Iraq and a Hard Place.

“Bush is moving fast these days. The commander in chief spends all his time waging war on Democrats. He should perhaps pause long enough to explain to those in Congress why he withheld the news about North Korea’s nuclear program from them for 12 days, making sure that the war resolution was safely passed without any distracting revelations.” Post columnist Mary McGrory tries to understand the difference for Dubya between Iraq and North Korea.

The Other Shoe Drops.

Perhaps content that Saddam’s “resurgence” has snuffed out media coverage of Enrongate for the time being, Dubya tries to gut the SEC’s budget increase, making it impossible for the agency to fulfill the requirements of the recently-signed Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Absolutely shameful. And, as per usual, I think we can guess who’s the brains behind these latest shenanigans.

SNL Talk Express.

John McCain gets flak from Drudge and elsewhere for missing a Defense spending vote to prep for Saturday Night Live. Hmm. I think you can go ahead and file this complaint along with the ones about Cornel West being in The Matrix sequels. While it’s true that all the rehearsing in the world isn’t going to make 75% of today’s SNL skits funny, the bill in question passed 93-1. I’m not sure how McCain voting on it would have made much of a difference. And it’s not like this is last week’s Iraq vote, where every Senator should be on record for or against ceding their Constitutional authority to the President. In fact, I think you can argue it’ll make more difference to have a few grotesquely apolitical Americans see “that cool senator” on a late-night show.

Media Cordon.

“Ari has the uncanny ability to suck information out of a room.” The NYT delves into reporters’ issues with Dubya’s White House. As a journalist friend of mine put it, “Ari Fleischer is the first press secretary in American History whose conferences result in a net loss of information.” In sum, the guy’s just not ready for prime time.