BAD DAY ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE….Dan Froomkin surveys the news outlook for President Bush:
The news has been kind to the White House for a few weeks, with media attention largely focused on the Republican convention and the attacks on John Kerry’s war record.
But today is looking pretty tough.
Headlines blare the news that the death toll in Iraq has crossed the 1,000 milestone.
There are also big headlines about Bush’s record $422 billion budget deficit and the multi-trillion-dollar deficit projections for the future.
Then there are all the stories about Vice President Cheney’s jaw-dropping statement yesterday that a Kerry victory would result in more terrorist attacks. Even his own staff is qualifying it.
Bush’s spotty National Guard record during the Vietnam War is turning into a full-fledged media conflagration, with more stories out today and “60 Minutes” weighing in tonight.
Plus, Sen.Bob Graham (D-Fla.) is all over the media charging Bush with covering up evidence that might have linked Saudi Arabia to the Sept. 11 hijackers.
And while the mainstream press is not putting stock in unauthorized biographer Kitty Kelley’s hazily sourced allegations of past drug use by Bush, everybody — at least everybody on the Internet — seems to be talking about it.
Click the link for all the details.
