Lame Duck Bush?

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In Washington last week, there was rumbling that President Bush might be turning into a "lame duck." Republican Senate leaders were forced to compromise on the so-called "nuclear option." Then, the Republican House passed an expansion of stem-cell research, despite the threat of a veto. Though neither vote was a clear defeat for Bush, taken together, the Philadelphia Inquirer called them "a reminder that [the second-term President] is racing against time" with his "ambitious agenda." At his news conference today, Bush denied that he is losing momentum. We hear more from journalists and scholars who cover the White House; then, two viewpoints on Amnesty International's 2005 human rights report that faults America's POW camps in the war on terror for becoming the "gulag of our times" and the scenes of "atrocious" human rights violations that diminish the moral authority of the US. Making News: Iraq Insurgency in "Last Throes" In the few weeks since Iraq's new government was formed, 60 Americans and 760 Iraqis have been killed by insurgents. At a news conference today, Mr. Bush responded to a query about the new regime by saying that insurgents fear democracy because it counters there vision. Newsweek's Babak Dehghanpisheh has more on today's press conference and an update on the death a kidnapped Iraqi provincial leader. Reporter's Notebook: Former FBI Official Claims He Was "Deep Throat" In Santa Rosa, California the family of Mark Felt says that he was the source known as "Deep Throat." The family says that makes the 91 year-old a great American hero. The response comes in the aftermath of a report in the current issue of Vanity Fair that the retired FBI agent was, indeed, the famed anonymous figure of Watergate fame. Satirist Harry Shearer, a self-described "amateur Nixonologist," considers the revelation.
In Washington last week, there was rumbling that President Bush might be turning into a "lame duck." Republican Senate leaders were forced to compromise on the so-called "nuclear option." Then, the Republican House passed an expansion of stem-cell research, despite the threat of a veto. Though neither vote was a clear defeat for Bush, taken together, the Philadelphia Inquirer called them "a reminder that [the second-term President] is racing against time" with his "ambitious agenda." At his news conference today, Bush denied that he is losing momentum. We hear more from journalists and scholars who cover the White House; then, two viewpoints on Amnesty International's 2005 human rights report that faults America's POW camps in the war on terror for becoming the "gulag of our times" and the scenes of "atrocious" human rights violations that diminish the moral authority of the US.
  • Making News: Iraq Insurgency in "Last Throes"
    In the few weeks since Iraq's new government was formed, 60 Americans and 760 Iraqis have been killed by insurgents. At a news conference today, Mr. Bush responded to a query about the new regime by saying that insurgents fear democracy because it counters there vision. Newsweek's Babak Dehghanpisheh has more on today's press conference and an update on the death a kidnapped Iraqi provincial leader.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Former FBI Official Claims He Was "Deep Throat"
    In Santa Rosa, California the family of Mark Felt says that he was the source known as "Deep Throat." The family says that makes the 91 year-old a great American hero. The response comes in the aftermath of a report in the current issue of Vanity Fair that the retired FBI agent was, indeed, the famed anonymous figure of Watergate fame. Satirist Harry Shearer, a self-described "amateur Nixonologist," considers the revelation.

President Bush's press conference

VP Dick Cheney about Iraqi insurgency on Larry King Live

Washington Post article on Bush political capital being spent

Recent TtP on Stem Cell Showdown

Recent TtP on President Bush, Social Security reform

Amnesty International 2005 Report

Tom Friedman's New York Times article on Guant-namo

Vanity Fair article on Deep Throat

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's book, All the President's Men

Alan Pakula's movie, All the President's Men

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney