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And it's not just Tom Daschle, Chris Dodd and Henry Waxman, but Rush Limbaugh, the The Wall Street Journal editorial page, pretty much every foreign leader, and hand-wringing historians and diplomats — and even (how un-43-like) a few unnamed Administration officials.

The papers summarily have concluded that Secretary of State Powell's Middle East mission failed. Democrats are carping about the administration's handling of Venezuela's governmental crisis and the missed opportunity to get Osama bin Laden.

Add to that the tragic, friendly-fire deaths of four Canadian troops killed by a 500-pound US bomb near Kandahar.

We don't think we are being hyperbolic when we say: the Bush Administration is on the defensive today like never before.

Flexing his status as the new Johnny Apple, Pat Tyler's A10 New York Times news analysis is pretty straightforward: "For a president whose fortunes were lifted beyond expectation by a commanding leadership performance after the Sept. 11 attacks, George W. Bush has had a bad week … "
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/international/18ASSE.html )

"The apparent failure of Secretary Powell's mission has now pushed American diplomacy into the region's most intractable conflict to a point where the political costs at home are rising and the diplomatic costs with the Arab world are steep, and where even the global antiterror campaign could be in jeopardy … "

"Mr. Bush invoked the spirit of Gen. George C. Marshall, the patron of post-war reconstruction in Europe and a V.M.I. graduate, who 'always fought victoriously against defeatism, discouragement and disillusionment.'"

"But it was those sentiments exactly that were prevalent in Washington and the Middle East today at the end of Secretary Powell's mission."

Coincidentally, or not, President Bush is out there today like almost never before, with five events this news cycle, the two most key being his meeting with Powell, where he can be expected to wrap his arm around his uber diplomat and attempt to spin Powell's mission as successful yet again, and his meeting with the president of Colombia, where neighboring Venezuela surely will come up.

The White House is expected to see one bright spot today as the House votes to make Bush's tax cut permanent — the one issue out there which still unites and animates the Republican party.

And the administration does get something of a break in that the bin Laden escape story seems to be largely supplanted in the morning papers by the story of the exiled king's return. But USA Today does a follow up — ( http://www.usatoday.com/news/attack/2002/04/17/usat-rumsfeld.htm ) — and none other than Tom Daschle took note yesterday. In case you missed it, here's what he said:

"Many of us have said that this country is not safe while bin Laden is still at-large,' Mr. Daschle said. 'The bottom line is that we've got to find him.'" ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020418-931680.htm )

"'Out of the 12 major al Qaeda leaders, we've only found two. So al Qaeda, currently, is apparently still at-large, still capable of inflicting real harm on the United States. And I think our job ought to be what President Bush said it was last fall: we need to find bin Laden, we need to find the al Qaeda leadership and we need to deal with them directly,' he said."

More generally, the Washington Times reports, "Democrats are stepping up attacks on President Bush in the belief that growing criticism from his conservative base over his handling of the conflict in the Middle East and his domestic policies has begun to weaken him politically. 'The Republicans have been calling any legitimate policy difference unpatriotic, and you can't do that when the incoming artillery is coming from your right flank, and that includes the Middle East,' said Erik Smith, chief spokesman for House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020418-86016012.htm )

"In recent weeks, conservative commentators, activists and some Republican leaders have questioned certain moves by the president — from trade tariffs on steel to amnesty for illegal immigrants — and said he must take a harder line against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat."

"Democrats believe such criticism from Mr. Bush's conservative base has not only revealed a chink in his armor but presented an opportunity to attack more aggressively his foreign and domestic policies without seeming unpatriotic amid the war on terrorism."

Bush pollster Matthew Dowd — he who sent out that memo last week outlining how the president's poll numbers will naturally sink a little bit — "rejected any suggestion that the president is losing support among his conservative political base."

Meanwhile, some Democrats predict to us that Venezuela could be a real donnybrook, the Enron that never was, with the party currently weighing how to make it the first big scandal of this Administration. The elements, some say, are there, including Big Oil and the para-controversial Bush official Otto Reich. If it turns out that the administration's role during the coup was messier than is now known, it could become part of the looming thematic that undermines their foreign policy bona fides.

A lot of Americans don't necessarily know where Venezuela is. But most Latino Americans do. And alleged messing with democracy in the region is not something this Administration wants hanging around its neck.

