Quotes From Around Yon Blogosphere

Just when it seemed George W. Bush's sinking prestige with his Republican base had bottomed out, his stock hit new lows. The president's seeming indifference to the sentencing of Scooter Libby was bad enough. But it coincided with Bush's apparent determination to retain his friend Alberto Gonzales as attorney general against congressional pressure to depose him.

-- ROBERT D. NOVAK

What does it mean to say that the president has broken a law? What is the proper role for the president's lawyers? Should they limit themselves to being guns-for-hire, crafting creative legal justifications for any program the president chooses to pursue? Or should they be impartial referees, providing accurate and principled legal analysis even when it blocks an initiative the president is committed to? And if the president's lawyers conclude that he's about to do something illegal, can he simply disregard the conclusion as he would unwelcome advice from his policy advisers?

-- DAWN JOHNSEN

So, when it comes to policy-making over at the so-called Justice Department, a Regent University law degree, like the one held by Monica “I may have crossed the line” Goodling and a battalion of other fundies, suffices. But when it comes to protecting the president’s backside, apparently a divine legal degree is no substitute for an East Coast elite Ivy School pedigree.

-- PETER BAKER

The risk of suicide among male U.S. veterans is double that of the general population, according to a study published Monday.

-- CNN

The United States has handsomely rewarded a group of Filipino citizens with $10 million for providing information that led to the killings of two high-ranking terrorists there.

-- LUIS MARTINEZ and MADDY SAUER

Al Gore, the environmental activist stung by criticism over his house's energy efficiency, says renovations are nearly complete to make it a model "green" home.

"This plan has been in the works for a long time," the former vice president said . . . "The only thing that has changed is that we're more public about it because of the misleading attack by a global-warming denier group."

Earlier this year, a conservative group criticized Gore, citing electric bills that were far more than the typical Nashville home. Utility records showed that the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200 last year for its 10,000-square-foot home.

-- ERIK SCHELZIG

In the world today, there is no truth being told except in the right-wing blogosphere.

-- DICK McDONALD

Maybe somebody should just open a Hillary Clinton emporium, a 24/7 store dedicated to the sale of all things Hillary, featuring a book department stocked only with Hillary biographies. It could be the political junkie’s version of a Baskin Robins, a place where fans and foes can choose their favorite Hillary flavors, ranging from sweet to sour, from Hillary as heroic public servant to Hillary as a leftist Lady Macbeth.

There would be no consensus on what constitutes the most accurate Hillary, of course, but we’re long past the point of being capable of distinguishing between partisan spin and empirical substance. There is, it seems, no objective middle ground. The ’08 Democratic frontrunner is one of our most polarizing political figures; virtually all Americans made up their minds about her long ago, pro or con; and the book publishing industry is quite happy about that, because it keeps cranking out new volumes that fit every conceivable preconception.

-- DICK POLMAN

Former New York mayor Giuliani is always entertaining, and he hasn’t disappointed. The most remarkable aspect of his candidacy is its complete immunity from anything that has actually happened in the last five years. For Rudy, it’s still 9/12 and always will be. And why not? He hasn’t felt so significant since – although his speaking fees have. He has no qualms about Iraq. It’s simple, after all. We just have to win.

His entire analysis of the war on terror can be reduced to the notion that we stay "on offense". Offense means anything aggressive, it appears. He wouldn’t rule out a nuclear strike on Iran, for example. He endorses "any methods necessary" to extract information from anyone who might seem like a terrorist. . . .

As his eyes flash through his wire-rim glasses, and he bobs up and down on his shiny corporate shoes, you can just see him drooling over the chance to fire a few missiles, round up a few immigrants, strip a few more Americans of habeas corpus rights and nuke Tehran. This is the man, remember, who banned ferret-ownership and jaywalking in New York City. Next stop: Falluja. Piece of cake.

-- ANDREW SULLIVAN

The Internet has not, as some predicted, brought about the demise of such great newspapers as the one you are holding in your hands. But it has gotten the hookers off the street.

-- PAUL MULSHINE

Tony Blair has discussed becoming a Roman Catholic deacon when he quits office.

The revelation comes as he prepares to meet the Pope amid speculation that he will use the audience in the Vatican to announce his conversion.

In his last foreign engagement, just days before he leaves Downing Street for the final time, the Prime Minister will visit Pope Benedict XVI in what officials say will be a "highly significant" personal mission.

-- THE ANCHORESS

I'll no longer act dumb.

-- PARIS HILTON

Cartoon by Tom Toles/Universal Press Syndicate