But the hard-to-explain memo today is making headlines
far and wide, after more than a month during which the American press largely kept its silence on the issue.
It remains unclear how big of a blowup the memo
represents for the White House. Bush partisans consider it either old news, or flatly wrong, or both.
And the American press still demonstrates no intention
of aggressively following it up.
But even if the memo doesn't detonate, there are
suddenly several other potential scandals sputtering away in the press today to cause the White House worry.
· The New York Times is reporting
that a White House official with ties to the oil industry repeatedly edited government climate reports to play down global
warming issues.
· The Guardian reports on new State
Department documents suggesting that Bush's decision not to sign the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure
from ExxonMobil.
· The Texas Observer and the Associated Press
are reporting that two Indian tribes working with Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist now under criminal and congressional investigation,
paid $25,000 each to a conservative tax-exempt group to underwrite an event that got tribal leaders a private meeting with
President Bush.
· And The Washington Post reports
that senators are asking for more information about the involvement of White House officials in pushing for a $30 billion
air-tanker deal now considered the most significant military contracting abuses in several decades.
All this comes as a new Washington Post/ABC News
poll shows a slew of sinking numbers for Bush, including a dramatic loss of support on his ace-in-the-hole issue, the war
on terror. And the public has apparently concluded that the war in Iraq was not worth it and has not made the United States
safer.
So it's perhaps no coincidence that Bush's patience
with the press appeared to run out yesterday in the East Room.
Tradition necessitated a joint press availability
with the visiting prime minister, but Bush nevertheless abruptly invoked the two-question-from-each-side rule that normally
only applies to Oval Office photo ops.
And Bush was evidently in such a hurry to get out
of there that he hastily called the conference to a close before Blair could respond to the final question.
The Downing Street Memo
Elisabeth Bumiller writes in the New York Times: "President Bush and Prime
Minister Tony Blair of Britain presented a united front on Tuesday against a recently disclosed British government memorandum
that said in July 2002 that American intelligence was being 'fixed' around the policy of removing Saddam Hussein in Iraq."
Dana Milbank brings everyone up to speed on the issue in The Washington
Post.
"The issue caused quite a fuss in Britain when
the Times of London published the memo last month on the eve of Blair's reelection. Here at home, the memo provoked outrage
from liberals but did not become a major news event -- until yesterday. . . .
"Blair, as he has done on a full range of issues over
the past four years, leaped to Bush's defense. Well, I can respond to that very easily,' he said, before Bush could open his
mouth. 'No, the facts were not being fixed, in any shape or form at all.'
"Bush started out by suggesting that the memo wasn't
credible because British media had 'dropped it out in the middle of his [Blair's] race.' Skipping any discussion of the intelligence,
Bush said he had not settled on war from the start. 'There's nothing farther from the truth,' he asserted. 'My conversations
with the prime minister was, how can we do this peacefully?' "
The question about the memo came from Reuters White House
correspondent Steve Holland. As I noted yesterday , any reporter asking about the memo was eligible for a $1,000
reward being offered by a group of liberal Web activists .
But Milbank writes: "Holland, a consummate professional,
wasn't trying to satisfy the wing nuts -- 'good grief,' he said when told later about the prize money -- and won't be collecting.
But his query ended a slightly strange episode in the American media in which the potentially explosive report out of London
had become a seldom acknowledged elephant in the room."
Mark Memmott , writing in USA Today, acknowledges the widespread reticence
among the media -- including his own newspaper -- to cover the story until now.
"The memo is said by some of the president's sharpest
critics, such as Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, to be strong evidence that Bush decided to go to war and then looked
for evidence to support his decision. . . .
"USA TODAY chose not to publish anything about
the memo before today for several reasons, says Jim Cox, the newspaper's senior assignment editor for foreign news. 'We could
not obtain the memo or a copy of it from a reliable source,' Cox says. 'There was no explicit confirmation of its authenticity
from (Blair's office). And it was disclosed four days before the British elections, raising concerns about the timing.' "
My washingtonpost.com colleague Jefferson Morley shared
his thoughts about the lack of coverage in his Live Online yesterday.
