Conservatives have long had doubts about whether or not George W. Bush is really one of them and the big government programs the President proposed in his State of the Union address have the shaking their heads and wondering what the heck is going on.
The public outcry over abuses of Congressional travel has not deterred members of Congress from resisting efforts to limit their junkets to exotic lands. Even the man picked to replace the system’s biggest abuser wants the practice of Congressional junkets continued.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has not adequately justified why the Bush administration failed to seek court approval for domestic surveillance, said the senator in charge of a hearing Monday on the program.
Republicans are running scared in a number of key House and Seante race. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum (R) has been running behind his challenger for months. In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns (R), linked to the Jack Abramoff scandal, is on the defensive. In Ohio, Sen. Mike DeWine (R) is struggling to overcome a toxic environment of scandals that have tarnished the state Republican Party.
Writing in Monday’s edition of the Post, Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza report: