University of Virginia Political Scientist Larry Sabato, in his latest edition of his highly-acclaimed and free Crystal Ball enewsletter, offers a memo of advice to President George W. Bush on how he can rebound. And to sum up, it’s this: adapt, change course on several issues (including the war), admit a big error, shake your administration up with some house-cleaning and new blood…and more. Here’s...

Attention President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney: your national polling approval ratings are GREAT — compared to this guy: Gov. Bob Taft’s approval ratings have hit single digits. But Ohio Republicans shouldn’t hit the panic button, a new statewide poll suggests. A Zogby International online survey, conducted a week after the Nov. 8 election and released yesterday, shows just...

….so let’s create one!”

If it’s required to keep corruption on the political radar, some Dems are willing to offer him as a sacrifice.

….and Whoopi Goldberg will tell you what you’re allowed to laugh at. No joke. You can tell what’s going on: Warner Brothers wanted to release these cartoons but feared PC backlash so this way they can release them with a disclaimer lecture, which allows use of its inventory. Couldn’t they have released them with a one or two line advisory liner note instead? Or a short note in the opening...

Especially here.

Visit the Carnival of the Liberated.

It sounds like it’ll happen tomorrow. Read this. SO: Will GOPers who accused Democrats of undercutting troops still insist that announcing a withdrawal timetable way in advance is — as they and administration officials suggested — encouraging the enemy to just hold out and kill as many Americans as possible until the timetable or announced staged withdrawal occurs? Or will the values and priorities...

Seymour Hersh’s latest piece in the New Yorker has stirred lots of controversy (see Michael Sticking’s post below). You can watch Hersh’s interview on NBC’s Today Show via Crooks and Liars here. And, yes, what is most notable, as C&L points out, is that Hersh believes John Murtha’s message was actually bubbling up from within the military itself. Never forget that Murtha enjoys...

Or, all the lies that are fit to spread.

Not sure what’s going on here: Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman plans to announce he will drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon to formally announce his withdrawal from the race. Coleman met with his family members over the Thanksgiving holiday and made the decision… Cross-posted at Julien’s List.

Make sure to read Seymour Hersh’s latest at The New Yorker — on Bush, Murtha, and where the Iraq War is headed. As usual, he cuts through all the White House spin and reveals what’s really going on. I’d pick out a few key passages, but it’s all good. Okay, here’s one: “Current and former military and intelligence officials have told me that the President remains convinced...

While President Bush spins himself silly rewriting history and otherwise avoiding responsibility for his own messes, Prime Minister Blair, who weekly stands before a raucous House of Commons during Question Period, is about to face perhaps his biggest political challenge — and he may not survive.

From The Globe and Mail: The short-lived 38th Parliament met its demise on Monday night, setting the stage for the longest election campaigns in two decades, as the Liberal government was defeated in a no-confidence vote at the hands of all three opposition parties and the country was launched into official election mode. The Liberals lost the vote in the House of Commons 133 to 171, beginning a series of events...

You know, this is probably BS, but it’s interesting nonetheless… From the AP: KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Authorities in Nepal urged religious groups and scientists on Sunday to help solve the mystery of a meditating teenaged boy who some believe is an incarnation of Buddha. At least 100,000 devotees from Nepal and neighbouring India have flocked in recent weeks to a dense forest in southeastern...

My respect for him grows. NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States needs to set milestones for progress, not a firm withdrawal date, before it can leave Iraq, Virginia governor and prospective Democratic presidential candidate Mark Warner said on Monday. “This Democrat doesn’t think we need to re-fight how we got into (the Iraq war). I think we need to focus more on how to finish it,” Warner...

When you screw up, it’s essential you own up. Now, all of us know this, but it’s still very hard thing to do. And there’s also a right way to apologize for your indiscretions and a wrong way. Too many people unfortunately (and unwittingly) choose to pick the latter. Find out who’s done it the right way recently and why I sincerely respect their poignant apology.

Perhaps he was just visiting to get his sheets washed: During a visit to Syria last week, white supremacist and former U.S. State Representative from Louisiana David Duke spoke at a rally in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, appeared at a Damascus press conference, met with Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassoun, [1] and gave an interview to Syrian TV…. During the press conference, on November 21,...

President George W. Bush is moving to an item on his agenda that he has tried to deal with before but postponed due to opposition within the Republican Party itself: the thorny issue of immigration reform. The Washington Post reports: President Bush promoted his administration’s efforts to get a grip on illegal immigration, spotlighting a plan to tighten security along the southern border and calling for...

One of the red flags about the Bush administration is being raised by a close aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell — and he doesn’t mince words. The latest verbal broadside: a remarkably blunt and angry interview by former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson who suggests that Bush administration bigwigs see the President as someone whose desires trump international law — a President...