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- According to ABC News, Patrick Leahy has signaled that if he can't get the votes for a bipartisan truth commission to investigate the illegalities of the Bush administration, he'll go about the inquiry using the normal hearing process. President Obama has indicated that he's only interested in an investigation if it's done in a bipartisan fashion, but I think there might be a bit of an unconscious good-cop, bad-cop routine going on here. After all, Obama could have avoided all of this by stonewalling the release of the torture memos, but he did release them, and surely he knew what the result would be. I'd wager Obama wants to stay above the fray with his "look forward," post-partisan rhetoric while tacitly letting congressional Dems do the dirty work.
- The DNC has settled on a political strategy of making Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich the public face of the GOP, and really, why wouldn't they? All three are ubiquitous figures on the talking-heads circuit, all three are polarizing figures loathed by the public, and each helps the GOP look more ridiculous by the day. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the DNC thinks this strategy will win them more votes (unlikely) or give them a fundraising boom (very likely).
- Speaking of rallying the base, Jonathan Martin wonders why conservative outrage over every single thing Barack Obama has done since taking office hasn't translated into wider public discontent with the administration. Martin offers some possible explanations that each seem plausible enough but misses the bigger picture: Americans aren't outraged with Obama because he hasn't done anything outrageous. The vast majority of the public sees Obama for what he is: the banality of good (for the most part) presidential leadership.
- Seems Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid met last night to discuss creating a congressional panel charged with investigating the causes of Wall Street's meltdown last Fall, similar to the Pecora Commission established to investigate the market crash of 1929. One hopes such a panel would reach Simon Johnson's conclusions about the financier oligarchy, but let's not be too optimistic about the same legislative body that helped establish that oligarchy in the first place.
- Steve Benen is right to point out that this statement from Charles Schumer about using the budget reconciliation process to pass health-care reform isn't just an off-the-cuff remark -- it's an ultimatum to Senate Republicans.
- Remainders: Hillary Clinton smacks down Mike Pence's absurd criticism that U.S. leaders can't ever meet with our enemies; John Yoo is a moral monster; Mike Tomasky dissects a viral right-wing lie; a Bushie practically hopes for another terrorist attack on U.S. soil to validate his degenerate views on releasing the torture memos; and Bill Kristol wins a quarter-million dollar prize for "outstanding achievements in a wide range of activities affecting the development of public policy from national and international perspectives." Seriously.
--Mori Dinauer