Update: Smoking Gun has the arrest warrant.

The Jeb Bush household is experiencing parenting problems again.

John Ellis Bush, the youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials in Texas said.

The 21-year-old nephew of President Bush was arrested by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. Friday on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said spokesman Roger Wade.

More news coverage here. Our coverage of Noelle Bush's drug arrest is accessible here. [via Buzzflash]

by Last Night in Little Rock

Friday's funnies, for those who liked Wednesday's on Roe v. Wade:

How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to change a light bulb?

A new CBS-New York Times poll finds that Americans prefer rebuilding New Orleans to social security changes or tax cuts.

Almost two-thirds, 63 percent, said rebuilding the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina is more important to them than changing Social Security, and almost three-fourths, 73 percent, said rebuilding the flooded city is more important to them than cutting taxes, according to a CBS-New York Times poll released Wednesday.

A large majority of Americans, 73 percent, said they think their taxes will increase as a result of Katrina. More than half of those polled said they were willing to pay more taxes to help with Katrina recovery, job training and housing for victims.

Bush's second term as President has focused on tax cuts and social security changes. This poll is a resounding defeat for his policies and, in my opinion, his presidency.

[comments now closed]

A new NBC- Wall Street Journal poll says Bush's approval ratings have sunk to their lowest level ever:

Bush's approval rating has declined to its lowest level in his presidency. So has his handling of the situation in Iraq. Moreover, fewer than half those surveyed approve of the way in which Bush has dealt with the hurricane, and a whopping three-fourths believe the United States is not prepared for a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.

The AP has an article on Bush's legacy, which it says will be defined by three crises: September 11, Hurricane Katrina and the War in Iraq.

Katrina's lethal aftermath revealed that the Bush administration didn't learn valuable lessons from the 2001 attacks about responding to disasters. As for the president himself, since the Sept. 11 terror strikes, Bush seems to have lost his touch for connecting with an anxious public.

Two more associates of Tom DeLay have been indicted by a Texas grand jury.

Two associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were charged today with two additional felony charges of violating Texas election law and criminal conspiracy to violate election law for their role in the 2002 legislative races. The indictment is the seventh this month from a Travis County grand jury investigating the use of corporate money in the campaigns that gave Republicans control of the Texas House.

It is unlikely DeLay will be indicted. Roll Call (subscription only) reported today:

After 7 and a half days of deliberation,

A federal jury this afternoon found former Westar Energy Inc. chairman and chief executive David Wittig guilty of all counts in his trial on charges of looting the utility. The jury convicted his co-defendant, former Westar executive vice president and chief strategic officer Douglas Lake, of all but nine of the 39 counts against the two men.

What ever happened to the investigation that was demanded by groups into Westar's ties to former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Rep. Tom DeLay?

by TChris

The WaPo-ABC poll numbers aren't as bad as the Newsweek numbers, but if the president actually read the newspaper, he wouldn't be happy with them.

The bungled response to the hurricane has helped drag down Bush's job-approval rating, which now stands at 42 percent -- the lowest of his presidency -- in the Post-ABC poll and down three points since the hurricane hit two weeks ago. Fifty-seven percent disapprove of Bush's performance, a double-digit increase since January.

Even some members of Bush's own party appear to have lost faith in their leader: The president's overall approval rating among Republicans has declined from 91 percent in January to 78 percent in the latest poll.

Crooks and Liars reports that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's reappointment as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois may be hitting some snags. He's up for re-appointment next month, and his sponsor for the job initially, former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, says he's receiving opposition due to Fitzgerald's playing hardball in Chicago corruption probes.

Let's hope he's playing hardball in RoveGate as well.

by TChris

Newsweek reports that the country's satisfaction with President Bush has reached a record low.

Only 38 percent of Americans approve of the way Bush is doing his job overall, a record-low for this president in the NEWSWEEK poll. (Fifty-five percent of Americans disapprove of his overall job performance.) And only 28 percent of Americans say they are “satisfied with the way things are going” in the country, down from 36 percent in August and 46 percent in December, after the president’s re-election. This is another record low and two points below the satisfaction level recorded immediately after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal came to light. Fully two-thirds of Americans are not satisfied with the direction of the country.

posted by Last Night in Little Rock

Below are the lyrics to "Sweet Neo Con" by Mick Jagger on the just released "Bigger Bang" CD and previously referred to here:

posted by Last Night in Little Rock

MSNBC reports on another gathering storm: The Democrats and the 2006 election: "Democrats declare open season on Bush / In wake of Hurricane Katrina, a political tornado gains strength."