Simmer Down Madam Coulter

Well, Ann Coulter is "ticked off" again (not that that's news), but this time she's ticked off at POTUS. She can't understand why George Bush would nominate John Roberts to the Supreme Court bench. Apparently, Roberts isn't conservative enough for her. We're not sure want counts as "conservative enough" in Coulter's world, but it's safe to assume that anything short of Yosemite Sam doesn't make the cut. While most mainstream conservatives are praising the Roberts nomination, Coulter is fighting hard from the extreme right calling Roberts the next David Souter (heaven forbid). Well, as always, we'll take Coulter's words with several tablespoons of salt. Consider this gem from her website today regarding NARAL's plan to fight this nomination:

"The only way a supreme court nominee could win the approval of NARAL and Planned Parenthood would be to actually perform an abortion during his confirmation hearing, live, on camera, and preferably a partial birth one." Read more

Good one Ann. Nice to see you're helping to raise the level of discourse in this country. Later in her column she takes another jab at Roberts:

"Finally, lets ponder the fact that Roberts has gone through 50 years on this planet without ever saying anything controversial. That’s just unnatural."

Is it really? Perhaps it's equally unnatural to go through 50 years on this planet without ever saying anything that is SANE. We'll leave it at that and let the Senate decide on the fate of Roberts.

Ari, Where Art Thou?

If you're going to throw someone under the train, why not throw former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer! That's the rumor around Washington as Fleischer's name is surfacing more and more in the Karl Rove leak case. Wonkette.com and Talkleft.com have some good updates on the role Ari may have had in the leak. One possibility is that Ari is Judy Miller's source. A far more declicious possibility is that Fitzgerald is building an even stronger case against Fleischer that will include perjury. Yummy.

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The SCOTUS info that is coming out will be welcome news for Karl Rove as the press will finally have something else to obsess about for a couple of days. Looks like Edith Clement will be the next nominee for SCOTUS....oops. Looks like Bush fooled the Beltway crowd this time. For a quick look at the politcal upside/downside of Clement check out Redstate.org. This site has some predictions regarding her confirmation and the political fight that may begin tonight at 9:01. (Note: this is the same site that broke the "Renquist to Retire" story). We now know the nominee is John Roberts.

Bush as Standup Comedian?

I don't think President Bush intended his answer to be funny, but the press corps sure thought it was. Get a load of this exchange during a joint press conference with the Indian Prime Minister.

Q: Mr. President, you said you don't want to talk about an ongoing investigation, so I'd like to ask you, regardless of whether a crime was committed, do you still intend to fire anyone found to be involved in the CIA leak case? And are you displeased that Karl Rove told a reporter that Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife worked for the Agency on WMD issues?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We have a serious ongoing investigation here. (Laughter.)

I couldn't see Indian Prime Minister Singh's face, but I'll bet he was doing his best to supress a little smile. So much for R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Read the official White House transcript for yourself if you don't believe me.

Sporting History

Not a bad weekend if you are into sports -- especially if you are into historic moments in sports.

At the Tour de France there was a big win by a rider from team Discovery Channel and it wasn't Lance Armstrong.

At the British OpenTiger captured his second Open Champtionship making him only the second player in history to win a career slam twice!

And on Friday night Rafael Palmeiro became only the fourth major league player in history to have 500 home runts and 3000 hits. (Come on, you should be able to name the other three).

Karl Rove and Leakgate

I suspect the average American isn't paying much attention to Karl Rove -CIA leak story. Oh, sure, the lefties are salivating with every new revelation and the far right nutties are getting themselves into a frenzy and planning their counter attack on Wilson and his buddies. But the Soccer Moms and Nascar dads (and Starbuck's kids) of the world don't know Karl Rove from Karl's Jr. But on Capitol Hill this is topic A. The Rove story has become an obsession. You might as well shut down the federal government until this mess gets cleaned up.

Here's the take from Just Inside the Beltway.

We have a President and an Administration that are being less than forthcoming about an issue that could get them into some serious trouble. Scott McClellan looks like a deer in headlights in front of that podium as he does his best to not say something that might put him in jail. Bush isn't talking about it. Rove and Mehlman are coordinating a counter attach against Wilson. And has anyone seen Cheney lately?

Look, this is a classic Washington mini-scandal. You know, the kind that this city needs every once in while so that we can actualy have an interest in government. It may or may not go away and it may or may not lead to so serious problems for this Administration. But for now it's the juicy topic that is on everyone's mind and that's not going to change until there is some resolution.

Scandals are nothing new in Washington. The difference is that George Bush has prided himself on being a guy who is honest. Whether or not you agree with his decision, the American people are supposed to believe that he is telling the truth. Unfortunately for Bush, that reputation has taken some hits in recent months. His inability to explain Rove's involvement in the leak (and his promise to fire anyone involved) is only going to lead to more questions. You better reign this in Georgie-boy.

So what should we make of this story right now. Is it a case of a Presidential advisor simply doing his best to help a new publication forego printing an inacurate story. Or is this an example of a dishonest Adminsitration trying to save their hide with the hope that there is no smoking gun out there?

Well, perhaps that depends on what your definition of "is" is!

Just Inside the Beltway

What does it mean to be Just Inside the Beltway? In DC the phrase is often uttered in the context of one's home or office. "Just" inside the Beltway implies a location that is within the Capital Beltway but not in downtown Washington. In fact, if often means not in Washington at all, but rather in the Maryland or Virginia suburbs. As a matter of fact, my own house is just inside the Beltway.

In government "inside the Beltway" is synonomous with "in the loop." But I don't want to be in the loop. The loop is filled with self-congratulatory wonks with a larger than reality sense of self-worth. The loop is also cluttered with agendas, party affiliations, partisan rhetoric, and downright dishonesty. There needs to be a place for those of us who care about what is going on in Washington but don't want to get our information from scripts and talking points. We don't necessarily want to be Inside the Beltway but we don't want to like the millions of others who ignore Washington -- those "Outside" the Beltway.

Now there is a place.

Just Inside the Beltway