The president and his agenda face serious problems with congressional Republicans. The Democrats, handy scapegoats and whipping boys in his first term, barely figure in the legislative calculus. The president’s battles are likely to be with his own party.
When more than 100,000 people have been killed, and thousands of others are in danger, the international community has a moral obligation to do what it can to limit the damage and reduce the suffering of survivors.
Like most Washington institutions, the presidential inauguration was founded on modest beginnings. But it has since grown into an extravaganza of parades, dinners, balls and parties. The Constitution provides only one requirement: that the new president swear an oath of office.
President Bush’s second term, which doesn’t officially begin until his Jan. 20 inauguration, already is getting off to a rocky start.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, pressed into service in his final days in office to console victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, is the Bush administration’s benign face to a skeptical world.
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales will be grilled over what critics call his “appalling” role in policies blamed for abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay, when Senate hearings begin on Thursday over his nomination to be U.S. Attorney General.
Senior Democrats are trying to persuade national Chairman Terry McAuliffe to continue his service as party chairman, especially if none of the current candidates gains momentum in the race to replace him.
Veteran Rep. Jerry Lewis of California is getting a job he started auditioning for a quarter-century ago: chairman of the House committee that determines government spending.
A U.S. spy imagery agency is working around the clock to gather information, warn mariners and begin the time-consuming task of recharting altered coastlines and ports throughout the region.
The United States is moving on several fronts toward a global tsunami warning system following the Asian catastrophe.