Morning copy 02.02.2006

State of the Union policy points

The Chicago Tribune on Bush's plan for more A.P. teachers:

Officials with the College Board, which administers the AP program, praised the plan but raised concerns about a big ramp-up of the teaching corps.

"The devil will be in the details," said Trevor Packer, College Board director of Advanced Placement courses. "It is not enough to simply send some teachers to a weekend workshop and expect them to teach college-level courses."

Los Angeles Times: "Bush's Health Plan Called Smart Politics; Critics See a 'Gimmick'"

The New York Times on energy:

Politically, both parties on Capitol Hill displayed a lack of enthusiasm. Democrats said Mr. Bush had opposed foreign oil reduction targets in last year's energy bill, and Republicans questioned the practicality of relying on ethanol and other alternatives.

Scientifically, researchers said ethanol and other alternative fuels were still years away from widespread commercial use.

The Boston Globe: "Specialists doubt legality of wiretaps"

The Washington Post sub-head on budget cuts: "Poor, Elderly and Students to Feel Pinch" (That is a page A01 sub-head, by the way.)

Iraq

The sub-head for an A.P. story on the insurgency: "An audit says 60% of the projects will be unfinished because the intensity of attacks was not foreseen."

The Washington Times:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iraq's Sunni leadership presented the majority-Shi'ite government yesterday with a 10-point ultimatum that they said would either end the violence or lead to a national strike and widespread street demonstrations.

Iran

Bloomberg News: "Iran Won't Face Economic Sanctions for Now, U.S. Says"

Katrina

Chicago Tribune/Washington Post lede:

WASHINGTON -- Responsibility for the government's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina extends widely but begins at the top of the Bush administration, which failed before the storm to name a White House, homeland security or other senior aide in command of the looming disaster, congressional investigators reported Wednesday.

The New York Times:

"Government entities did not act decisively or quickly enough to determine the catastrophic nature of the incident," the report said. "In the absence of timely and decisive action and clear leadership responsibility and accountability, there were multiple chains of command."

GOP Leadership

The Hill:

House Republicans yesterday signaled that they do not want to revamp their leadership structure radically.

Los Angeles Times:

WASHINGTON — Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri has emerged as the favorite in today's Republican vote for a new House majority leader, a contest that has been dominated by debate over the party's direction in the wake of ethics scandals.

The Washington Post on the GOP and religion:

Danforth is no squalling liberal. He is a lifelong Republican. And his own political history shows he is no milquetoast.

A man of God and the GOP, he is speaking out for moderation -- in religion, politics, science and government. The lanky figure once dubbed "St. Jack," not always warmly, for the perch he seemed to occupy on Washington's moral high ground, expects people will sour on the assertive brand of Christianity so closely branded Republican.

Justice Alito's first vote

New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (AP) — Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. cast his first vote on the Supreme Court on Wednesday, splitting with the court's conservatives in an appeal from a Missouri inmate who was to be executed at midnight.

Justice Alito joined five members of the court in blocking the execution of the inmate, Michael Taylor, who had argued that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, a claim also used by two Florida death-row inmates that won stays from the Supreme Court over the past week.