You want to really get this president's attention? Conduct a poll comparing him to his father! Ask folks which Bush they prefer - 41 or 43. Bush senior will win hands-down, and it'll make junior crazy.

Lazear says, "The other thing I would say is that if we look at the behavior rather than the responses to polls, the behavior is consistent with a strong economy. We see consumption being high. In fact, the saving rate is negative right now."

Excuuuuuse me? Savings are negative because people are having to spend their savings to keep afloat! Savings at a historical per capita low, folks' debt levels at record highs. THIS is something to be pleased about?!?

I want some of whatever these guys are smoking! It would at least dull the pain when the bills come in and I'm staring at my checkbook trying to figure out what tradeoffs to make.

Nice to see his language skills continue at the same level as when he had that face-to-face with Leahy last year. But I guess that's all part of his being a "regular guy."

Nothing sent electronically is ever lost, unless there's a specific, concentrated effort to erase - not delete - it. And if there is that kind of effort, it leaves evidence of its own behind.

Good digital forensics experts, of whom the government has hundreds (and they're not political appointees), can reconstruct the messages, as long as they have access to the PCs, servers, PDAs, cellphones, etc.

I wonder if the House Judiciary Committee will send a new subpoena demanding the hardware from the RNC, the White House and DOJ, in order to make sure the evidence is preserved...

I scrolled through all the comments to your post and didn't see this point addressed: A large part of the fear and loathing with which the MSM views bloggers arises from the dire financial circumstances of most forms of print journalism today. Newspapers and magazines are losing readers like crazy; as circulations drop, advertisers look elsewhere (i.e., the Internet) for vehicles to carry their messages, which means there's less money available to advertise in print publications, and the media companies are forced to lay off not just reporters, but folks from all the other functions (printers, designers, account managers, sales people, etc.).

The Internet is, by definition, a "disruptive technology." And nowhere is it more apparent than in the decline of traditional media channels. Rather than fret over the slings and arrows flung at bloggers, we should recognize them for what they are - the flailings of an industry drowning in its own red ink.

Not to dash cold water on anyone's expectations of nefarious behavior by the administration or DOD, but it is established practice that the GAO drafts its report and gives it to the agency being examined for input. GAO is not required to take that input and substitute it; it may do that if the subject agency makes a strong case for why GAO misinterpreted circumstances, or it may incorporate some of the agency's input and disagree with other parts, or it may dismiss all the agency's defensive arguments altogether. Because this report has already been leaked in draft form, GAO is likely to stick to its guns more strenuously and DOD won't get a whole lot of changes pushed through (IMHO).

The bad news first: We are the society which will have to suffer under this insecure man's lash as he seeks payback for all the slights, real and imagined, he's suffered all his life. And the ridicule - I don't think that's too strong a word - which which his interpretation of events is being met will exacerbate the problem throughout his lifetime appointment. (Shudder!)

The good news? No matter what he thinks he's accomplished by writing this "autobiography," all he's really done is provide ample materials for serious historians and biographers to deconstruct his psyche and show him for the incredibly judgmental, narrow, egocentric and ultimately weak person he is.

"I am not willing to talk about that at this point."

Those were Edwards' exact words, from your earlier post. I didn't interpret them as a refusal to say he'd support the Democratic nominee if it was someone other than himself. I thought he was saying just what he has now re-said, that talking about supporting someone else sounds defeatist and he's not willing to concede that someone else is going to win.

I'm beginning to feel like reporters are trying to engineer controversy where none exists. Give it up already - we'll have plenty of political conflict in the campaign season ahead.