Bush's ship is sinking into the ocean. He's fallen so far, The New York Times reports he may not be able to reverse the damage. He continues to lose support among his base as well as Democrats and Independents. According to the new CBS-New York Times poll,

Mr. Bush's approval rating for his management of foreign policy, Iraq and the economy have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency.

....Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father, George H. W. Bush, in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. That is the third lowest approval rating of any president in 50 years; only Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter were viewed less favorably.

There's also good news for Democrats:

LNILR wrote yesterday of Michael Hayden's lack of understanding of the Fourth Amendment.

I agree. I have previously written about his role in the failed Operation Trailblazer program and his endorsement of Bush's warrantless NSA electronic surviellance program. Hayden was in charge of the NSA when Bush's program went into effect and was called upon by Bush to be a spokesman supporting it.

by TChris

Another poll, another reason for the president to think about spending the summer at his ranch, clearing brush.

"This administration may be over," Lance Tarrance, a chief architect of the Republicans' 1960s and '70s Southern strategy, told a gathering of journalists and political wonks last week. "By and large, if you want to be tough about it, the relevancy of this administration on policy may be over."

A new poll by RT Strategies, the firm headed by Tarrance and Democratic pollster Thomas Riehle, shows that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's job performance, while 36 percent approve -- a finding in line with other recent polls.

Other fun polling results:

Bump and Update: Patrick Kennedy announced today he will be entering rehab due to a prescription drug problem.

Kudos to him for acknowledging a difficult personal issue and dealing with it.

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Original Post 5/4/06

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of Ted Kennedy, drove to the capitol last night around 2:30 am believing he had to vote. He had taken Ambien and Phenergan for gastroenteritis.

He crashed his car into a security guard rail and was not hurt. He also got in a car accident three weeks ago at 10:00 a.m. He is adamant no alchohol was involved. He says the drugs made him disoriented.

by TChris

Breaking news:

CIA Director Porter Goss has resigned, President Bush said Friday.

Wonkette asks whether this abrupt announcement precedes new news of a scandal.

Update: Here's "a primer on the connection between Goss and the Cunningham scandal," courtesy of Think Progress.

by TChris

This is what the House of Representatives, by a mostly party-line vote of 217-213, thinks it can sell the public as "lobbying reform":

The new bill would require lobbyists to disclose more of their activities, increase financial penalties for violations and require lawmakers and their aides to attend ethics training. It also aims to discourage earmarks by requiring House members who write spending bills to disclose them, a move lauded by fiscal conservatives who complain that earmarks waste taxpayer money and drive up the cost of legislation.

That's it. The bill doesn't ban members from accepting private trips on corporate jets. It doesn't stop members and their staffs from becoming lobbyists a year after leaving Congress. It allows members to accepts gifts and meals worth $50. As reform goes, the House bill is weak tea.

by TChris

Pearl Jam joins Neil Young, the Dixie Chicks, and the Rolling Stones with a song of protest.

World Wide Suicide, already frying the airwaves with indignation, is a stormy anti-war rant tailor-made for Eddie Vedder's howling rasp.

Here's a review of the album. (Update: Alert readers called attention to the omission of Pink's protest song. If you've heard other recent protest songs, feel free to list them in the comments.)

How low can he go? A new CBS poll finds Bush's approval rating at his lowest ever, 33%.

Only 33 percent approve of his job performance, Mr. Bush's lowest approval rating yet in CBS News polls. A majority - 58 percent of those polled - say they disapprove of the president. Mr. Bush appears to be losing support from his own party. His approval rating among Republicans has dropped to 68 percent.

Complete poll results are here. (pdf)

Time Magazine explores the gas price crisis and notes the irony -- I'd call it hypocrisy -- of Bush now blaming it on the oil companies.

Who's suffering? Consumers, airlines, Detroit, truckers and Fedex, to name a few.

Who's profiting? The oil companies, oil-field-service firms, oil workers, petroleum engineers and geologists, oil traders in New York City's Mercantile Exchange -- and Iran and Venezuela:

The Boston Globe today has a report on President Bush's extraordinary power grab.

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Here's a comparison with other presidents. The founding fathers would turn over in their graves if they learned how Bush has decimated the separation of powers doctrine. Glenn Greenwald has more:

Shane Harris of the National Journal reports:

The CIA has imposed new and tighter restrictions on the books, articles, and opinion pieces published by former employees who are still contractors with the intelligence agency. According to several former CIA officials affected by the new policy, the rules are intended to suppress criticism of the Bush administration and of the CIA. The officials say the restrictions amount to an unprecedented political "appropriateness" test at odds with earlier CIA policies on outside publishing.

The move is a significant departure from the CIA's longtime practice of allowing ex-employees to take critical or contrary positions in public, particularly when they are contractors paid to advise the CIA on important topics and to publish their assessments.

Murray Waas has a new article in the National Journal asking, Is There a Double Standard on Leakers? The answer is yes.

Murray reports that Sen. Pat Roberts, who praised the CIA's firing of an agent who reportedly disclosed classified information to WaPo reporter Dana Priest for an article on CIA secret prisons, has himself been a leaker.

Roberts now:

"[T]hose who leak classified information not only risk the disclosure of intelligence sources and methods, but also expose the brave men and women of the intelligence community to greater danger. Clearly, those guilty of improperly disclosing classified information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Roberts three years ago: