On Monday evening, I noticed a story on the Drudge Report that claimed Democrat Harry Reid received a free ticket to a championship boxing match as a favor. The story included a picture of Reid, seated next to Senator John McCain, who also apparently received a free ticket.

There was one major problem with the story: the free tickets were not tickets at all. They were access credentials, given to elected politicians who oversee the actions of the Nevada Athletic Commission during the fight. Reid and McCain were both invited as overseers of the fight. Now I'll admit, that's a pretty nice perk for politicians, but there's nothing illegal about it. In fact, if either man had attempted to pay the NAC for the tickets, they would have been commiting a crime. Those seats are considered government property for the duration of the fight, and selling government property is against the law, as many GOPers have recently found out when it was discovered they were selling their offices.
TPMmuckraker May 31, 2006 03:46 PM

It's been over 1 and a half years since John Kerry lost the presidential election to George W. Bush, but he's still fighting hard to to correct the lies that were spread about him during the campaign.

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a group of Vietnam veterans, although many of them had never served on a swift boat during the war. Only 1 member of the group actually served on a boat with John Kerry, and their time together was limited. Despite this, the SBVT funded commercials claiming that they had served with John Kerry, and he was no war hero, and he had made up his war record. Kerry has many documents to prove that the heroic war stories involving him were true, not just for himself, but to honor those who served and lost their lives in that horrible war.

One of Kerry's favorite stories about the war was about a Christmas he spent in Cambodia. The SBVT jumped on this, saying that the U.S. military was not in Cambodia during this time. I guess that attack really showed how little the knew of John Kerry or his war record, because unsealed classified documents proved that the U.S. military was secretly in Cambodia at this time, and Kerry was among them. Of course, they wouldn't have known this as they sat safe in their tents in Southern Vietnam, just waiting out the war and avoiding the dangerous action.

Kerry supporters have been gathering evidence, from archived military intelligence data to still photos to amateur films, proving that Kerry's war record was true and the honors awarded to him were entirely justified. The one major mistake in Kerry's campaign was that he did not attack the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth with more vigor. He could have named the members of the group, one by one, and blasted their war records and exposed that they never served with him. He showed them respect, perhaps because he once served in the same war with them and he has always shown respect towards veterans, especially when he testified before Congress against the Vietnam War - trying to bring the soldiers back home.

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are a shameful group of cowards, willing to sacrifice their own integrity for political gain. They spent $30 million, funded by various conservative groups with the blessing of President Bush, to defame John Kerry during the 2004 election. Kerry may never run for president again, but cleaning his image from these lies is more important than politics.
Kerry Pressing Swift Boat Case Long After Loss - New York Times

What if Richard Nixon had been able to find out who journalists were talking to? He probably could have prevented the whole Watergate scandal from getting out. Well, the Bush administration has been keeping tabs on who critical journalists have been calling, and very damaging reports are still getting out.

One can only imagine what scandals they've been able to squash, as the ones that have made it out would have been enough to impeach Clinton. Of course, Bush is backed by a conservative Congress and Supreme Court.
The Blotter

President Bush told a German interviewer that his worst moment in office was 9/11. His best moment? Catching a really big perch in his pond. I guess that's a fairly common response - I remember my 6-year-old nephew said catching a big fish was one of the highlights of last summer. I would say that he's on the same mental level as the president, but he's actually a very bright kid.
Bush's best moment in office? Reeling in big perch - Yahoo! News UK