House « The Irate Nation

Bush seeks ‘anonymity’

Former US president George W. Bush told a group of his White House aides at a breakfast Friday that he is "trying to regain a sense of anonymity," an event attendee confirmed to AFP.

Bush also told the group that he was pleased former vice president Dick Cheney had taken a lead role in defending their national security policies, declaring: "I'm glad Cheney is out there."

The former president, who also touted his administration's domestic agenda, said he was resolved to keep a low profile and indicated he did not want to be a thorn in the side of President Barack Obama.

"I have no desire to see myself on television. I don't want to be on a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity," Bush said.

"I didn't like it when a certain former president -- and it wasn't 41 or 42 -- made my life miserable," he said in a reference to Jimmy Carter, who infuriated the Bush White House in 2007 when he accused the administration of allowing the use of torture on terror suspects.

The online political publication Politico first reported the remarks at the breakfast, which was closed to the media.

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White House Social Secretary Rogers to Step Down

Full article Here... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/26/white-house-social-secretary-rogers-step/

clipped from www.foxnews.com

White House Social Secretary Rogers to Step Down

Desiree Rogers, who took the blame for a security breakdown at a state dinner last year, will resign as the White House social secretary next month, Fox News has confirmed.

Rogers came under fire for the White House gatecrashing incident in which a celebrity-seeking couple from northern Virginia got into the exclusive Nov. 24 affair on the South Lawn without a formal invitation, despite heavy White House security.

Rogers later acknowledged not having staff from her office at security checkpoints to help identify guests. Lawmakers had demanded that she testify to Congress about her handling of the event. The White House would not allow it.

Rogers arrived in Washington with more of a splash than any White House social secretary before her with an Harvard MBA, years of corporate experience, and a friendship with the first family.

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A Dose of Reality, a Bid to Restore Magic

Full Article Here... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/politics/28assess.html?no_interstitial%20AFTER%20.html

clipped from www.nytimes.com

A Dose of Reality, a Bid to Restore Magic

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., left, with the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid. President Obama will need help from both to move forward with his agenda.
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WASHINGTON — By now, President Obama can hardly be under any illusions about the depth of the partisan divide as he seeks to reboot his presidency. Yet he still seemed surprised on Wednesday night when he could not get Republicans to applaud tax cuts.

As he boasted in his first State of the Union address that his economic program had cut taxes for 95 percent of working families, Democrats jumped to their feet to cheer. Republicans sat quietly. Mr. Obama paused as he glanced over to their side of the House chamber. “I thought I’d get some applause on that one,” he said.

If Mr. Obama thought he could take the rostrum in the House chamber and restore his image as the change agent who came to Washington to end the politics of division, he received another reminder just how

Newt: As Many as 150 Democratic Seats at Risk?

Newt talks about how many seats the Republicans can pick up in the House and Senate.

By:ngingrich

Tagged as: elections 2010, House, House Democrats, Newt, newt gingrich, ngingrich, Republicans, Senate, Senate Democrats No Comments

UAV Vulnerability

clipped from www.foxnews.com

U.S. lawmakers called on the White House to quickly fill vacant cybersecurity posts in the wake of revelations that Iraqi insurgents have learned to intercept video feeds from unmanned military drones.

Lawmakers also expressed frustration that no action was taken until this year, even though the vulnerability of the video feeds had been known since the 1990s. The story was first reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.