Clinton & blogs...Bush & his Blackberry....

From American Progress:

Think Fast

President Bill Clinton said blogs can help promote a more even discussion of politics. Clinton added, "They can do research and get the facts and don't have to bad-mouth people. ...I think all these blog sites are creating a whole new opportunity for public debate that may revitalize our politics in an old fashioned way."

Former deputy to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Kyle Sampson revealed yesterday that former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was not added to the dismissal list until just before the 2006 midterm elections, after Sampson "heard complaints from Karl Rove" that Iglesias had not been aggressive enough in pursuing cases of voter fraud. "Previously, Rove had not been tied so directly to the removal of the prosecutors."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- who pushed for Guantanamo's closure -- is continuing to press "others in the Bush administration to move war crimes trials of suspected terrorists from the Gitmo detention center to courts inside the U.S. because the military tribunals may appear tainted in the eye of the international community."

Peter Wehner, the White House Director of Strategic Initiatives, will be the latest loyal Bushie to depart. "I've been here six years, and there was just the sense that it was time to go. We've been through a lot," Wehner said. "Other officials have left the legislative affairs, domestic policy, homeland security, staff secretary, public liaison, speechwriting and first lady's offices."

In a letter addressed to Karl Rove, the House Government and Oversight Committee demanded to know who prepared the presentation delivered to General Service Administration employees and whether Rove or his aide Scott Jennings "consulted with anyone about whether it might be in violation of the Hatch Act. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) "also asked whether Rove or any members of his staff have given the same or similar PowerPoint presentations to political appointees at other government agencies."

President Bush, "who has alienated many Republicans on Capitol Hill, invited the entire House GOP caucus to the White House for the first time in his presidency." At one point in the meeting, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) turned to his colleagues to ask if they would stay with Bush, and they gave him a standing ovation.

And finally: President George H.W. Bush is a Blackberry addict. Yesterday he told an audience that when he and Barabara "attend Houston Astros games and sit behind home plate, he e-mails to friends from around the country who see him on TV. 'I e-mail back and tell them, "Okay, I'm going to wave to you after the next strike." And so it's a fun thing and I wave,' he said."

Wrap...