Here are two stories on the wire from Washington this afternoon that are an indication that Vermont might continue to be the only state President Bush hasn't visited right through January 2009.
Example 1:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush’s nominee to run the White House budget
office, former GOP Rep. Jim Nussle, appears to be a long shot to win
confirmation before the Senate’s summer break.
The Senate Budget Committee approved his nomination by a
22-1 vote Thursday, but one committee member, Sen. Bernard Sanders, said he
would hold up the nomination. Sanders’ threat of a filibuster is enough to delay
action until September at the earliest.
“President Bush is completely out of touch with the
economic realities facing working families,” said Sanders, a Vermont
independent. “He needs a budget director who will make him face the facts, not
his fantasies.”
Example 2:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators of both parties have shifted from simple
disapproval of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to tactical planning for how to
get rid of him if he does not correct what they say are inconsistencies in his
sworn congressional testimony.
Senate officials say they expect some response from the
embattled attorney general by Friday, the deadline set by Judiciary Committee
Chairman Patrick Leahy. But if Gonzales does not satisfy committee members, they
are likely to shift quickly to an effort to oust him.
- Terri Hallenbeck
