When nominations by the President make sense, they typically fly through without a hitch. Just check out the line-up that Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will discuss on Friday, July 22nd: Ms. Karen P. Hughes To be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, with the Rank of Ambassador The Honorable Josette S….

My email backlog is 10,732 — but I am finally whittling it down.

Political cartoons are hit-and-miss with me, but this one on the scrubbed Bolton launch gave me a chuckle. Note to Fred Fleitz: What do you know on Valerie Plame? Who did you give this information to? Call me. — Steve Clemons (ed.

There are a lot of theories brewing as to who promulgated the Plame outing inside the White House, and the latest thought-provoking piece is here. I recommend that you read the entire article, not necessarily to endorse or own all of its conclusions.

The press corps keeps reminding the White House that is has a Bolton problem on its hands. Scott McClellan, when asked about where the White House stood on Bolton gave the routine response of Bush still wanting an up-or-down vote.

Officials in the White House, the State Department and in the Senate close to the Senate-White House fight over Bolton’s nomination to serve as U.S.

TWN is hearing two divergent lines on Bolton. The first is that Bolton wants and will get a recess appointment in August. They argue that the legislative fight to get him confirmed is over.

President Bush, when he was running against Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race, said that he would run his office honorably, with humility. He said that he was going to be “straight” with the American people — and wouldn’t parse words and meanings like his predecessor was known to do.

There is a lot of turmoil around Washington on the Bolton recess appointment story that the Washington Post ran today.

The White House rethought its plan to appoint John Bolton as U.S.