Watch Stephen Colbert’s routine at the White House Correspondent Dinner.

The number of laws “President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey…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.”

In Sept. 2000, then-Gov. George W. Bush criticized President Clinton for proposing to use the strategic oil reserve in response to high prices:

The Strategic Reserve is an insurance policy meant for a sudden disruption of our energy supply or for war. Strategic Reserve should not be used as an attempt to drive down oil prices right before an election. It should not be used for short-term political gain at the cost of long-term national security.

Today on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to explain why President Bush broke his 2000 campaign pledge and announced he would stop filling the Strategic Reserve.

Bodman couldn’t keep his answers straight. First he said the decision was merely “symbolic.” Then he claimed it was actually meant “to make a contribution to the reduction of prices.” Then he suggested that Bush had indeed broken his campaign pledge, but that it was okay since it had been several years and “times are different.” Then he flipped again, saying Bush was justified because current gas prices constituted a “crisis.” Not ready for primetime. Watch it:

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Today on ABC’s This Week, conservative pundit George Will said the appointment of new White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was an “aesthetic” fix for a “substance problem” and would do nothing to help the Bush administration. Watch it:

Transcript:

WILL: [Snow's appointment is] just what conservatives really want, is government by Fox News. But he’s a man of wit, charm, intelligence, goodwill and it won’t make a particle of difference. It really won’t. Because it’s not a communication problem. It’s a substance problem. Politics is about something. Now, this is an aesthetic improvement in that room in the White House, period.

In an interview aired today on Britain’s ITV, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the U.S. went into Iraq without enough troops. Powell said he always “favored a larger military presence.” Prior to the invasion Powell made the case to Rumsfeld and President Bush but was overruled. As a result Powell said we didn’t have “enough force there at the time to impose order.” Watch it:

Transcript: Read more