Look for Senator Dodd, he of the possible presidential ambitions, to take the lead on this.

The Washington Post notes about Venezuela, "whatever took place during last week's tumult, the overall result appeared to be a foreign policy setback for a White House already reeling from bruising events in the Middle East. It occurred in a part of the world that President Bush has said he feels closest to, and that he has declared to be among his administration's highest priorities."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5092-2002Apr17.html )

The Washington Post 's Allen and Milbank look at how the administration anticipated and tried to stave off the bad press coming out of Powell's mission. "As it became clear that Powell was returning with little to show for his trip, the administration launched a preemptive strike against those who might brand it a failure. By the lower standard the administration applied to the trip today — easing the region's crisis — Powell had indeed been successful, they argued, pointing to a reduction in Palestinian bombings and a general plan for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4832-2002Apr17.html )

Yesterday, "Bush, speaking substantively about the Middle East for the first time in more than a week, repeated none of his earlier demands and emphasized the intractability of the conflict."

"Foreign policy analysts agreed that Powell's mission managed to reduce tensions in the violent region; it was a failure only by the lofty standards Bush set for it in his Rose Garden speech, they said."

"[N]o one in the administration, including Bush and Powell, could say what the next step might be," USA Today says.
( http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020418/4038500s.htm )

Tom DeFrank in the Daily News quotes one Administration swell suggesting yesterday's Bush speech was meant to graft the "popularity" of the war on terror onto the problematic Middle East mess: "A senior Bush adviser said the timing was politically useful because it allowed the White House to 'play to his strength' — public support for Bush's anti-terror campaign remains high — at a moment when his Middle East diplomacy is widely viewed, at least for the moment, as a failure."
( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-04
-18/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-148042.asp )

In another element of the administration's spin war, perhaps, Pentagon officials tell the Washington Times that Somalia has been a success, "as diplomatic pressure and intensive surveillance have prevented al Qaeda from re-establishing operations on the Horn of Africa." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020418-18137231.htm )

Another Post story takes the best look we've seen so far at what this all might mean for Powell. "How Powell's mission affects his own standing, particularly inside the administration, remains unclear. Powell made a strong case within Bush's inner circle for launching the [peace] initiative. But as he has conducted his most important mission as the nation's senior diplomat, he also has been careful, in frequent discussions with the White House and in public statements, not to get too far in front of the president."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5031-2002Apr17.html )

"Already, there have been differences in tone. While Powell was pressing Sharon for a pullback last week and raising concerns about the conduct of Israeli soldiers in West Bank cities, for instance, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was stressing that Sharon was 'a man of peace.'"

Trying to balance the symbolism even for domestic actions related to the Middle East is so very, very hard, and at least one key interested party isn't fooled, as projected in some piquant New York Times quotes: "Palestinian officials suggested that the Bush administration was not speaking with one voice in its Middle East policy. Mr. Erekat (the Palestinians' chief negotiator) noted that Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, a leading hawk, had expressed support for Mr. Sharon at a rally by Jewish-Americans in Washington on Monday. Mr. Wolfowitz was also booed at the rally, for referring sympathetically to the Palestinians' plight."
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/
international/middleeast/18MIDE.html?pagewanted=all&position=top )

"'Look, when I saw Wolfowitz stand in Washington and say, "I support Sharon," while we were meeting with Secretary of State Powell, this told me something,' Mr. Erekat said. 'We do not have neon saying "stupid" on our foreheads.'"

USA Today covers it, as well. ( http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020418/4038500s.htm )

Per the New York Post : "Vice President Dick Cheney thanked Israel for its help in the war on terror, and called for 'absolute renunciation of terror' as he went to Israel's Washington embassy last night to toast that nation's 54th birthday." ( http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/45962.htm )

"'Israel knows the merciless carnage that terrorists inflict,' Cheney said. 'Our two countries are full partners in the cause of defeating this threat to the civilized world.'"

