Cramming Before Recess....

This is the last week before Congress breaks until after Labor Day, and they have many "Final Assignments Before Recess." (WaPo)

The House and Senate hope to renew and expand the State Children's Health Insurance Plan. But, Republicans call the program a budget-buster and The Decider threatens a veto.... incredible since when they were in control they passed the most expensive social plan ever, the drug industry and insurance company drug-coverage bonanza.

He's baaaack.... Rummy has been invited to testify on the Hill Wednesday, along with Gen. Myers, in the hearing into the death of pro football player, Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan in 2004.

How he died was initially covered up by the Pentagon.... and his "heroic" death used as propaganda fodder for recruitment efforts. Tillman's increasingly skeptical family is still looking for answers. The "M" word is being raised by some.... the coroner's report, suppressed until recently, doesn't jive with the new "official" story.

Also, this week, the constitutional tug-of-war between the White House and Congress will most likely heat up as it is expected that subpoenaed Karl Rove will thumb his nose at the hearing into to the U.S. Attorney firings by playing the White House blanket stay-out-of-jail card.... executive privilege.

Today our supposed international expert, Condi Rice, will jet with a shell-shocked Defense Secretary Gates (he has a deer caught in the headlights look these days) to the Middle East to implore the Arabs to provide more support in stabilizing Iraq.

Rice needs a good week... she's become increasingly marginalized by her own incompetence and slavish "office wife" loyalty to the twit who calls her "Guru."

For instance, a few months ago she tried to peddle an op ed piece she wrote in collaboration with John Chambers about ways to rebuild Lebanon after last summer's war.

No one would publish it.

Our Secretary of State couldn't get her essay published in the right-leaning Wall Street Journal, the New York Times.... even the Financial Times of London.

Price Floyd, who was the State Department's director of media affairs until recently, said the piece was littered with glowing references to President Bush's wise leadership.... "It read like a campaign document."

And, sounding the note heard everywhere around D.C. these days about the White House political mafia strong-arm tactics, Floyd recalled that his supervisor, a political appointee, kept "telling me to shut up." In his 17 years, nothing like that had ever occurred under Presidents Bill Clinton or Bush "41," he said.

But, the current White House partisan-agenda enforcers... "They just wanted us to be Bush automatons."

McCain Bus Stalls

BREAKING NEWS!

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to attend Anna Nicole Smith's funeral where he will set his hair on fire!

Well.... maybe a little far fetched, but not much.

Not after appearing on late night funnyman David Letterman's show last night where McCain said: "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," whereupon Letterman drum rolled ten reasons why McCain should be ahead of Rudy Giuliani in the polls.

Well, not really, the drum rolled 10 reasons that is.... but considering the deadly dire straits the country is in a little grown-up gravitas would be appreciated here when announcing for the highest office in our besieged at-war land.

McCain has been trying mightily to slow down Rudy's big "mo" and keep the heel-nipping Mitt Romney at bay.

Even though he has loudly supported (and quietly advised) Bush's war in Iraq, McCain recently pulled his "Straight Talk Express" to the curb and turned on the administration, calling their handling of the war a "train wreck" and Rummy "one of the worst secretaries of defense in history."

But nothing seems to be working for him. His timing is off, his finger in the wind appears fickle, he looks tired and regardless of jumping up and down to gain our attention, he continues to trail Rudy.

There is much to admire in McCain.... not the least of which was his noble service as a Navy pilot and brave suffering as a Vietnam POW, and his years of service in the Senate.

But, maybe his time has passed.

Maybe his next announcement should be that he recognizes that fact. That admission might restore some of the luster to his "Straight Talk Express."