The results of a new Washington Post - ABC News poll show Bush's approval ratings have dropped to an all time low.

For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

On virtually every key measure of presidential character and performance, the new survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls.

55% of the American people now believe Bush misled the country in taking us to war. 59% say Karl Rove should resign.

This quote is buried in a AP story tonight about three Congressmen who are seeking Cheney's testimony in a congressional probe.

In response, Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said that the vice president would cooperate with the Justice Department as the criminal investigation of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald moves forward.

I wish these Congressman would wait until Fitzgerald's investigation and the criminal cases are over. Don't they remember Iran-Contra? Can't they spell "immunity?" In case they forgot, here's Last Night in Little Rock. If they won't listen to us, maybe they'll listen to Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Human Rights Watch reports that the CIA moved terror prisoners to Poland and Romania. The heads of both countries deny it.

In implicating Poland and Romania, Human Rights Watch examined flight logs of CIA aircraft from 2001 to 2004, said Mark Garlasco, a senior military analyst with the New York-based organization. He said the group matched the flight patterns with testimony from some of the hundreds of detainees in the war on terrorism who have been released by the United States.

Finally, this story has legs.

I'll admit, James Carville always has been tough for me to watch on tv. It's nothing personal, I just don't get his appeal. He figits, over-dominates the discussion and his lightening speech and country twang rub me the wrong way. Add that to his wife's politics, and he's a channel-changer for me.

Arianna makes a good argument today that he needs to take a vacation . On PlameGate, he's picking up his wife's talking points on Cheney.

Great job announcement over at Josh Marshall's Talking Points and TPM cafe. I really like the last line:

No deadline for applications. We'll hire when we've found the right person.

CNN announced yesterday that Aaron Brown is leaving and Anderson Cooper will be taking his 10:00 PM ET timeslot. I like Anderson Cooper's reporting a lot, but I also liked Aaron Brown's show. He was an oasis of calm and reason among the sea of frenetic spin shows.

Armando likes him too. It doesn't appear that Mr. Brown has lined up a new gig yet, but I wish him well.

How do reporters know whom to call for information on Judge Alito? The professionals do their own research. Others apparently rely on the White House "Office of Political Affairs."

TalkLeft friend Peter Goldberger has given several press interviews on Alito, a law school classmate. He has expressed his views here on TalkLeft.

Yesterday, Peter got a telephone call from Mike Davis at the White House Political Affairs office asking whether he could put Peter's name on a contact list for journalists. Davis said they were looking for people who may not share Alito's views but who support his nomination.

by TChris

Goose, meet gander.

Two days after U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay won a fight to get a new judge in his case, prosecutors on Thursday succeeded in ousting the Republican jurist responsible for selecting the new judge. Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub recused himself after District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed a motion asking for his removal from the case.

DeLay succeeded in removing a judge who had donated more than $5,000 to Democratic campaigns. Earle discovered that Judge Schraub has contributed more than $5,000 to Republican candidates, including DeLay's friend, Gov. Rick Perry.

Schraub will ask the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court to name a judge to preside over DeLay's case. You can bet that both sides already know whether the chief justice has been a generous supporter of political campaigns.

Work beckons for me, so here's an open thread for you.

The Washington Post reports White House aides are debating whether Karl Rove should resign and that Rove is not out of Fitzgerald's cross-hairs.

Fitzgerald is considering charging Rove with making false statements in the course of the 22-month probe, and sources close to Rove -- who holds the titles of senior adviser and White House deputy chief of staff -- said they expect to know within weeks whether the most powerful aide in the White House will be accused of a crime.

Jonathan Alter at Newsweek writes that Rove's security clearance is in jeopardy. Jane at Firedoglake provides a perceptive analysis of these developments, including this quote about the use of the term "Official A" from the WAPO article:

Howard Bashman of How Appealing was on Radio Times the other day discussing Judge Alito's nomination. The audio is here.

During the segment, a caller who identified himself as a former law clerk for a 3rd Circuit Judge and a current law professor in Kentucky, noted that the judge he clerked for worked with Alito on a capital case in which Alito was in dissent. The caller said:

"It seemed like he put his thumb on the scale for the prosecution. ... He pored over the record to find facts and arguments the prosecution had never raised in its brief..."

Lewis Libby's new lawyers made their appearance at his arraignment today. They are Ted Wells and William Jeffress.

Wells won acquittals for former Agriculture Secretary Michael Espy and former Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan. He is a partner at the New York-based firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

Jeffress is from the firm Baker Botts, where Bush family friend and former Secretary of State James A. Baker is a senior partner. Jeffress has won acquittals for public officials accused of extortion, perjury, money laundering, and vote-buying, his firm's Web site says.

I am not familiar with Jeffress. Ted Wells is an excellent choice.