The Washington Post 's Allen adds in another story that even though "many potential allies for a U.S. strike against Iraq" are withholding "support out of fear that it could provoke unrest in the Arab world," "senior administration officials said Bush is continuing to plan an offensive against Hussein, although these officials stressed that no timetable has been set." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64780-2002Apr17.html )

From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: Israel has begun withdrawing its forces from the town of Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp. The troops also are expected to pull out of Nablus later today. Israeli Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer said that he hopes a withdrawal from most parts of the West Bank — apart from Ramallah and Bethlehem — would be finished by Sunday … Reuters reports that Palestinians dug five survivors from the rubble of the shattered refugee camp in Jenin and they had heard others crying out for help … In Bethlehem, a hitch appears to have stalled the first face-to-face talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators trying to resolve the stand-off at the Church of the Nativity. More than 200 armed men have been holed up inside the church for 16 days.

And in a day of otherwise good economic news for the administration yesterday, thanks to Chief Greenspan and some new data, the kind of pocketbook issue that Karl Rove watches suddenly flared up, as Energy Secretary Abraham warned yesterday that gas prices "are headed upward in coming weeks to perhaps the third-highest level ever." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4926-2002Apr17.html )

The Washington Post front-pages "the next ANWR:" "With the Senate poised today to kill President Bush's hopes of drilling for oil in north Alaska, the administration is taking steps to expand oil and gas exploration throughout the Rocky Mountains … The administration is mulling over dozens of proposals to drill on public lands in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, and has stepped up permit approvals in some areas, according to environmental groups."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2799-2002Apr17.html )

"At issue is whether the government should ease some of the regulatory hurdles facing companies that want to explore for oil and gas in the Rockies."

And one last summary note: Roll Call reports, "One-time fundraisers with the politically-revived President helped five of" the GOP's six top Senate candidates "outraise their likely Democratic rivals … Few of those Republicans may have won the first-quarter money chase if the White House had not targeted their races for early fundraising visits. Only Elizabeth Dole (R) in North Carolina, the quarter's top fundraiser among all Senate candidates, outpaced her Democratic rivals' fundraising efforts by more than she collected at her Feb. 27 event with Bush."
( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/00/2002/04/pol0418a.html )

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

Today, Senators Kerry and Lieberman will team up to host a rally with enviros after the expected cloture vote on drilling for oil in ANWR. Watch the body language.

Kerry today also will hold a press availability, along with the Senate Democratic Steering Committee and "visiting Latino elected officials," on "important issues before the country" and "the partnership of Senate Democrats with Latino elected officials at all levels of government." Hmm.

Senator John Edwards' soft-money intake gets a lot of play today in his two hometown papers, the Raleigh News & Observer and the Boston Globe .

"Around the same time" as he was "decrying" the use of soft money in politics during the McCain-Feingold debate, Senator John Edwards "accepted two $100,000 contributions for a political action committee that he had set up to assist Democrats around the country and to boost his profile for a possible 2004 presidential run," the News & Observer's Wagner writes. ( http://www.news-observer.com/front/story/1305631p-1340883c.html )

"In an interview Wednesday, Edwards said he considers soft money 'a bad idea,' but added, 'My PAC is operating in the confines of existing law.'"

The story also gets at what all '04 watcher anticipate to be Edwards' money bomb, his potential to tap trial lawyers (though they'll have to contribute in the same limited amounts as everyone else). "Edwards' two $100,000 contributors were Wade E. Byrd, a longtime friend and trial lawyer from Fayetteville; and John E. Williams Jr., a lawyer from Houston. Edwards, a former trial lawyer, also received $50,000 checks from Wayne Hogan, a lawyer from Jacksonville, Fla; and from the New York law firm of Weitz & Luxenburg. In an interview, Byrd said Edwards asked him for the $100,000 contribution. 'He asked for it, and I gave it to him,' Byrd said. 'If not his best friends, who's going to do it?'"

Meanwhile, the Boston Globe leads: "Senator John Edwards of North Carolina has raised large sums of soft money, building up the kind of campaign account typically used by presidential contenders, even though he joined most other Democrats in Congress two months ago in voting to ban the unlimited contributions."
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/108/nation/
Edwards_and_Kerry_grab_up_soft_money+.shtml )

"The North Carolinian is one of four expected Democratic presidential contenders who accept soft money, despite having voted to ban it. Senator John F. Kerry, who has refused to accept contributions from political action committees, has instead started raising soft money, including contributions from corporations, for a similar leadership account he established late last year … Senator Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota and Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, the Democratic congressional leaders who shepherded campaign finance legislation through Congress, are also raising such unlimited funds."

