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Jay Carney, meet Jay Carney.In 2001, the then-Time magazine reporter wrote a snarky piece criticizing President George W. Bush's month-long vacation that was billed as a "Home to the Heartland" tour. But almost exactly 10 years later Carney, now the Obama White House's press secretary, is defending President Barack Obama's Midwest job-creation tour and vacation at Martha's Vineyard."I don't think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family," claimed Carney at a recent press briefing.But that's exactly what he, as a private citizen working for Time,

Facing the first real rough patch of his presidency, President Obama and his supporters are once again resorting to a tried-and-true tactic: attacking George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. In his White House press conference last week, Mr. Obama referred to the Bush era at least nine times, three times lamenting that he "inherited" a $1.3 trillion debt that has set back his administration's efforts to fix the economy.

Texas view on environment is 18 lanes wide-critics By Anna Driver Fri Jan 19, 8:45 AM ET HOUSTON (Reuters) - As President Bush readies a new plan on global warming, environmentalists say an 18-lane highway going up in Houston speaks volumes about how people in his home state of Texas view the planet. Between 2003 and 2009, $2.7 billion of state and federal money will have been plowed into expanding 23 miles of Interstate-10 in west Houston to as wide as 18 lanes in some stretches of the city's main east-west road."It is a concrete monstrosity," said Jim Blackburn,...

Iran blows away Bush's warm words at UN By Alec Russell in Washington and Harry Mount in New York (Filed: 20/09/2006) Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an unbridled attack last night on the foreign policies of Britain and America and in particular the invasion of Iraq. In remarks that will infuriate the Bush administration and London and were clearly aimed at the two allies, he said the United Nations Security Council was being abused "as an instrument of threat and coercion". America and Britain have been trying to rally the Security Council to confront Iran over its nuclear ambitions....

If we've got a missile, let's fire it into George Bush's window, say N Koreans Sergey Soukhorukov in Pyongyang and Colin Freeman (Filed: 25/06/2006) In a land where anti-Western propaganda is the norm, one might have expected a triumphant state broadcast - or, perhaps, a rallying denunciation of "American lies". But last week, as North Korea created a diplomatic storm over claims that it was preparing to test fire a missile that could hit the United States, television sets in Pyongyang were tuned into a rather different drama. North Koreans have long been urged to hate the United States Instead...

Musharraf insists: I'm not George Bush's poodle · General says US air strikes infringe sovereignty· President denies running military dictatorship Declan Walsh and Simon Tisdall in Rawalpindi Friday April 28, 2006 The Guardian (UK) General Pervez Musharraf, facing a surge of anti-American sentiment, yesterday warned that covert US air strikes against al-Qaida inside Pakistan were an infringement of national sovereignty. Admitting that his popularity was waning, the Pakistani president insisted he was "not a poodle" of George Bush and rejected accusations he was running a military dictatorship. Speaking to the Guardian at Army House in Rawalpindi weeks after a tense...

President Bush came to Washington with the goal of serving as a domestic reformer. In 2000, he became one of the few Republican candidates to focus less on defense and more on reforms to domestic social programs and public education. That was before 9/11, and the ensuing wars in the Middle East. Then, it appeared that the audacious Bush doctrine would set the pace for the ultimate legacy that will be George W. Bush. However, early into his second term, President Bush has another opportunity to leave behind a sturdy legacy in the form of the court system. In the...

In my daily perusal of the news, I caught two items that illustrate, quite clearly, how liberals view the role of the judiciary, thus revealing, in stark terms, how critically important is the battle over the judicial filibuster. First, I read about a commencement speech at Brandeis University by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice who authored the opinion declaring same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts. Newsmax.com reported that Justice Margaret Marshall said, "Our courts function as a pressure valve to defuse political and social tension." Marshall equated criticism of "judicial activism" to a challenge to judicial independence and an effort...

Presidential Vote Certification Faces ObjectionWASHINGTON — When the joint session of Congress meets Thursday to certify the Electoral College votes that gave President Bush his second term, several Democratic House members are expected to contest the results.They may also find support from Sen. Barbara Boxer (search), D-Calif., whose participation under congressional rules would then require senators and representatives to recess to their respective chambers to debate certification.The action would be the first of its kind in 36 years, but most likely won't add up to more than a procedural delay of the inevitable.According to the choreography of the certification, after the...

George Gregory had never seen south Minneapolis until Tuesday. He hopes he won't ever need to see it again. "I've never been here before, and I'll never come again, either," said the 88-year-old retired Postal Service supervisor from Little Canada, a suburb on the other side of St. Paul.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) was set to step up attacks on George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq (news - web sites) war, as the president prepared to go to the United Nations (news - web sites) to unveil new proposals help rebuild the country. In a new television advertisement six weeks before the November 2 election, Kerry accused Bush of diverting resources needed at home to fight the war in Iraq. "Two hundred billion dollars. That is what we are spending in Iraq because George Bush (news - web sites) chose...

