Oversight ... is reverberating through Congress as a Democratic battle cry.

The imperative to investigate financial misdeeds extends beyond the military. Congressional aides said that the House government reform committee under Henry Waxman might also investigate spending related to domestic security and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Well, now you see it, although this is only an unnamed aide, so I wouldn't put too much stock in it.

"... individuals and companies ... must be held accountable,” said Nancy Pelosi.

And the shoe is on the other foot.

But it probably won't go too deep, because

for all the pledges of rigorous oversight, Democrats are moving warily, fearful of a misstep, mainly in national security areas, that could return them to the sidelines as a minority party.

That may explain the focus on less volatile issues like waste and fraudulent spending and why few Democrats are proposing inquiries on hot-button issues, like the underlying rationale for the war in Iraq or the underpinning for the administration’s counterterrorism policies.

Democrats Aim to Save Inquiry on Work in Iraq

Thirty years after the birth of the conservative movement, some stalwarts worry the shark may be heading into shallow waters.

Notwithstanding this "water" metaphor ... not a drop about Katrina.

Mr. Mehlman said, “If a shark doesn’t keep moving he dies.”

"We have taken risks and we have changed," Broccoli told Reuters in New York recently.
"If you don't change you die."

Grover Norquist compared Tuesday’s election to the story of the princess and the pea, with the pea being liberal governance.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look.
...
In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

"The problem is we’re identified with it. If the wagon goes off the cliff, you’re likely to go with it."

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

“It will perhaps take ... something electric ... [a] terrible shock to a lot of people, and then I think conservative reservoirs of thought would be consulted.”

Apparently the big K was insufficiently shocking.

For Conservatives, It’s Back to Basics

With all this talk of a "salvation government", perhaps it's just about time for a come to Jesus meeting. (I especially liked the idea of a CTJM about "programmers not writing clean code.")

Let the coup plotting begin?

So plainly disaffected have the Americans become with Mr. Maliki that he used a telephone call with Mr. Bush last month to ask if the White House planned to unseat him ... after picking up rumors in the Green Zone government compound that American officials were feeling out Iraqi politicians on the possibility of replacing the Maliki administration with a “national salvation government” to be headed by an unnamed “Shiite strongman.”

You know, like Mushy:

The best we can hope for ... in the near term is a rational dictator like Pervez Musharraf.

These rumors have been circulating for months now ...

Iraqi Official Warns Against Coup Attempt

Hadi al-Amiri, a member of parliament from Iraq's most powerful political party, said in a speech in the holy city of Najaf that "some tongues" were talking about toppling Maliki's Shiite-led government and replacing it with a "national salvation government, which we call a military coup government." He did not detail the allegation.

The End of Maliki? Will a Coup Unravel Iraq?

And so, now there are rumors all over the place, in Washington, in Baghdad, in other places, that there are forces trying to come up with a non-democratic solution, some sort of coup d'etat, some sort of military takeover that would oust the elected government. It could be done under a constitutional fig leaf, let's say, if Maliki were to resign in favor of some junta of national salvation. It could be done in the middle of the night by some enterprising colonel or general, where the United States would look the other way.

I don’t think any of this could happen without American support, but I do know that there are a number of people inside the Baker commission, within the U.S. government, in the CIA and elsewhere, who are thinking about this. And just the other day, I spoke to Salah al-Mukhtar, who is a Baathist and former Iraqi official, who said that there are rumors all over Jordan that the CIA has been going around looking -- the military going around looking for a general or two, who could take over in the event of a coup d'etat in Baghdad.

Forward together?

A senior Baathist official who attended a conference of clans, parties and militia held recently in Amman says that participants in the conference gave their demands to US authorities in Iraq. The demands include the formation of a "national salvation government" and the disarming of all militia. The Baathist official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Americans promised to form such a "salvation government" sometime after mid-October.

Could a New Strongman Help?

Here is an attempt to portray various philosophical and political factions under the Republicans' big tent ...

Here is an attempt to portray the major coalitions and blocs among Democrats ... Rather than the donkey, perhaps the cat, notoriously resistant to herding, would make a better symbol.

Those enamored by the pre-9/11 Washington Post analysis may appreciate this update.

A Guide to the Political Herds

Oh, those Tennesseans!

“Canada can take care of North Korea,” a grandfatherly farmer says. “They’re not busy.” And a sleazy looking fellow scoffs: “So he took money from porn movie producers. Who hasn’t?”

Scary, Like Funny Scary

We The Creators of this site, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish Fantasy Congress for the United States of America.

In this game, we give you the power to draft and manage a team of members from the U.S. Congress. Enjoy our gift to you, o great nation: the power to play politics!™

NYT coverage here.

For those who have no idea how many yards Peyton Manning threw for on Sunday but can cite every legislative amendment proposed by Senator Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, the game could be an alternative to the prevailing fantasy sports culture.

Fantasy Congress - Where People Play Politics!

Do you know anybody who voted for Kerry in 2004 and wishes he hadn’t?

...

Many of the most incompetent political hacks in any administration are below the radar of confirmation processes, and besides, someone has to fill the jobs that empty out late in an administration when the first-round draft picks head back to the private sector.

The Mere Midterms

"Tension is rising very dramatically. There is the will to kill."

This is not Baghdad. This is the city of lights.

In an exercise that aims to celebrate the identity of the job applicant, another organization, A.P.C., has started an alternative project — the videotaped résumé — that trains job seekers how to sell themselves on camera.

Follow through!

Anger Festering in Areas Scarred in Riots

Taxpayers may now face patent infringement suits if they use a tax strategy someone else thought of first.

Huh?

You Can’t Use That Tax Idea. It’s Patented.

The traditional media has been slow to come to grips with the American public's distrust and dislike of President Bush -- sentiments clearly reflected in opinion polls dating back well over a year.

Almost alone among the network newscasters, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is channeling that sensibility. Channeling it -- and amplifying it.

In fact, the increasingly shrill Olbermann is fast becoming the Howard Beale of the anti-Bush era: He's mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore.

His newscast-ending "special comment" yesterday was a doozy. Here's the text ; here's the video.

"Increasingly shrill" is an apt characterization, but he's worth having around.

Where is that show, "I'm gonna kick your ass", anyway? I bet Keith would be great on that.

Olbermann's Special Comments