"It's going to be a fun four years"

Seeing red

It amazes me how [Joe Conason] is so shocked that Bush would appoint Ted Olson to the Justice Department.

Hello? Bush is a conservative. Did you guys really think that he would appoint someone like Laurence Tribe? Of course he was going to appoint people with the same beliefs as his -- he is a conservative.

It's going to be a fun four years watching Bush screw over the Democrats.

-- Andrea Toth, Los Angeles

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Anger management

"47 Pardons Skirted Review" [FreeRepublic.com]
The Los Angeles Times reports that "a third of those granted last-minute pardons or commutations by President Clinton last month skirted the normal Justice Department review process and instead appealed directly to the White House in the waning days of his presidency." Among those were Clinton's brother, Roger, and former business partner, Susan McDougal. "No kidding, huh?" writes one poster. "I gotta lie down, I feel faint ..."

Who else exercises at 11:30 in the morning? [Table Talk]
The president's activity during the shooting at the White House raises some questions. Says Stephanie G.: "Shrub has to work on his version of 'Eight Hour Abs.'" Writes Adam Korengold of Maryland: "I find it highly amusing that George Bush was 'exercising' when the shooting occurred this morning. Are we to be treated to other insights into his workaholic schedule? Did he call Ariel Sharon from a hot tub after his nice StairMaster session?"

Over at Lucianne.com, posters are tired of hearing about the gun-happy accountant and his anti-IRS rant, and want to move on. "It was otherwise a slow-news day," says one. "How else to explain the media FRENZY over one mentally disturbed man who tried to commit suicide in Washington."

Clinton pardon hearings begin Thursday [FreeRepublic.com]
And Freepers are busily sharpening their knives.

Ashcroft slams Clinton, defends gun rights [FreeRepublic.com]
Posters respond to John Ashcroft's appearance on "Larry King Live" Wednesday night, his first since being confirmed as attorney general. They like that he attacked Clinton over his pardons, but don't approve of his support for the drug war. His support for gun owners' rights doesn't raise any eyebrows here, but ...

Man arrested for "naked gun" photos [FreeRepublic.com]
... would Ashcroft really support this guy's rights?

White House mayhem over AIDS, race offices [Salon.com]
This story prompts a Salon reader, Elizabeth McNamee of Washington, to ask:

So, let me get this straight: The story on the front page of USA Today this morning states that Bush is closing these two offices, directly quoting Chief of Staff Andrew Card. A few hours later, the White House amends that these offices are NOT being closed, and although Card was quoted accurately, he "misunderstood" what was going on.

Wait a minute. The chief of staff didn't know what was going on in the White House? Isn't that his job? Does that seem like the most likely scenario, or does it look like there was a little backtracking on Bush's side, once he realized that shutting those two offices down wasn't going to fly with the American public? Hmm. I wonder.