struggle will not end in a truce or a treaty. It will end in victory for the United States, our friends and for the cause of freedom," Bush said to a roar of approval. Read the article Mayoral Races Offer New Lessons 12/7/2001 2:18 PM Democrats and Republicans got a reminder this year in mayors' races in New York, Houston and Los Angeles that Hispanic voters are a fast-growing and crucial swing vote tied more closely to ethnic than party loyalty. That dynamic of ethnic loyalty, which played out in very different ways in the three cities' mayoral races, could be important in many races next year. "Elections for mayor in several of America's biggest cities have confirmed the fact that the Hispanic electorate has became a crucial swing vote," said pollster Sergio Bendixen of Miami. "If they're offended or mishandled, they'll cross party lines." Read the article In South, GOP Candidates Talking 'Nice' 12/7/2001 2:17 PM Sometimes the best thing a Republican candidate can do is say nice things about a Democrat. That's happening in two southern Senate races, where GOP challengers are attacking Democratic incumbents by comparing them -- unfavorably, of course -- to their more conservative Democratic colleagues. The Republican targets are Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia and Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Challengers hope to oust them next year by arguing that they are too liberal for their states (which George W. Bush carried over Al Gore). To bolster this argument, Republicans are comparing Cleland's record to that of Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.), and Landrieu's record to that of Sen. John Breaux (D-La.). They essentially argue that Miller and Breaux are acceptable centrists, which makes Cleland and Landrieu unacceptable liberals if they veer to the left. Read the article Bush Declares Four-Day Holiday Weekend 12/6/2001 11:43 PM President Bush on Thursday dedicated the national Christmas tree to those who died on Sept. 11 and to GIs who have died in the line of duty. "They will remain in our prayers," he said. Bush also granted federal workers a four-day holiday weekend for their efforts in responding to the attacks. "This is a year we will not forget those who lost loved ones in the attacks on September the 11th and on the battlefield," the president said. "They will remain in our prayers." A moment later, Laura Bush and two children who lost fathers at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 6-year-old Faith Elseth and 5-year-old Leon Patterson, flicked a switch illuminating dazzling blue lights and white stars on the Colorado blue spruce that stands permanently on the Ellipse just south of the White House. Read the article Ashcroft Defends Anti-Terrorism Steps 12/6/2001 11:35 PM Attorney General John D. Ashcroft resolutely defended the Justice Department's aggressive anti-terrorism tactics yesterday, telling a Senate committee the measures are necessary to prevent future attacks and suggesting that criticism of them aids the terrorist cause. Peppered by congressional skepticism but bolstered by overwhelming public support in recent weeks, Ashcroft appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to champion Bush administration strategies since the Sept. 11 attacks. The methods include the detention of hundreds of foreign nationals and plans to try alleged terrorists and their accomplices before military tribunals. Read the article A Veteran Aide Helps Ridge Fight the Fires 12/6/2001 11:34 PM For the past 20 years, there have been two constants in the professional life of Mark A. Holman: politicians named Bush and a boss named Tom Ridge. Holman has moved between Pennsylvania and Washington several times during that time, shifting from political campaigns to government service and back again. Today he is on the front lines in the war against terrorism as deputy assistant to the president for homeland security. Read the article Mansoor Ijaz: Clinton Let Bin Laden Slip Away and Metastasize 12/6/2001 9:43 AM President Clinton and his national security team ignored several opportunities to capture Osama bin Laden and his terrorist associates, including one as late as last year. I know because I negotiated more than one of the opportunities. From 1996 to 1998, I opened unofficial channels between Sudan and the Clinton administration. I met with officials in both countries, including Clinton, U.S. National Security Advisor Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger and Sudan's president and intelligence chief. President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, who wanted terrorism sanctions against Sudan lifted, offered the arrest and extradition of Bin Laden and detailed intelligence data about the global networks constructed by Egypt's Islamic Jihad, Iran's Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas. Read the article Are Paul O'Neill's Days at Treasury Numbered? 