Bush's Pyongyang policy 'futile' By Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent in Washington The row centres on North Korea's nuclear facilities The architect of the Clinton administration's policy towards North Korea has told the BBC the current US approach to Pyongyang is going nowhere. Ambassador Robert Gallucci stressed the growing danger that North Korea might sell nuclear materials or even a bomb to a terrorist group. Ambassador Gallucci also urged a fundamental rethink of US policy. His comments come as a new round of six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear stand-off begin in Beijing. Proliferation threat Dealing with North Korea...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s father expressed confidence that his son would win this year's presidential election, even with a weak economy. "American elections are decided on the economy," the one-term former president told NBC television, adding that he believes the economy is strong this year and will be stronger by the November 2 election. "But even without that, I think the country is looking for a strong leader, and it's got one, and they're going to want (him) to serve more," said Bush, who went to war with Iraq (news - web sites)...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic White House challenger John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday of manipulating fears about security and terror for political gain and said he would launch a new ad blitz to introduce himself to voters. At a morning fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites), Kerry said "on a fair playing field in this race we're going to win" and Republicans were in trouble if he raised enough money to counter ads defining him as a waffling, tax-and-spend liberal. Kerry, who is running even with...

<p>San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said Thursday he realizes his push to legalize same-sex marriage has made him radioactive to many of his fellow Democrats and will severely limit his role in the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, a longtime friend for whom the mayor and his father are raising tens of thousands of dollars.</p>

Daschle: Move Dem nominees By Geoff Earle Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is threatening to stall President Bush’s judicial nominees if the president does not take action soon to appoint more than a dozen Democrats to government boards and commissions. Daschle met privately with Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) shortly before Congress began its latest recess and warned that if ongoing negotiations don’t bring results, the movement to confirm the president’s judicial nominees — already stalled by Democratic opposition — could grind to a complete halt. “There has to be a reciprocal treatment of nominees,” Daschle said in a...

Bush's TV ally joins chorus of criticism By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 11/02/2004) A cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq apologised to Americans yesterday for supporting pre-war claims that Saddam Hussein harboured weapons of mass destruction. Bill O'Reilly, the host of the highest-rated talk show on US television and one of the most powerful conservative voices in the country, told viewers that he was sorry he had given the Bush administration the benefit of the doubt and promised to be more sceptical in the future. "I was wrong, I am not pleased about it at all, and I think...

Bush's 'anti-ambassadors' at global summit January 20 2004 at 10:16AM By Shaun Tandon Mumbai - For many anti-globalisation activists meeting here the United States is shorthand for all that is wrong with the world. But the Americans they are finding at the World Social Forum are just as angry at President George Bush. At panels and demonstrations throughout the annual convention of the anti-globalistion movement, the United States has been castigated left and right for everything from the occupation of Iraq to genetically modified agriculture. So what does an American feel when seeing posters portraying Bush alternately as a bloodsucking...

Bush's second coup aids election race By Andrew Buncombe in Washington 21 December 2003 The announcement by Libya has given President Bush his second coup in a week and delivered a resounding blow against Howard Dean, the man most likely to be his challenger in next year's presidential race. When Saddam Hussein was dragged from a hole near Tikrit last weekend, Mr Dean pointed out that his capture had done nothing to make America safer - an analysis shared by many observers. Just six days later, however, the White House has been able to respond with what was presented as...

Hillary launches a savage assault on Bush's record By Julian Coman in Washington (Filed: 07/12/2003) Hillary Clinton has launched her most blistering attack yet on President George W Bush, accusing his administration of following an "extremist agenda" that must be stopped before "irreparable harm" is done to the United States. It was a considerably more robust performance than any of the Democrats' nine existing presidential candidates have managed, prompting renewed speculation that Mrs Clinton may have a last-minute change of heart and run for the White House in 2004. In a comment destined to excite her admirers, she said that...

George Bush's comrades eaten by their Japanese PoW guards By Charles Laurence in New York (Filed: 26/10/2003) The former President George Bush narrowly escaped being beheaded and eaten by Japanese soldiers when he was shot down over the Pacific in the Second World War, a shocking new history published in America has revealed. The book, Flyboys, is the result of historical detective work by James Bradley, whose father was among the marines later photographed raising the flag over the island of Iwo Jima. Lt George Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot, was among nine airmen who escaped from their planes after...

