Markos highlighted this exchange from Tom Delay’s appearance today on Hardball:

Matthews grilled DeLay about passages in his book where he apparently ripped into fellow corrupt Texan Dick Armey, eventually asking the Hammer about describing Armey as “drunk with ambition.” DeLay denied writing that. “I wrote that he was ‘blinded by his ambition.’” Matthews starts flipping though the book and finds the “drunk with ambition” quote and reads it to Bug Man. And DeLay keeps denying it. Finally, Chris hands the book to Tom and tells him to read it himself. DeLay looks down, pauses, and says “I don’t have my glasses.”

Watch it:

Digg It!

“Last September, CREW named Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) as one of the most corrupt members of Congress in our report, “Beyond DeLay.” Last October, the Associated Press reported that Renzi was under federal investigation for a land deal. In December, Paul Charlton, the U.S. Attorney in Arizona who was investigating Renzi, was fired. Speculation is growing about whether the Renzi investigation led to Charlton’s dismissal.” CREW has the details.

The Pentagon has begun investigating conditions for veterans at the Armed Forces Retirement Home after Defense Secretary Robert Gates received a letter from the Government Accountability Office. “The letter reported that the GAO had heard allegations from medical personnel who treat residents at the facility, including a rising number of resident deaths, resident rooms spattered with blood, urine and feces, and veterans suffering from bed sores and, in one case, maggots in a wound.”

UPDATE: The AP reports on problems at a VA clinic in White City, Ore., including “large colonies of bats” which “sometimes flew into the attics and interior parts of the building.” Officials said the bats weren’t removed in part because they “keep the insect pollution to a minimum which is beneficial.”

“Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales met this afternoon with several Republican Senators, including Orrin Hatch, Jon Kyl, John Cornyn and Jeff Sessions. … The lunch meeting held at the Department of Justice, sources said, was initiated by Gonzales. A source familiar with the meeting says it was an attempt by Gonzales to reach out to Republicans who have been decidedly unhappy with how he has handled the US Attorney mess.”

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has said Al Gore is “full of crap” and compared people who believe in global warming to “the Third Reich.” During today’s Senate hearing, Inhofe used a considerable amount of time to attack Gore’s use of carbon offsets and try to convince him to sign a sham “energy ethics pledge.” (Find the real facts on Gore’s energy usage HERE and HERE.)

Inhofe asked Gore for his reaction, but then quickly cut him off saying Gore had taken up too much time. When Gore tried to go on, Inhofe repeatedly interrupted, adding, “I don’t want to be rude, but from now on, I’m going to ask you to respond…in writing.” Inhofe said Gore could respond verbally only if it was a “very brief response.”

Committee chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) finally intervened. “Would you agree to let the Vice President answer your questions?” Inhofe said Gore could respond when he was done talking, but Boxer wouldn’t have it: “No, that isn’t the rule. You’re not making the rules. You used to when you did this. Elections have consequences. So I make the rules.” The hearing audience applauded loudly. Watch it:

Blog for Our Future has a round-up of bloggers’ reactions to Gore’s testimony.

UPDATE: Three more notable videos from Gore’s testimony today are HERE.

We’ve tracked down another set of emails during the 18-day gap (available HERE) between Kyle Sampson and Brent Ward, the head of the federal obscenity task force. In the emails, Ward complains about resistance from several U.S. Attorneys to prosecuting obscenity cases, problems that the Bush administration now claims are responsible for the firings of prosecutors Daniel Bogden in Nevada and Paul Charlton in Arizona. In other words, it makes sense that the administration would include this set of emails and apparently virtually nothing else from that 18-day-gap, since the emails from Ward bolster the administration’s case that the firings were based on performance-related concerns.

UPDATE: More on the Ward emails from the Salt Lake Tribune.

“Thirty-nine percent (39%) of American voters believe Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 800 Likely Voters found that 31% disagree and say he should not resign while 30% are not sure. Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats believe he should resign along with 21% of Republicans and 42% of those not affiliated with either major party.”

is found.