12/5/2001 1:13 PM U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is on his way out, a Washington analyst said Wednesday, in large part because he doesn't get along with Republicans in Congress. O'Neill's future has been the subject of speculation for many months, and the topic heated up after a report in Tuesday's New York Post said O'Neill's days were numbered. Later that day, O'Neill appeared in the Rose Garden with President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, an appearance some saw as a pointed response to the Post report. Read the article Senator Strom Thurmond's One-time Babysitter Dies 12/5/2001 1:08 PM Lois Crouch Matheny Addy, most famous as one-time baby sitter for U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, has died. She was 109. Addy died Monday at the Saluda Nursing Center. A cause of death was unavailable. "Mrs. Lois was such a fine lady and took good care of me and all the other children," the senator said. She wasn't as famous as her one-time charge, but she often was interviewed on election days when she cast her vote for the nation's oldest and longest-serving senator. Read the article Bank Takes Linda Tripp's Home 12/5/2001 1:06 PM The woman who blew the whistle on President Clinton's White House affair with intern Monica Lewinsky -- and was later fired from her politically-appointed job -- is losing her home to the bank. CitiMortgage, Inc. is foreclosing on the home of Linda Tripp, whose recordings of telephone calls with Lewinsky about Lewinsky's sexual relationship with the president led to Clinton's impeachment. Read the article 'Tax Me More Fund' Off to Slow Start 12/5/2001 1:02 PM The Arkansas budget may be $142 million in the hole, but those who favor raising taxes are not exactly beating at the doors to contribute to a public fund created to close the shortfall. Nearly one week after Gov. Mike Huckabee established the "Tax Me More Fund," the state has received only five contributions totaling $260. Huckabee spokesman Rex Nelson said the fund was created in response to a handful of legislators and political columnists who called for the government to go into special session to raise taxes to balance the budget. Huckabee, who is "firmly opposed" to raising taxes, told tax hike supporters that they are free to contribute voluntarily. Read the article Bush Selects Racicot to Head GOP 12/4/2001 10:37 PM President Bush on Tuesday selected former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot to chair the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said. Party leaders are expected to endorse the selection next month. Racicot would replace Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia, who resigned Friday amid friction with the White House. Bush turned to Racicot as part of a broader overhaul of RNC operations to prepare for midterm 2002 elections, with control of Congress and three dozen statehouses at stake. The president gave his blessing to Racicot's selection during a meeting Tuesday with staff. Republican leaders were notified of the decision late Tuesday, according to two senior Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Read the article Young Women: An Occupational Hazard on Hill 12/4/2001 2:53 PM Rep. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) learned long ago the political peril of hanging around young women. Fifteen years ago he walked into a pub in Buffalo with an attractive woman. He had a beer. She had a glass of wine. The couple left the bar and went home. Shortly thereafter, rumors spread that Quinn was carrying on an affair with the woman. "The story on Monday was that I was blind drunk with a strange woman," he recalled. But it turned out Quinn knew the woman quite well -- she was his wife, Mary Beth. Life on Capitol Hill isn’t easy in the post-Monica Lewinsky era. Rep. Gary Condit’s (D-Calif.) affair with missing intern Chandra Levy is still fresh on people’s minds, and many male members of Congress say they are more fearful than ever about the perception of appearing with women who aren’t their wives. Read the article Strom Thurmond Gets Ready to Celebrate 99th Birthday 12/4/2001 11:47 AM Senator Strom Thurmond is about to turn 99, and even he finds that hard to believe. "Sometimes I pinch myself and get out of bed laughing, because I'm still here," he told a former intern, commentator Armstrong Williams. Thurmond would rather be nowhere else than the Senate, in which he has served longer than any other member, holds the record for solo filibustering and still casts votes in a clear voice that reaches from his front-row desk to the farthest corners of the gallery. Ever more fragile, he turns 99 on Wednesday and intends to serve until his eighth Senate term expires in January 2003. He plans to retire back home in South Carolina at the age of 100. Read the article Afghan Has a Blade at Bush's Neck 12/3/2001 6:19 PM Every couple of weeks since America launched its war in