Legendary figure Jules Witcover weighs in on Orlando: "Mr. Gore has been widely criticized within the party as having thrown away the 2000 election by being too cautious and poll-driven. In the speech here, however, he bucked a recent Gallup Poll that found 82 percent of Democrats surveyed saying he should not criticize Mr. Bush."
( http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.witcover17apr17.column?c )

"That relative abandon, sources close to him say, reflects a new determination by Mr. Gore, as he explores the possibility of running again, to be more outspokenly assertive than he was in 2000 as a vice president."

Tony Blankley columnizes on Gore, sweat, and Janice Joplin. ( http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020417-17162436.htm )

Dear Senator Bradley (or your representatives): We are toying with the notion of taking you out of the Invisible Primary Ratings in the next round, even though we think that on paper at least, you would have a pretty good shot at the nomination (and better than "pretty good" if Dr. Altman retires). Let us know, okay?

The Federal Election Commission keeps you alive for now in this section in the ultimate Invisible good news/bad news manner: "Former Senator Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential campaign should repay taxpayers $14,055 that it received above its entitlement, Federal Election Commission auditors say." ( http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/politics2002/0417bradley7960_2002.shtml )

Naturally, the goody-goody campaign gets overall high marks on the audit, however.

Imus tried to get Tim Russert to go after Kerry for his Katherine Harris/Arthur Andersen joke at the Florida Democratic meeting last weekend, but Russert claimed not to know about it.

Politics

As the one-year anniversary of September 11 approaches, with election day coming shortly thereafter, no other issue has surfaced that strikes the strategists of either party as likely to animate the electorate and drive voters to the off-year polls.

So, some politicians clearly are going to be tempted to try to "use" September 11 for political gain. And, invariably, the charges and counter-charges, and counter-counter-charges will fly. Look what happened in New York yesterday when Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo criticized Gov. George Pataki for, he said, merely holding Rudy Giuliani's coat after the disaster.
( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/nyregion/metrocampaigns/18CUOM.html )

Pataki's new best friend Rudy struck back hard on his behalf.

The Times ' Nagourney makes this keen point: "Mr. Cuomo offered his criticism of Mr. Pataki to a group of newspaper reporters. There were no television cameras present, so there is no video record of Mr. Cuomo's remarks. That means that the Republicans will find it difficult to turn his statement into a television advertisement, as might otherwise have been likely."

The New York Post continues to be the Paper of Record on the proposed congressional session in New York. Today's highlight is the captured response by Rep. Charlie Rangel to Rep. Dick Armey's attempts to pour icy water on the plan, as Speaker Hastert maintains his Hastertian fence-sitting: "'Hardball is the only strategy I have,' Rangel told The Post . 'But Armey is a nobody. He's a lame duck. No one cares about you when you're leaving. You can tell him I said that.'"
( http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/45927.htm )

The Daily News, however, quotes Hastert mouth John Feehery as saying, "I think it will happen." ( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-04-18/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-148051.asp )

In a comment that will surely raise eyebrows from Chappaqua to Whitehaven Street to 125th Street to Williams & Connolly, Bill Clinton is quoted on Page Six as saying "his memoir was coming along," which, when you think about it, might just be a Clintonesque and accurate way to describe its current status.
( http://www.nypost.com/gossip/pagesix.htm )

The Washington Post editorial board muses (as in, "amuses") over Washington, DC Mayor Tony Williams' getting "taken to the woodshed" by Democratic National Committee chairman McAuliffe over the news that Williams is hosting a fundraiser tonight for GOP Rep. Connie Morella, who sits on the panel that oversees the District's federal funding. "Mr. McAuliffe said that he doesn't support Democrats who hold fundraisers for Republicans and that he encourages Democrats not to attend such events. Other DNC officials were equally direct." ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5265-2002Apr17.html )

Today in New Orleans at the Republican party state chairs' meeting, the RNC will stage a rare open-press, African-American outreach-themed event (which we expect will be covered by one Mr. Z. Hallow) with chairman Marc Racicot, at the Fairmont Plaza Hotel.

The NRA says that conservative Democratic Senator Zell Miller will be their keynote speaker at their annual convention next week in Reno.

