Giuliani's 9/11 Legacy and NYC Firefighters

Interesting and somewhat surprising New York Times report about GOP presidential front runner Rudy Giuliani's less than full support from NYC firefighters. The firefighters' criticisms of Rudy now open the door for others to more carefully scrutinize and challenge Giuliani's post-9/11 conduct, which, up until now, has been virtually untouchable. What's at stake for Rudy? Only his primary presidential selling point to a national electorate mostly unfamiliar with the specifics of his tenure as NYC mayor. Will other Republican candidates be tempted to delve into this area? Something to keep an eye on in the next six months as second tier candidates try to put a dent into the legacy of "America's Mayor."

Bush and Cheney's Visitor Logs and the Minimal Need for Candor

A few days ago, an AP story appeared about the President and Vice-President's efforts to have their White House visitor logs declared "presidential records" and therefore exempt from public scrutiny. In other words, it would be impossible to find out with whom President Bush and Dick Cheney meet as they conduct the nation's business. The administration's justification for yet another layer of White House secrecy is to assure that the president and vice president "receive candid advice to carry out their duties."

However, on that same day, in an unrelated story, presidential adviser Dan Bartlett resigned and, in the AP's coverage of that development, Bartlett was described as one of the very few individuals who can actually provide candor to President Bush:

"He is known as someone who has Bush’s ear, one of few people who can give the president bad news....'He can talk to the president in a candid way, in sort of a family way, that almost nobody else can,' White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten told The Associated Press."

Well, that's a bit scary--that few of Bush's advisers feel as though he will be receptive to their honest counsel. On the other hand, if Bartlett is one of the very few people who can speak candidly to the President--and he is now gone--is there any further justification for declaring the visitor logs off limits?