The Daily Background

The mysterious half-month gap
In an intriguing twist of events, The Politico has noticed that there seems to be a “gap” in the memos, email correspondence and other documents among the approximately 3,100 pages released by the Department of Justice Monday night. The gap goes from the middle of November until the beginning of December, just as the US Attorney scandal reached its zenith when 8 prosecutors were forced to submit their resignations effective by the end of January.

The gap, which lasts 18 days, is being compared to Watergate’s infamous 18-minute gap in the Nixon tapes.

Mr Gore goes to Washington
(I forget who I stole that title from.) Today Vice President Al Gore testifies before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works about the threat of global climate change. He will deliver several hundred thousand (believed to be between 400,000 and 500,000) messages to lawmakers from their constituents who want them to address the issue more seriously.

Matt Drudge will be peddling his usual anti-Gore anti-science FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). And Senator Inhofe will probably cough up his heart made of coal trying to out-do his previous statements that global warming is the biggest myth perpetrated on the American people by liberal hollywood elites. Other than that, it should be a positive day in the fight against climate change.

Alberto’s Catch-22
Newsweek’s Wolffe and Bailey wrote yesterday that “Bush is not likely to fire Gonzales.” Presented with Gonzales’ statements about him serving at the pleasure of the President and the choice of whether he stays or goes belonging to the Commander-in-Chief, we find ourselves at somewhat of a Catch-22 for how the guy is going to leave.

Ultimately, Gonzales will give, Wolffe and Bailey suggest, saying that “former aides say they expect Gonzales to offer up his own resignation, just as former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld did after the GOP lost the midterm elections. (That move, you might recall, followed closely on the heels of a public expression of Bush’s support for Rumsfeld.)”

House
The House Judiciary Committee will vote on whether or not to issue subpoenas for Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Kyle Sampson and others today, as well as more documents. Their counterparts in the Senate will follow suit tomorrow.

Senate
Budget stuff. Plus the Gore testimony on Barbara Boxer’s Committee (see above).

Iraq
3,223 (3,218 yesterday). Unless you’re Tim Russert.

Filed under: Z-The Daily Brief, Z-TDB Blog