Climate Changes I
Andrew C. Revkin writes in the New York Times: "A White House official who
once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways
that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents."
Reminds me quite a bit of this 2003 story by Revkin and Katharine Q. Seelye .
Climate Changes II
John Vidal writes in the Guardian: "President's George Bush's decision
not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world's
most powerful oil company, and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian. . . .
"In briefing papers given before meetings to the
US under-secretary of state, Paula Dobriansky, between 2001 and 2004, the administration is found thanking Exxon executives
for the company's 'active involvement' in helping to determine climate change policy, and also seeking its advice on what
climate change policies the company might find acceptable. . . .
"Until now Exxon has publicly maintained that it had
no involvement in the US government's rejection of Kyoto. But the documents, obtained by Greenpeace under US freedom of information
legislation, suggest this is not the case.
" 'Potus [president of the United States] rejected Kyoto
in part based on input from you [the Global Climate Coalition],' says one briefing note before Ms Dobriansky's meeting with
the GCC, the main anti-Kyoto US industry group, which was dominated by Exxon."
An Audience With the President
Lou Dubose writes in the Texas Observer: "Four months after he took
the oath of office in 2001, President George W. Bush was the attraction, and the White House the venue, for a fundraiser organized
by the alleged perpetrator of the largest billing fraud in the history of corporate lobbying."
Or, somewhat less breathlessly, as Suzanne Gamboa writes for the Associated Press: "At the behest of a lobbyist
now under criminal investigation, two Indian tribes paid $25,000 each to a conservative tax-exempt group to underwrite an
event that scored tribal leaders a private meeting with President Bush.
"The arrangement in 2001 between the tribes, lobbyist
Jack Abramoff and the Americans for Tax Reform group, led by Bush supporter Grover Norquist, was confirmed by tribal lawyers
and documents showing the solicitation of money and promise of a meeting. . . .
"Lovelin Poncho, who is stepping down after 20
years as Coushatta tribal chairman, recalled meeting with Bush for about 15 minutes, his attorney said. An itinerary said
the meeting was in the Old Executive Office Building, next to the White House. Poncho recalls Abramoff also attended, said
the lawyer, who spoke on condition he not be named."
Here are some of the related documents .
Elizabeth Drew writes in the New York Review of Books with an overview
of the current state of lobbying: "Abramoff's behavior is symptomatic of the unprecedented corruption -- the intensified buying
and selling of influence over legislation and federal policy -- that has become endemic in Washington under a Republican Congress
and White House. Corruption has always been present in Washington, but in recent years it has become more sophisticated, pervasive,
and blatant than ever."
Boeing and the 45 Deleted References
Mike Allen writes in The Washington Post: "Senators urged the Pentagon's
inspector general yesterday to release more information about the involvement of White House officials and Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld in an aborted $30 billion air-tanker deal that exposed gaping holes in the government's controls on large
purchases. . . .
"Former Air Force secretary James G. Roche said
in a January letter to [Pentagon inspector general, Joseph E.] Schmitz, included in the report, that the tanker talks had
included 'senior White House staff' and President Bush's budget office. . . .
"White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.
has previously been identified as playing a role in the negotiations. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Card
had served 'simply as an honest broker to make sure that all views were represented and to make sure that it was completed
in a timely matter, because it was relating to a national security need that was pressing.'"
Here's the inspector general's report , complete with deletions.
At a particularly contentious press briefing yesterday, McClellan tried to brush off questions about whether
the White House should be more transparent about its role.
One tiny excerpt from the long brawl:
"Q Is that to say that the White House will not
allow those names to be made public?
"MR. McCLELLAN: It's a jurisdictional matter, and
like I said, it was understood. I mean, I think it --
"Q Is that a 'yes' or a 'no,' Scott?
"MR. McCLELLAN: I think it was understood --
"Q How is it a jurisdictional matter, for god's
sake?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- that that information would not
be part of the report. But the Inspector General had access to the information he needed to complete his report."
