The temperature’s heading toward 100 in Washington, and things are getting hotter in the debate over health care too, even with Congress out of town for the traditional August recess and President Barack Obama in Mexico for the so-called Three Amigos summit.

Taking aim at the orchestrated — or not — attacks on congressional supporters of the Obama health care plan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer struck back in an opinion piece in USAToday: “Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.”

The two top House Democrats aren’t commenting in a vacuum. Obama’s Saturday radio and Web address focused on the “outlandish” tactics of some opponents of health care reform.

That followed a note by Sarah Palin — ex-governor, ex-vice-presidential candidate but still somehow claiming attention in Washington — on Facebook last week, alleging that Obama’s health care plan would have what she called a “death panel” that would let bureaucrats decide who would be “worthy of health care.” Palin, who has slammed the media for focusing on her children, said her “baby with Down Syndrome” would have to come before such a bureaucratic panel.

ABC News asked, reasonably, what Palin was talking about when she mentioned a “death panel,” and was referred to HR3200 p. 425, “Advance Care Planning Consultation” about end-of-life care. No specific mention of any death panel.

The non-partisan Factcheck.org site says its e-mail inbox has been “exploding” recently with queries asking whether this provision encourages suicide at the end of life. The answer, Factcheck.org said, is no. “Page 425 does deal with counseling sessions for seniors, but it is far from recommending a “Logan’s Run” approach to Medicare spending. In fact, it requires Medicare to cover counseling sessions for seniors who want to consider their end-of-life choices –- including whether they want to refuse or, conversely, require certain types of care. The claim that the bill would ‘push suicide’ is a falsehood.”

Will this be the end of the discussion? Our considered opinion: not a chance!

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Photo credits: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, July 22, 2009, Washington DC)
REUTERS/Nathaniel Wilder (Sarah Palin, July 26, 2009. Fairbanks, Alaska)

Call it political stage fright.

Or perhaps fear of igniting a political firestorm over Michael Jackson, the fallen “King of Pop.”

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she saw no need to vote on a resolution honoring the musical icon, who had been dogged by unproven allegations of child sexual abuse and acquitted of such charges in 2005.

“Michael Jackson was a great, great performer,” Pelosi told her weekly news conference.

“What I have said to my colleagues over the years … is that there is opportunity on the floor of the House to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish.”

But, she called unnecessary a resolution saluting Jackson as a  “global humanitarian” in the fight against AIDS and hunger, and ”an accomplished contributor” to the arts and entertainment.

“A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views that are not necessary at this time,” she said.

Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee offered the resolution a day after Jackson died at age 50 of cardiac arrest and she touted the measure at his nationally televised memorial service this week.

But it became apparent not everyone in the House of Representatives was a Michael Jackson fan. When some members asked for a moment of silence last month, a number of  lawmakers walked off the floor.

Republican Representative Peter King, in comments broadcast on YouTube, denounced what he described as the glorification of a “lowlife” and “pervert.”

A Democratic aide said party leaders wanted the matter to go away. ”They don’t want to end up in a fight.”

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Photo credit: Reuters/Aly Song (Pelosi in Shanghai in May), Reuters/Stephen Hird (Waxwork figure of Michael Jackson at Maddame Tussauds in London)

Someone lied about something at the CIA, that much is clear.

Members of the House Intelligence Committee are not happy about it, that is also clear.

But the actual offense and who committed it was apparently discussed behind closed doors and cannot be revealed publicly which has led to a cryptic dance in statements from members of Congress and the CIA.

It’s worth mentioning that the CIA actually makes a living telling lies overseas to secure secrets for U.S. national security purposes. But the spy agency prides itself on telling truth to power at home.

So let’s see if we can wind our way through what is known so far to see where the pieces fit in the puzzle of shadows.

Six Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee sent CIA Director Leon Panetta a letter dated June 26 that said “recently you testified that you have determined that top CIA officials have concealed significant actions from all members of Congress, and misled members for a number of years from 2001 to this week. This is similar to other deceptions of which we are aware from other recent periods.”

A very tantalizing statement. The letter then asks that Panetta publicly correct his statement of May 15 that it is not CIA’s policy or practice to mislead Congress.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat, issued a statement very late Wednesday night (10:04 p.m. on the BlackBerry) that said he appreciated Panetta’s recent efforts to bring issues to the committee’s attention that “had not previously been conveyed.”

But hold on… Reyes goes on to say that while the CIA has told the truth in the “vast majority of matters,” there were “rare instances” in which “certain officers have not adhered to the high standards held, as a rule, by the CIA with respect to truthfulness in reporting.”

Doesn’t require a whole lot of interpretation: Someone lied

The CIA responded by saying Panetta stands by his May 15 statement that it is not the policy of the spy agency to mislead Congress.