Britain rejects Bush's charges against charity By Sean O'Neill (Filed: 25/09/2003) Britain yesterday rejected claims by America that a London-based charity was a front group for the terrorist group Hamas. The Charity Commission said the US authorities were unable to substantiate claims that Interpal, which raises £4 million a year, channelled money to Hamas for terrorist and political activities. Investigators lifted a month-long freeze on Interpal's bank accounts and allowed it to continue operating normally. Last month President George W Bush ordered the US Treasury to "block and freeze" all Interpal's assets and declared that the charity was a "specially...

<p>He's come to the wrong place with the wrong plan.</p> <p>"We're all scratching our heads over why the president would attempt to use the 'Aspen' fire as a political stage for his Healthy Forests Initiative," said Brian Segee of the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity.</p>

Berlusconi flees European controversies with a visit to Bush's ranch By David Usborne in New York 21 July 2003 The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has plenty of reasons to escape European shores this summer as the controversy over his recent gibe comparing a German MEP to a Nazi concentration camp collaborator refuses to die. And so it was yesterday that he was flying far away - to Texas. The visit was to be a brief one, but he was assured a warm welcome. His destination was a ranch in Crawford, Texas and the host was a friend, both personally...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - Jennifer Mann flipped from channel to channel for the latest news about the terrorist bombings in Saudi Arabia, an exercise in frustration for the Democratic state legislator from Pennsylvania.</p> <p>"Everywhere I turned, there was President Bush," she said with a sigh.</p>

Bush's blueprint for future conceals a declaration of war By Rupert Cornwell in Washington 28 February 2003 There were a few conditionals at the start, describing what "would" happen if an American-led coalition were to invade Iraq. There was the obligatory expression of hope that Baghdad will "meet the demands of the UN and disarm fully and peacefully". But that pretence quickly vanished. Within a minute or two, it wasn't "would" but "will" – what will happen when Saddam Hussein's regime is destroyed and the American military runs Iraq. President Bush's words on Wednesday can be read in many keys:...

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today welcomed the announcement by United States President George W. Bush of a total of $15 billion in funding to help in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Referring to Mr. Bush's pledge, made last night in his State of the Union address, the Secretary-General congratulated the US President on his promise to provide stronger US leadership in combating the devastating impact of the global AIDS epidemic. "An additional $10 billion - making a total of $15 billion over the next five years, with a new emphasis on access to life-saving treatment and care for...

The face of power, the raw, real power of Bush's America By Rupert Cornwell in Washington 09 November 2002 In the space of a few minutes yesterday, two starkly contrasting faces of power were on view: diplomatic power, clothed in the formulaic rites of the United Nations Security Council, and raw, real power as brandished by President George Bush in the Rose Garden of the White House. For a moment, surveying the placid scene at the Security Council, or reading the nuanced legalistic language of Resolution 1441, you could believe the vote was the unqualified opinion of 15 like-minded nations,...

When Bush 41 was president he had a campaign slogan “Read my lips no new taxes!” When it came to getting the democrats to sign on to the war with Iraq they made a deal. They said we’ll sign on if you raise taxes, unfortunately for our country the blackmail was successful. Then when Mr. Clinton ran for president the democrats whacked Bush over and over again for going back on his word. We know that the democrats would probably like to tax all of the income, so that they can redistribute it as well. So we know they would...

Congressmen attack Bush's isolationist policy 10:41 29 August 02 NewScientist.com news service US President George Bush has come under surprise attack from leading American politicians at the World Summit for the "disastrous consequences" of his isolationist foreign policy. In an early morning press conference which caused a mini-sensation in Johannesburg on Thursday, three democratic congressmen and a former state governor launched a fierce broadside against Bush for ignoring the world's attempts to cut poverty and pollution. "There are two Americas," said Jerry Brown, a former governor of California. One was "an America of isolationship and retreating from co-operation with the...

A week's worth 9-11 smear-mongering by leading Democrats and their media handmaidens has failed to dent President Bush's popularity, according to the latest CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll. More than three-quarters of those surveyed gave Bush a positive job approval rating, despite an onslaught of politically motivated accusations that administration officials failed to connect the dots on intelligence data that could have forewarned of the 9-11 attacks. Sixty percent of those surveyed said the information available before the attacks would not have been enough for administration officials to have predicted what was coming. Nineteen percent said the Bush administration made "an understandable...

Bush's secret weapon Is Condoleezza Rice set to become the first black female US vice-president? Sharon Krum reports Monday May 6, 2002 The Guardian Condoleezza Rice once described her childhood as one where she couldn't sit at the lunch counter at Woolworths, but her parents still told her she could grow up to be president. Racism and segregation ruled her world in the deep south, but inside the Rice home, the great American myth prevailed. Stay in school, work hard, trust in God, and yes, you - a little black girl from Birmingham, Alabama - might actually move into the...