Tim Burger in the New York Daily News still is dining off of Clinton Administration figures, and updates the alleged White House transition vandalism story: "Sixteen months after Bush staffers complained that Clinton aides had trashed the White House, a report has found they could not prove serious vandalism, and that damage totaled at most $14,000, Democrats familiar with a draft audit said."

"Angry Democrats who had scoffed at the accusations were quick to say 'I told you so' and said the investigation and subsequent report cost the federal government at least $200,000."

"A Bush administration official insisted last night, 'The report will show that there was damage.'" ( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-04
-18/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-148013.asp )

Bob Novak defends Larry Klayman from the IRS. ( http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak18.html )

Rhode Island

Jury selection has begun in the corruption trial of ever-loving Buddy Cianci, the colorful mayor of Providence.
( http://www.projo.com/trial/content/projo_20020418_dome18.78640.htm ) Alas, we can't pitch this one with full-throated enthusiasm, what with no cameras in the courtroom.

California

While their campaigns are sniping about alleged push polls, Gov. Gray Davis (D) and GOP challenger Bill Simon have turned to the economy and taxes. Simon hasn't released his tax returns yet, causing Davis to wonder whether he has something to hide. Davis' operation is on hyperdrive politically, and some Republicans in Washington are hoping Simon goes on the offensive quick.
( http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/2236664p-2637653c.html )

We aren't siding with Mr. Davis when we say: it's pretty clear right now where the blood is in the water in this race.

About those polls showing Simon ahead: regardless of who done 'em, Davis hasn't spent a cent yet, preferring to operate for now by free media. When Davis begins to spend, watch those poll numbers tighten.

Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted more than 750,000 signatures to ensure his after-school proposal qualifies for the November ballot.
"Way to Go!" ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi
-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/04/18/MN103743.dtl )

Florida

The Miami Herald 's Wallsteen notes that the state budget debacle and other obstacles have forced GOP Gov. Jeb Bush to "take his campaign underground." For example: his schedule lists "personal time," when he's actually meeting with donors. "It also reflects a governor far ahead in the polls who does not need to exploit campaign events when he can draw TV coverage and largely positive publicity when he wants it by the very nature of his job. On Wednesday, he met with several loyal supporters who also were among the so-called "pioneers" who gave $100,000 to his brother's 2000 presidential campaign." ( http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/3085723.htm )

New Hampshire

A lot of politicos and political reporters "raised eyebrows" over Rep. John Sununu's weak fundraising performance this quarter, Roll Call notes, given that his primary challenge to incumbent Senator Bob Smith (R) is supposed to be so formidable. That said, we have no doubt that the money will be there for Sununu if and when he needs it for the general election. It's more just how it looks … ( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/00/2002/04/pol0418b.html )

Iowa

Here's something the Bill Salier (R) for Senate campaign hadn't told us: when Oliver North comes to campaign for him on May 2, the former Marine lieutenant colonel will be paid $10,000. Semper Fidelis indeed.
( http://www.semperfinews.com/motto.htm )

As Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R) (who supports Rep. Greg Ganske) said, "It lessens the value of having a high-name person like that coming in to support you if you have to pay."
( http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/17942688.html )

Massachusetts

The Boston Herald reports that GOP gubernatorial contender Mitt Romney "will travel to Washington Tuesday for a fund-raiser featuring White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Republican National Committeeman Ron Kaufman and Wayne Berman, finance chairman of the Republican Governors Association, are hosting the luncheon at the Occidental Grille."
( http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/romn04182002.htm )

"Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Robert Reich, facing a key test at next month's party convention, has about $140,000 in campaign cash — less than one tenth the size of his top rivals' accounts," the Herald also reports. "New campaign finance reports show that Reich actually spent more money last month than he took in … Reich's slow start means that he will be at a severe disadvantage going into the May 31 Democratic state convention, when he must win the support of 15 percent of the delegates to get a place on the primary ballot." ( http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/reic04182002.htm )

Minnesota

Gov. Jesse Ventura may delay his announcement whether to seek a second term until right before filing day, which is July 16. ( http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/2239355.html )

Campaign Finance

U.S District Judge Richard Leon, who has had "virtually no experience on the bench and barely enough time to settle into his chambers, … is now preparing to play a leading role … on a newly-convened three-judge panel which will decide whether the controversial McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform law is or isn't, in whole or part, constitutional," Roll Call reports. "The panel of three federal judges will be the first stop on the landmark law's odyssey through the court system."
( http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/04/news0418e.html )

"This week, the panel ordered a 4 p.m. hearing April 22, during which parties involved in challenging the law will discuss various procedural and scheduling questions … The court will issue a scheduling order 'immediately thereafter.'"