CIA spokesman George Little said Panetta’s actions backed up his words since “it was the CIA itself that took the initiative to notify the oversight committees.” (Still no word on what the offense was, or who committed it).

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were not going to be left out of this one and issued a statement even later at night. They charge that the Democrats are whacking the CIA to protect their leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who became embroiled in controversy over when she knew that waterboarding was being used on terrorism suspects.

The Republicans say the “blatantly political nature” of the letters from the Democrats is revealed by the fact that “one was slipped under a staffer’s office door late at night, the other was deliberately hidden from Republican members for two weeks and had to be obtained from the press.”

So that’s what we know. What we don’t know is who lied about what.

Any ideas please send them in.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has won rave reviews from conservatives and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gotten grief from from the liberal wing of her party — but the two are in one heck of a race for the lowest approval rating among Americans.

A new Gallup poll shows that Pelosi, embroiled in a controversy about what the CIA did or did not tell her about enhanced interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects, at the moment holds the crown for the lowest favorable rating – 34 percent.

Cheney, who has tried to find every opportunity to blast the Obama administration over its national security policies and efforts to repudiate the Bush White House on that and other issues, is marginally better off at 37 percent.

But the ex-VP does have a higher unfavorable rating – 54 percent versus 50 percent for the House Speaker.

The numbers are fairly grim for Pelosi. Just six months ago she had about equal favorable and unfavorable ratings, in the low 40s. As for Cheney, his numbers are an improvement from March, when 30 percent had a favorable view of him and 63 percent held an unfavorable view.

“Both Cheney and Pelosi are now positioned as highly polarizing figures on the political landscape; both are viewed favorably by the large majority of their own party members, and unfavorably by most members of the opposing party,” Gallup said in its analysis.

The survey questioned 1,015 adults May 29-31 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

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- Photo credit: Joshua Roberts (Cheney and Pelosi during the electoral college process in 2008.)

Usually congressional debates over funding U.S. troops are fights where lawmakers try to best each other praising them and throwing as much money as possible at them for fear of appearing less patriotic than someone else.

But Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives are girding for an all-out brawl over a roughly $95 billion bill to fund the troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq — but not because of that money but rather because of provisions to shore up the International Monetary Fund.

While most in Washington know what the IMF is, many Americans do not. It provides loans to governments around the world trying to weather financial crises and get their economies back on track.

President Barack Obama asked Congress to bless his plan for extending a $100 billion line of credit to the IMF amid the global economic meltdown, boost the U.S. membership contribution by $8 billion and endorse the IMF’s plan to sell 400 tons of gold.

Republicans argue that it is unrelated  to funding the U. S. troops and should be considered on its own merits, instead of being tucked into the money bill at the last minute by Democrats who control both the House and Senate.

“I will oppose this legislation if it is loaded up with billions in spending that is unrelated to our military’s core mission of protecting our nation and our interests,” said Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, a sign that most Republicans could oppose the bill.

Some House Democratic leaders have been wary about including the IMF money but have agreed to go along with Obama. Yet Republican opposition could make it potentially much harder for the Democrats to pass the war funding bill.

Fifty-one Democrats opposed the war funding bill last month and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed Republicans to pass it. Some 168 Republicans voted with Democrats to approve it.

If most or all the Republicans bolt (which would be an fairly unusual since it’s a war funding bill), that leaves Pelosi in the difficult position of seeking support from the anti-war faction of the Democratic party — for a war funding bill.

Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Andy Wong (Pelosi last week in China)

CIA Director Leon Panetta is no stranger to Washington political drama, and he showed on Friday that he wasn’t going to watch from the sidelines while Congress threw stones at his spy agency.

No names were used, but Panetta left no doubt he was responding to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s charge that the CIA misled Congress about interrogation tactics such as waterboarding that were used on terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In a publicly released note to CIA employees headlined “Turning Down the Volume,”   Panetta said the political debate on interrogation “reached a new decibel level yesterday when the CIA was accused of misleading Congress.”

“Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values,” said Panetta, a former congressman and President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff.

He had some blunt advice for employees of an agency that has come under increased public scrutiny since the Sept. 11 attacks over Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that were never found and for its handling of terrorism suspects: ”Ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission.”

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Panetta at swearing-in ceremony at CIA headquarters Feb. 19)

Just as the cherry tree blossoms pass their peak and not long after the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn, there’s another hallowed Washington spring tradition: Take Your Child To Work Day. That’s when Type A parents with Type A jobs bring their kids to the office to give them some idea of what Mom and Dad do for a living — and that includes people who work at the White House, the State Department and on Capitol Hill.

First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the under-age crowd at the White House, with an event in the East Room at mid-morning. Her husband, President Barack Obama, is expected to be otherwise engaged then, and later is set to meet with credit card company executives, and it might not be suitable for children: presidential aides have labeled some of the companies’ practices “abusive.”

