according to CNN. Time for a speech.

[UPDATE: Sen. Daschle responded to your comments earlier today. Here's a photo of him blogging from ThinkProgress headquarters.]

Today we’re reminded of the life of Rosa Parks and her commitment to freedom and opportunity for all Americans. She inspired us with her actions, not just with her words. She reminds us with her life that only through action and commitment to the principles of our constitution will we succeed in fulfilling the aspirations of our nation’s founders.

Rosa Parks tried to register to vote for the first time in 1943. Because of onerous requirements, she was denied that basic constitutional right until her third try in 1945.

That is my test for any election reform – does is empower voters like this heroic woman? Or does it raise needless impediments to her voting?

I have been very concerned about the increasing calls for States to use the new REAL ID driver’s license for voter identification at the polls.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) already addresses the potential for fraudulent registration by individuals claiming to be someone they are not. I have not yet heard evidence that this reform is not working. Nor have I heard that the potential for fraud in voter registration or multiple voting will not be addressed once States fully implement the HAVA requirement for computerized, statewide registration lists.

REAL ID is a driver’s license, not a citizenship or a voting card. At this moment, 12% of the voting age population lacks a driver’s license – and you could expect that number to be much higher among the poor and others who have faced numerous challenges as they have tried to exercise their right to vote.

The documents required by REAL ID to secure a driver’s license include a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers, a photo identity document, and proof of Social Security number.

Obtaining such documents can be difficult, even for those not displaced by the devastation of a hurricane.

For all these reasons, I have come to the conclusion that for some, a requirement for photo identification constitutes nothing short of a modern day poll tax.

– Tom Daschle

“President Bush’s damage-control handlers are plotting a sophisticated war room offensive to fight back against possible indictments in the CIA leak probe…[Yesterday] Team Bush was finalizing its campaign to discredit and undermine special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s conclusions.”

The number of U.S. troops killed since the beginning of the Iraq war, after “two Marines were killed by a roadside bomb during fighting with insurgents.”

The New York Times reports Vice President Cheney led the effort to discredit Joe Wilson. According to the Times, Scooter Libby learned of Valerie Wilson’s role at the CIA from Cheney during a June 12, 2003 conversation:

The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson’s husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was questioning the administration’s handling of intelligence about Iraq’s nuclear program to justify the war.

[Snip]

The notes do not show that Mr. Cheney knew the name of Mr. Wilson’s wife. But they do show that Mr. Cheney did know and told Mr. Libby that Ms. Wilson was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency and that she may have helped arrange her husband’s trip.

Appearing on Meet the Press on September 14, 2003, Cheney played dumb:

I don’t know Mr. Wilson. I probably shouldn’t judge him. I have no idea who hired him and it never came [up]…

Whether or not Cheney is in legal trouble, if the New York Times report is true, it’s clear he misled the American people.

(HT: Digby)