October 10, 2006 – Capitol Hill Blue

Dennis Hastert’s friend, roommate & fixer: Scott Palmer

October 10, 2006

George Bush has Karl Rove, Bill Clinton had James Carville and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has Scott Palmer. Call them powers behind the throne, the political gurus who guide their bosses’ careers and, if they’re good, keep them out of trouble.

Palmer, Hastert’s chief of staff, is more than an employee. He’s Hastert’s friend and his roommate in Washington, a living arrangement the Speaker may find difficult to explain in the wake of the Mark Foley Congressional page scandal.

But while some on Capitol Hill see Hastert as a likable, affable buffoon, they see Palmer as a ruthless, arrogant SOB who rides roughshod over anyone who gets in his, Hastert’s or the GOP’s way.

The good-cop, bad-cop relationship is found often in political operations and it lets Palmer take the heat while concealing the fact that Hastert can be just as arrogant and ruthless as his top aide. In fact, both believe a scorched-earth policy is the only answer to running the House of Representatives.

New polls show Republicans in deep, deep trouble

October 10, 2006

Democratic candidates have a big edge on Republicans one month before elections to decide control of Congress, a flurry of new polls said on Monday, with ratings for President George W. Bush and Congress dropping after the Capitol Hill sex scandal.

Army lowers standards to boost recruiting

October 10, 2006

The U.S. Army recruited more than 2,600 soldiers under new lower aptitude standards this year, helping the service beat its goal of 80,000 recruits in the throes of an unpopular war and mounting casualties.

Baker panel preparing alternatives to Bush Iraq policies

October 10, 2006

James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state with a long-standing reputation of service to Republican presidents and the Bush family in particular, has joined a list of prominent Republicans raising questions about the administration’s Iraq policy.

The no-win scenario

October 10, 2006

Conservatives will occasionally accuse liberals — or more generally anyone who opposes the war in Iraq — of hating President Bush so much that they actually hope that the United States loses. But I’m skeptical of this accusation.

Disgruntled Republicans busy fighting with each other

October 10, 2006

Forget the Democrats. Right now, many Republicans see themselves as their own worst enemies and their anger at each other may be the catalyst that brings down GOP domination in Congress.

Foley scandal could hold key to Democratic hopes

October 10, 2006

The congressional page sex scandal could have a decisive effect on several key political campaigns across the country and prove crucial to Democratic hopes of gaining control of the House of Representatives in November.

FBI screwups still haunt anthrax investigation

October 10, 2006

Few incidents seem to exemplify the governmental excesses and the difficulties controlling them in the atmosphere of fear following 9-11 than the five-year investigation into the anthrax attack that took the lives of five Americans, made 17 gravely ill and was a potential threat to thousands of others.

Congress sends out surveys to aides, former pages

October 10, 2006

Lawmakers, following a request from the House ethics committee, are surveying aides and former House pages to find out if any of them had knowledge of ex-Rep. Mark Foley’s inappropriate conduct toward male pages.

FBI set to interview former page in Mark Foley scandal

October 10, 2006

The FBI is expected to interview a former congressional page Tuesday who may have received suggestive electronic messages from former Florida Rep. Mark Foley, his attorney said.