Partisans, a love story: The convenient friendship of George Bush and Tom DeLay

Here's a good read with which to begin your week:

At Time, Matthew Cooper and Mike Allen explore the complex relationship between President Bush and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

A few of the more interesting passages (along with my commentary)

-- "Even before DeLay's announcement that he would abdicate his leadership post,... the President's inner circle always treated DeLay as a necessary burden. He may have had an unmatched grip on the House and Washington lobbyists, but DeLay is not the kind of guy -- in background and temperament -- the President feels comfortable with."

If nothing else, that certainly speaks in Bush's favour, does it not?

-- "Although DeLay's forfeiture of his leadership post makes things easier for the White House, the Abramoff saga will continue to be a problem. Bracing for the worst, Administration officials obtained from the Secret Service a list of all the times Abramoff entered the White House complex, and they scrambled to determine the reason for each visit. Bush aides are also trying to identify all the photos that may exist of the two men together."

It's called historical revisionism, the rewriting of history for ideological purposes. The Soviets were particularly good at it. So, of course, is the Bush Administration.

-- "Republican officials say they are so worried about the Abramoff problem that they are now inclined to stoke a fight with Democrats over the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court in an effort to turn the page from the lobbying investigation."

It's called wagging the dog. There should be a fight over Alito, but Democrats (and the media) need to keep their focus on all the different balls in play. Don't let Bush manipulate the narrative of his own presidency.

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For more, see The Raw Story, Firedoglake, Think Progress, Shakespeare's Sister, Booman Tribune, The Heretik, and MyDD (a post by fellow TMV co-blogger Jonathan Singer).