Poll Watch
Dana Milbank and Claudia Deane write in The Washington Post: "For the first time since
the war in Iraq began, more than half of the American public believes the fight there has not made the United States safer,
according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
"While the focus in Washington has shifted from
the Iraq conflict to Social Security and other domestic matters, the survey found that Americans continue to rank Iraq second
only to the economy in importance -- and that many are losing patience with the enterprise. . . .
"Perhaps most ominous for President Bush, 52 percent
said war in Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States, while 47 percent said it has. It was
the first time a majority of Americans disagreed with the central notion Bush has offered to build support for war: that the
fight there will make Americans safer from terrorists at home."
Here are the complete results .
For the first time, none of Bush's specific approval
ratings were over 50 percent, not even for the war on terror, which has been Bush's ace in the hole -- as high as 92 percent
in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and still at a very healthy 61 percent as recently as January of this year.
And asked if they thought Bush has done more to
unite or divide the country, 43 percent said unite; 55 percent said divide.
Blair's Agenda I
Lest we forget, Blair was in town yesterday to
get Bush to make some concessions on two issues dear to the British leader's heart: Africa and global warming. He largely
struck out.
Jim VandeHei writes in The Washington Post that Bush and Blair "agreed
yesterday to increase financial assistance to developing African nations suffering from famine, AIDS and war. But the two
leaders parted ways over how much money rich nations should provide to Africa and how they should ease global warming."
Paul Koring writes in Toronto's Globe and Mail: "Seeking billions in
debt relief for Africa, newly re-elected British Prime Minister Tony Blair had to settle yesterday for extravagantly wrapped
morsels of food aid and vague promises of more to come from U.S. President George W. Bush. . . .
"Both men gushed about their close relationship,
but a clear and yawning gap remained in their positions over both aid to Africa and global warming. Mr. Blair wants massive
action on both now; Mr. Bush remains unconvinced."
There was what appeared to be one concession on
Bush's part, but it's still unclear how significant that will be.
Caroline Daniel, Ben Hall and Chris Giles write in the Financial Times: "President George W. Bush
yesterday paved the way for an agreement on multilateral debt relief for Africa when in a change of tack he promised 'additional
resources' would be made available to the World Bank. . . .
"Mr Bush's comments about new resources mark a
concession by the US which had previously wanted to cancel the debt without replenishing World Bank funds."
Sarah Left writes in the Guardian that aid agencies "said yesterday's
announcement marked the first time that Mr Bush had conceded that debt cancellation must be financed through additional funds
rather than existing aid budgets, which would cut payments to African countries."
But Steve Holland and Mike Peacock , writing for Reuters, note at least one possible loophole:
"Both leaders said only those countries who stamped out corruption would benefit. Bush said 'highly indebted developing countries
that are on the path to reform should not be burdened by mountains of debt.'
" 'I see we've got a fantastic opportunity, presuming
that the countries in Africa make the right decisions. Nobody wants to give money to a country that's corrupt, where leaders
take money and put it in their pocket,' Bush said."
Blair's Agenda II
On climate change, Blair got no concessions at
all.
Fiona Harvey and Ben Hall writes in the Financial Times: "Mr Bush appeared to suggest
he still had doubts about the scientific evidence behind global warning.
" 'We need to know more about it,' he said. 'It's
a lot easier to solve when you know more about it.' "
Meanwhile, as Miguel Bustillo writes in the Los Angeles Times: "The National Academy
of Sciences and 10 similar organizations from some of the world's most powerful nations released a statement Tuesday calling
for a stronger international response to global warming, arguing there is now more than enough evidence of a changing climate
to justify taking immediate action."
Here's that statement .
Today's Calendar
Bush met this morning with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Also today, he speaks about Social Security before
a meeting of builders and contractors at the Capital Hilton, sits down for an interview with Neil Cavuto of Fox News to be
shown this afternoon, and meets with Republican congressional leaders.
Tonight he is scheduled to watch "Cinderella Man"
at the White House. That has a happy ending, right?
© 2005 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
Source:
Washington Post
Related reports:
The need to wrongfoot Saddam
'USA Today' Defends Lack of Coverage for Downing Street Memo
and on the Enviroment issue of this site:
What on Earth is going on?
America can hide from reality about
global warming no longer — and they're showing that they know it