ANWR/Energy Vote

The New York Times previews the expected defeat of the ANWR provision in the Senate today, with these interesting tidbits explaining the bitter, expensive, and long-running battle over this issue: "Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, which raises money for conservative political candidates, explained why conservatives see the issue as a matter of principle." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/politics/18ENER.html )

"'There is a belief on the environmentalist side that we're running out of oil, that we have to conserve energy,' Mr. Moore said."

"'I'm adamantly opposed to energy conservation,'" he continued. 'We're not running out. All we have to do is go out and find it and produce it.'"

"A Democrat from the Northeast who considers himself a strong environmentalist said he had once tried quietly to see if he could broker a deal in which Democrats would back limited exploration in the wildlife reserve and Republicans would support much tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks."

"The Democrat said he quickly gave up when it became apparent that the environmental organizations would not budge in their opposition to new drilling."

"'If you told the environmentalists we would end global warming once and for all in return for ANWR,' he said, 'they'd still say no.'"

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

Pegged to a meeting that Treasury Secretary O'Neill had with Muslim activists with ties to both the Bush family and charities investigated after September 11, the The Wall Street Journal offers this bit of political analysis within a quasi-investigative piece, with bit players Grover Norquist and Nancy Luque: "The case also highlights conflicts between the Bush administration's domestic political goals and its war on terror. GOP officials began courting the U.S. Muslim community intensely in the late 1990s, seeking to add that ethnic bloc to the party's political base. But when the war on terror was launched in September, the Bush administration retreated from some positions Republicans had taken to gain the Muslim support, including opposition to the use of secret evidence in immigration cases, and began mass immigration-violator roundups within Muslim communities."

A good time to remind all you scorekeepers that we are still waiting for our first Bush Cabinet departure, and in our bones we feel one coming. The war, however, has turned out to be like impeachment was for the Clinton Administration, kind of freezing everyone in place.

The editorial boards of America, however, have at least one semi-senior departure in mind: the New York Times ed board joins the "Army Secretary White should resign" chorus. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/opinion/_18THU1.html )

The Washington Post reports, "The Pentagon has removed several prominent Democrats from prestigious advisory boards that traditionally have been bipartisan, sparking allegations that the Bush administration is seeking to pack the panels with experts who agree with its positions."
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4547-2002Apr17.html )

The Washington Times reports, "The Environmental Protection Agency today will begin confiscating files that may be embarrassing to its administrator, Christie Whitman, according to an agency investigator. Ombudsman Robert J. Martin is investigating a possible financial conflict of interest between Mrs. Whitman's husband and polluters at two cleanup sites."
( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020418-818556.htm )

As Adrine reported yesterday, "The Department of Labor yesterday became the first Cabinet agency to enact President Bush's faith-based initiative when it announced creation of a grant program designed to help ministry groups provide job training and counseling for the needy." ( http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020418-26296496.htm )

New England's own Grover Norquist gets a loving profile in the Boston Globe .
( http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/107/living/
Right_where_he_belongs+.shtml )

Check out the sourcing on this for use in the next journalism course you teach: "Karl Rove, the White House political director, tells intimates that the bouncy Norquist may seem peculiar by Republican standards (not many conservatives maintain collections of figurines from the profane 'South Park' television show or deem the music of Janis Joplin 'the high point of Western civilization') but that he is nonetheless effective … ."

"Nicholas Lemann, who worked on the The Harvard Crimson when Norquist served on the paper's business staff, remembers a skinny 'nerdy' kid who 'does not match the macho front he tries to present these days.' Yet Lemann credits Norquist for having the courage of his convictions — 'It wasn't easy to be a conservative at Harvard then' — and notes that, unlike Norquist, many of their leftist acquaintances dumped their political principles when moving on to corporate careers." E-mail us: Tips, Compliments, Complaints.