by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning’s most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
U.S. generals leading the military effort in Iraq asked Congress and the American people to give them more time to accomplish the mission of stabilizing that country while the U.S. ambassador to Iraq downplayed the benchmarks, positions that met with bipartisan resistance from lawmakers.
Congressional Democrats are putting off plans to legislate an overhaul the nation’s voting systems before the 2008 presidential election to make it easier to account for ballots after state and local officials said more time was needed for the changes.
The Bush Administration expanded its assertion of executive privilege saying the Justice Department wouldn’t be allowed to pursue contempt of Congress charges against the administration officials ignored Congress’s subpoenas in the probe of the firing of U.S. attorneys. The Senate passed legislation to increase college financial aid in the form of higher Pell Grants to poorer students by reducing government subsidies to banks that make education loans.
A poll suggested that while women generally are more supportive of Sen. Hillary Clinton than men, she still faces doubts, especially among older women.
Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. said his government was wrong to issue comic books that provided tips to its citizens who illegally cross the border into the U.S. and added that Mexico was hypocritical in criticizing the treatment of illegal immigrants in the U.S. as long as it maintained harsh laws against illegal immigration.
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Democratic presidential candidates are unrelentingly courting black elected officials for their endorsements.
Google is trying to increase its influence in Washington by freely offering its products as important tools in getting politicians elected.
The former head of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Proenza, was a disruptive force who jeopardized the important work of the agency, according to a report from a special team which said he shouldn’t return.