Schumer, Feinstein to Support Mukasey: David Addington Smiles

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Why did Dems take control of the Senate anyway? As I predicted below, Schumer did not prove people like me wrong and has decided, along with Senator Dianne Feinstein, to vote in favor of Michael Mukasey’s confirmation as Attorney General.

Mapping Solutions with Dan Rothem

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(Photo Credit: Sam Sherraden) From Steve Clemons: This is the first guest post from my new deputy director here at the American Strategy Program, Patrick Doherty. Patrick spent more than a decade working at the intersection of conflict and development in the Middle East, Africa, Balkans and Caucasus.

The Carbon Tax and a Bloomberg Foreign Policy

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It’s amazing that what passes for political courage in national politics seems commonsense at the municipal level. New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg told the U.S. Conference of Mayors: Last spring, as part of our PlaNYC initiative, we proposed a system of congestion pricing based on successful programs in London, Stockholm and Singapore.

Benchmarking Schumer on John Bolton and Mukasey/Addington

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I was for confirming Judge Michael Mukasey as Attorney General before his stumbles and somersaults over defining what is and is not torture. The fact is that there are people in the administration — some still serving and some recently departed — who can answer the question on water-boarding far more directly than Mukasey did….

Private Note to Bush from Hagel Calls For Direct, Unconditional, Comprehensive Talks with Iran

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I have just secured a private letter — not yet publicly released — from Senator Chuck Hagel to President Bush and copied to Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, and Stephen Hadley. I should add that I did not receive this letter from Senator Hagel but from other sources.

Frustration on the Administration’s “Third Option” Team

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(Senator Chuck Hagel, Steve Clemons, and International Peace Academy Chair Rita Hauser) Yesterday evening, I helped organize a private salon dinner with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE). I’ll be posting more on the event later today — along with some other interesting news.