... how carefully is a clerk in a convenience store going to check a customer's ID? Carefully enough to detect a good counterfeit that a serious criminal would probably have?

If not, then this is just another law that further encroaches on our liberties without producing the advertised benefit.

Bates did say in his ruling, however, that Miers and Bolten could assert executive privilege regarding specific questions or documents; he only barred a blanket assertion of immunity

OK, so how long will it take to get to the bottom of anything when each answer is obtained only after a multi-year detour through the courts?

OK, but so what? The question at hand is whether or not we want leases for new oil exploitation being written right now by the most oil-industry-friendly administration in history. The only way industry profits figure into this is by showing the industry isn't in any distress that would justify sweetheart deals.

... that the American people had the sense to throw every congressional incumbent out of office. That's the only thing that would get their attention.

Pumping money into the U.S. economy is like pouring water into a leaky bucket. The huge U.S. trade deficit guarantees that all the extra money will disappear overseas very quickly.

Now there's a new Great Game in town -- with China and India the players who appear to hold the cards.

Of course they hold the cards. The U.S. has been giving them its own cards.

It might be the only thing he needs to win this election.

... that they can't win either if their opponents play the same strategy. My guess is that PUMA is just another one of Karl Rove's ideas.

Anyways, with the increased fees, water companies will be able to get rid of the damn lead pipes to begin with ...

I wish. Alas, with American management at the helm, the only infrastructure that is likely to be improved are the billing and executive compensation systems.

2) The best thing Obama could do for the economy is stop threatening a big, permanent hike in personal income taxes.

I call bullshit. Bush's tax cuts saved me a few thousand dollars over the years, but the value of my savings has declined by almost $200,000 because of the effect the tax cuts have had on the value of the dollar.

If you call that a good deal, then I call you an idiot.

On the other hand, I have basis for calling you both illiterate (you didn't read my post) and an idiot (for losing $200k and blaming it on something other than your own incompetence).

First of all, I didn't outright call you an idiot. I merely said that if you think a rather lopsided trade of a few thousand in tax savings for a much larger loss in savings value was a good deal, then I would call you an idiot.

Secondly, I didn't lose any money. I still have the full amount of my savings, but it's worth a lot less now because my government has destroyed the value of the dollar.

Certainly, he can turn states evidence, show that he didn't act alone follow this all the way back up the chain of command, but of course, I was only following orders isn't exactly a fair excuse.

Fat chance. Tenet has a nice cushy job in the defense industry now, so why would he derail his own gravy train? The fact that Bush let him stay on as CIA head after being appointed by Clinton suggests that he isn't the kind of person who would put his country before his own personal interests.

Bushit has taken more time off than any preznit, ever, having overtaken Ray-gun.

Be thankful. If Bush had spent that time working, we'd probably all be taking mandatory Chinese lessons by now.

... from the Bush regime for distracting voters from the stuff that really matters.

...he may well have have skewed the whole damned nomination process - in Obama's favor. That much is really, really rotten.

Of course the outcome could have been different if the circumstances had been different, but that is obvious. I doubt your suggestion that this was deliberate because I don't think our politicians are sufficiently competent at machiavellian games to produce such a subtle result. Voters are too unpredictable to allow such finely-tuned planning.

If Dodd had done better, he might have pulled enough votes from Obama to let Hillary claim the nomination. How would you regard arguments that Dodd had conspired with Hillary if this had happened?

For that matter, how do you know that Edwards didn't improve Hillary's position by drawing votes away from Obama?

I'm so disappointed that we don't have Edwards locked in as the nominee, or the Vice Presidential nominee, now. As I wrote a year and a half ago, Edwards is the guy that I personally wanted to hammer, above all.

Your fantasy never really had a chance. Edwards could have just ditched his ailing wife and married his mistress, and then you'd have had the problem of criticizing him for doing exactly what McCain did.

Perhaps the ad is intended to placate GM stockholders, who are probably pretty annoyed right now.

Bush and the Republicans have made such a horrid mess of this country that I doubt anyone could survive the next presidential term. The mess we have now is just the beginning of the consequences of many years of bad policy. The really serious shit will hit the fan during the next president's term.

And why not? He's done more damage to this country than any of our enemies has ever managed, and we're going to reward him with a generous pension that's a significant multiple of most people's peak earnings and secret service protection for the rest of his life.