The Fletcher scandal

We have yet to see the worst of this. There is now an ethics board commissioner who is involved. This will get messy.

Backlash to Dean's comments. I may be a Democrat but I will call bull as I see it.

"You don't criticize the electorate here," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., speaking on CNN's "Inside Politics." "You criticize, obviously, the administration."[...]

Dean, whose 2004 presidential candidacy sank amid a series of intemperate comments, said he would continue his outspoken ways after winning the Democratic Party chairmanship earlier this year.

He's kept his word.

On Jan. 29, during the chairmanship campaign: "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for."

On Feb. 11, to members of the Congressional Black Caucus: "Do you think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

Last week, commenting on voters who had to wait in long lines: "Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that, because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."

While Dean said that last comment applied only to Republican leaders, it drew rebukes from fellow Democrats, including Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. Appearing Wednesday on Don Imus' radio show, Biden seemed of two minds about the Dean style.

"It's probably good that there's a guy out there that's this kind of lightning rod, making the point in the extreme," Biden said, though he later added: "I think the rhetoric is counterproductive."[...]

That last allegation drew a sharp response from Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who has led recent efforts to tighten border enforcement.

"In recent days," Sensenbrenner wrote, "your delusional outbursts have forced senior members of your own party to distance themselves from your comments."

Either distance themselves or have Howard Dean's speechwriters get speechwriters. I'm embarrassed to see such rhetoric coming from the elected chairman.

Unlike a few years ago, Clinton stopped short of endorsing Evan Bayh.

Clinton also spoke briefly with reporters, and among other things, said that Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh would make a great president.

More leaders distancing themselves from Dean...

But the Christian comment has the potential of repelling millions of voters, and it had many Democrats running for cover. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters Wednesday, "I don't think the statement [Dean] made was a helpful statement" and attributed it to "the exuberance" of being in the job.
Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, one of Dean's 2004 Democratic primary opponents, said the comment was "way over the top" and said he will ask Dean to explain himself during a previously scheduled meeting with Senate Democrats today. "I'm sure I won't be the only one," Lieberman said.

Joe, you were not the only one.

Bayh has plans for 2008? The Indy Star seems to think so. Plus, he is working to raise his profile.

The Hartford Advocate:

George W. Bush is facing his Nixon Moment. Indeed, the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat this past week was a national wake-up call. It was a reminder of just how far "investigative journalism" has fallen in this nation, where the best of that formerly celebrated breed are working at cartoon magazines (Sy Hersh at the New Yorker), as an exile in England (Greg Palast), as a satirist (Jon Stewart and The Daily Show) or wielding a camera (Michael Moore).

The fall, though sadly, cannot come sooner.

Natalie's schedule for upcoming films.

But before her departure, Portman revealed that it won't be long before her tresses are back: "I really like it, but I'm simultaneously aware that it takes a really long time to grow back, so the sooner, the better!"

I think I'll end it on that note.