Last One Out, Turn Off the Lights

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the White House: Rove announced his departure (today, perhaps?), Gonzales stepped down, and now Tony Snow will do the same in two weeks time.

Last one out, turn off the lights.


Oh and Larry Craig may step down today as well.

This Larry Craig Kerfuffle

You have to give it up to Idaho Senator Larry Craig. Having recently been accused of being gay, he trots out the wife, denies the story, and goes on with his life. He then allegedly engages in lewd behavior/propositions an undercover cop in Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

Now it turns into a firestorm, with Mitt Romney, whom the Senator supported, calling his behavior "disgusting," and comparing it to Bill Clinton and Mark Foley. That is, of course, an entirely unfair comparison, given that we know, thanks to the little blue dress, the real nature of Clinton and Lewinsky's relationship, and thanks to instant message records, the explicit nature of Foley's advances to pages. However this is entirely different - Craig wasn't in a position of power over the fellow in the next stall, the cop presumably was of age, and it didn't happen in Craig's office. Ed Morrissey does a far better job of dissecting this than I, so be sure to read it.

But let's turn to the political side of things: Craig is up for reelection next year, and hasn't yet indicated whether or not he'll run again. Democrats are licking their chops, but this is a state that Bush won with 68% of the vote in '04, and which hasn't sent a Democrat to Washington since 1994. If Craig chooses to step down, the state's Republican governor will appoint another Republican to fill out his term, maintaining the balance of power. Even if more salacious tales come out (such as the one about Craig in a Union Station bathroom), it's entirely unclear whether or not the Democrats could find a viable candidate to run against him or his successor. Right now, as with Vitter in Louisiana, this doesn't look to change the political calculus - let's hope it stays that way.

Obama: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?

Barack Obama's presidential bid has hit some speed bumps lately, most stemming from the fact that the candidate himself is a relative novice, his senate campaign against Allan Keyes hardly providing a real test. Now I think he's hit another landmine, at least as far as the base was concerned.

Obama named names of Republicans that he could work with - a show of bipartisanship that isn't likely to win friends among the moonbats, to whom all Republicans (with perhaps the sole exception of Ron Paul) are devils incarnate - a whopping three in all. The lucky trio? Senators John Warner (VA), Dick Lugar (IN), and Tom Coburn (OK). The first two have led the charge, or perhaps more appropriately the retreat, among Republicans arguing for a troop draw-down in Iraq. So that's two steps forward - he names two anti-war Republicans he can work with (both of whom are also considered deeply knowledgeable), thus partially appeasing the base while appearing moderate to the base.

Coburn's a different ballgame. Even I think the man's a little bit nuts, but to the foaming-at-the-mouth Democratic base, he is Lucifer. Coburn is vehemently pro-life, objecting to abortions even in the case of rape; he is also strongly anti-gay. And he hasn't flinched on the war. That's a trio of things that are going to get the base riled up, and the fact that Obama can work with him means that to many on the Left, he can't be their man. I'm just waiting for the fallout.