NY Observer > The White House

The Times Corrects Yesterday's Disputed Subhed

Zachary Roth — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:30:48 -0500

The Times today published a correction to yesterday's disputed sub-hed:

The subheading with a front-page headline on Wednesday for an article about discussions between four top White House lawyers and the Central Intelligence Agency over whether to destroy videotapes showing secret interrogations of members of Al Qaeda referred imprecisely to the White House’s position thus far on the matter. While Bush administration officials have acknowledged some discussions leading up to the destruction of the tapes in November 2005, as the article noted, the White House itself has not officially said anything on the subject, so its role was not "wider than it said." read more »

White House Takes on The Times

Zachary Roth — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:36:09 -0500

It's been a while since we've had a good Bush-administration-vs.-New-York-Times flare-up. But today the White House took the unusual step of issuing a public statement demanding that The Times retract the subhed to a front-page story in today's paper.

The Times reported today that four White House lawyers were more involved than had previously been acknowledged in the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes. The story's subhed read: "White House Role Was Wider Than It Said." read more »

Dan Rather Sues CBS for $70 Million

Observer Staff — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:25:15 -0400

From The Times' Jacques Steinberg:

Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. read more »

Bedtime for Gonzo

Chris Lehmann — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:30:27 -0400

'Where's Ed Levi now that we need him?' read more »

CBS' 'Rude Little Liberal'

Felix Gillette — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:11:50 -0400

On Monday morning, Karl Rove stood next to President George W. Bush on the South Lawn of the White House and announced that he would be resigning from the administration at the end of the month. In front of the assembled D.C. press corp, he read a statement, and the President spoke. There was no formal opportunity for questions.

Towards the end of the appearance, as the President and his favorite pol were about to head in the direction of an awaiting helicopter, Bill Plante, CBS White House correspondent, broke the embargo.

“If he’s so smart,” said Mr. Plante, “how come you lost Congress?” read more »

Libby at Liberty!

Chris Lehmann — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 07:06:30 -0400

Commutations come with quite explicit guidelines of their own – promulgated by the department of Justice back in the days before it became a Rove-branded house of patronage and prosecutions to solidify G.O.P. tactics of voter suppression. read more »

Portman's Prospects

Steve Kornacki — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:50:41 -0400

Rob Portman announced his resignation as President Bush's budget director today, which set off speculation that the 51-year-old Ohioan is preparing to re-enter electoral politics. Portman served six-terms as the representative of the Cincinnati area before joining the administration in 2005, and according to the AP's write-up he made it clear today that he is considering a future bid for Governor or the U.S. Senate.

So which will it be and what are his chances? read more »

Bloomberg and the 2008 Money Race

Observer Staff — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:27:46 -0400

I tried asking Mike Bloomberg if the record-breaking fund-raising by some of the 2008 White House candidates makes it easier to use nationally the message he employed in the 2005 mayoral race: that a self-financed candidate isn't beholden to campaign contributors.

After saying he's not running, Bloomberg offered this gem: a pre-emptive argument that anybody can raise money if they have good ideas.

"I think also it's fascinating, there's no evidence that you can't raise a lot of money if the public likes you. Take a look at Howard Dean over the internet foru years ago. It was, all of a sudden, an enormous amount of money. Barack Obama, you know, six months ago, wasn't on the radar screen. Today, he can raise an enormous amount of money. So, the ability to raise money is there if you have good ideas--ideas that some people think are good."

Which is an argument a self-financed candidate may need to trot out in order to fend off accusations he's buying a campaign.

-- Azi Paybarah

Sharpton on 2008

Observer Staff — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:00:00 -0400

Al Sharpton has some news for the Democratic White House candidates coming to his April 18-21 forum: he may criticize you, but that doesn't mean he won't endorse you.

Above, from an interview over the weekend, he explains to me how his 2008 endorsement decision is really all about his constituency, not him. -- Azi Paybarah

Bloomberg's Independent Competition for 2008

Observer Staff — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:32:18 -0400

Take note Kevin Sheekey. Mike Bloomberg isn't the only independent businessman looking to run for president. Daniel Imperato, a businessman and self-described "man of the globe" will be speaking to the Manhattan Libertarian Party (at 140 2nd Avenue around 7:30 p.m.) about his presidential bid.

"Being a man of the globe, and understanding the people, I felt that I should at least consider helping the United States and the world make a change by possibly throwing my hat into the ring for the White House in 2008."

-- Azi Paybarah