At the State Department, Secretary Hillary Clinton welcomes the kids at an event that, in keeping with discreet diplomacy, is closed to the press. Children and their working parents are also expected to visit Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an enthusiastic supporter of the event.

Another sign of spring in the U.S. capital is the blossoming of flamboyant real estate on the market. The Washington Post reports that a grand mansion called Evermay, in the city’s tony Georgetown section, is going for a bargain price. Listed last year at $49 million, the estate can now be had for $39.5 million.

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Jim Bourg, American Express and MasterCard credit cards, June 25, 2008

Hollywood star Brad Pitt made the rounds in Washington on Thursday keeping a low profile while calling on some some high-profile people to promote sustainable housing.

Pitt dropped by the White House for a private meeting with President Barack Obama but the White House said there was “no read-out” on the visit.

Pitt also went to Capitol Hill to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James Clyburn. He joined them for that time-honored Washington tradition: a media availability behind a bank of microphones.

Pitt thanked Pelosi for taking time to talk to him about the post-hurricane rebuilding effort going on in New Orleans, where his “Make it Right” foundation is constructing sustainable houses for low-income residents in the city’s Lower 9th Ward.
    
Pelosi hailed Pitt as a role model. Clyburn thanked Brad for his help …  and for giving him bragging rights.

“I did not realize when the speaker asked me to chair the Katrina- Rita Task Force that it would lead to my getting in a position to make my grandchildren so envious of me because this effort brought the two of us, Brad Pitt and myself, together,” the South Carolina Democrat said.  
   
For the record, Pitt was flying solo on the Hill.  Angelina Jolie was making her own low-key appearance in town shooting a scene for a movie in a blond wig.

Hollywood had its red carpet Oscar night for stars on Sunday. Washington followed two days later with President Barack Obama’s walk down the peacock blue and gold carpet of the House chamber for a speech to a joint session of Congress.

Candycane was the power fashion statement. Obama wore an eye-catching red tie with diagonal white stripes, Gov. Bobby Jindal giving the Republican response wore a red and white tie but his stripes were bigger. (The designers could not be determined by the untrained eye).

But the standing ovations preceded Obama’s entrance into the congressional chamber. First for US Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger who has become a national hero for safely landing a plane in New York’s Hudson River with no fatalities. The simple jewelry of his pilot wings adorned his uniformed breast.

The next power celebrity to get a rise out of fans was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who appeared frail after her recent surgery for pancreatic cancer, wearing a delicate white collar around the neck of her black judicial robe. She got a warm hug from the president.

First lady Michelle Obama was a vision in a royal purple sleeveless dress (again the designer could not be determined by the untrained eye) but it was pretty. She blew a kiss at her husband.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wore bright rose and gave out lots of diplomatic hugs and kisses.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in olive green, wielded the power gavel as she presided over the event. Vice President Joe Biden, in light blue tie, was seated next to her behind Obama as he spoke.

“Nobody messes with Joe,” Obama said to laughter all around, looking back at his consigliere.

Obama used a lot of hand gestures while he spoke: the finger-point, the two-handed bookend, and the hand chop.

And at the end of the evening he used his hand to sign autographs on the way out of the chamber.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Pool (Obama addresses joint session of Congress)

Obama

First lady Michelle Obama took a turn in the spotlight Thursday, hosting a reception for a woman whose treatment at Goodyear prompted Congress to change the law on pay discrimination. 
 
It was one of the highest-profile public events for the first lady since the inauguration last week. And it was on behalf of a woman — Lilly Ledbetter — who got to know the first couple well during the presidential campaign.
 
President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act into law in the East Room of the White House flanked by a small crowd of lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
 
“This is what change looks like,” Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland joked to the audience as the lawmakers crowded around the document Obama was to sign.
 
The first lady later spoke about Ledbetter at a reception in the State Dining Room as guests sipped orange juice and cranberry juice and munched cherry orange scones, apple muffins and other pastries.
 
“She is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world,” Michelle Obama said. 
 
“She knew unfairness when she saw it and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do, plain and simple.”
 
Ledbetter discovered after 19 years on the job at Goodyear Tire & Rubber that she was the lowest-paid supervisor at her plant despite having more experience than some male co-workers.
 
A jury found she was the victim of discrimination. But the Supreme Court reversed the decision two years ago, saying discrimination claims must be filed within 180 days of the first offense.
 
“I will never see a cent from my case,” Ledbetter said. “But with the passage (of the bill) and president’s signature today, I have an even richer reward. I know that my daughters and granddaughters and your daughters and your granddaughters will have a better deal.” 
 
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Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Michelle Obama greets guest); Reuters/Jim Bourg (Obama hands pen to Ledbetter after signing bill)