Afghanistan, President Bush's secret service agents have left him alone with an Afghan wielding any number of sharp implements. Fortunately Zahira Zahir is one of Bush's most ardent admirers. She also happens to be his hairdresser. Since September 11, she has lost two dozen of her regular Washington customers because of her nationality. "It's hurtful," she said yesterday. "I have known them for a long time and some of them I considered my friends." But Bush has remained loyal. "He's been very kind, generous and gracious and was shocked when I told him I had lost some clients," she said as she sat in her Watergate Hotel salon overlooking the Potomac River. Read the article House Democrats Plan Ads Criticizing GOP 12/3/2001 6:13 PM House Democrats plan radio ads in at least three congressional districts this month criticizing House Republicans' handling of the recession. The ads will be the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's first since before the terrorist attacks. Read the article NRCC Targets Blue Dog Representative Ralph Hall 12/3/2001 2:22 PM Signaling they are willing to target frequent allies as they battle for control of the House, Republicans believe they have found their strongest-ever challenger to Blue Dog Rep. Ralph Hall (D), who has sailed to re-election in a rural, east Texas district but may be jeopardized by a new, court-drawn House map. One month before the state's Jan. 2 filing deadline, Kevin Eltife (R), the mayor of Tyler and a longtime Hall ally, last week told National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Davis (Va.) that he's "very, very seriously" eyeing a bid against Hall in the state's new 4th district, GOP leadership aides said. Eltife, 42, who's barred under term limits from seeking a fourth two-year term as mayor of the 90,000-resident city, was recruited by the White House earlier this year to challenge Rep. Max Sandlin (D) when it appeared Tyler would be drawn into Sandlin's adjacent district in 2002. Read the article Raciot Likely to Become GOP Chair 12/3/2001 2:05 PM Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who came to President Bush's aid during the disputed presidential election, is negotiating with the White House to become chairman of the Republican National Committee. Senior Republican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that Racicot was Bush's choice to replace Virginia Gov. James Gilmore and could get the president's endorsement this week, barring an unforeseen development. Read the article Former Montana Governor May Lead GOP 12/2/2001 2:28 PM Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot is the leading candidate to replace Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore as chairman of the Republican National Committee, several leading GOP sources said Friday. Current RNC Co-Chair Ann Wagner, a former Missouri state GOP chairwoman, is also on a short list of candidates being considered by the White House, the sources said. Racicot was a key spokesman for President Bush during the post-election Florida recount and is now a partner in a Washington law office. Read the article GOP Makes Pitch for High-Tech Donors 12/2/2001 2:26 PM At a recent closed-door meeting of House GOP leaders, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.) made an unusual proposal: that they press ahead with a vote on trade negotiating authority this year even if they lack the votes to pass it. Davis argued that a trade vote -- which is scheduled for Thursday -- would be worth the gamble. The legislation would give the president enhanced authority to strike agreements with foreign nations, achieving one of President Bush's legislative priorities, and a vote would force Democrats to choose between competing constituencies. But, more important for the Republicans, the battle over the bill serves their broader goal of driving a wedge between Democrats and the country's high-tech community. Despite the recent implosion of many Internet-related businesses, Democrats and Republicans have continued to flock to the West Coast in an effort to solidify their ties to the technology sector. Rick White, a former GOP lawmaker who heads the Palo Alto-based trade association TechNet, said his group had hosted dozens of lawmakers in recent weeks. Read the article Ashcroft Seeks to Strengthen Border 12/2/2001 2:24 PM Attorney General John Ashcroft said Sunday he has asked that several hundred National Guard members help with inspections at U.S.-Canadian crossings and wants military helicopters to patrol the border. Tighter security since Sept. 11 meant the government had to transfer agents from other duties to man checkpoints along the 4,000-mile border. Ashcroft said the addition of the National Guard would relieve those Immigration and Naturalization Service workers and let them return to regular duties. "We really want to be able to do a better job all along the border," Ashcroft said. Read the article