Almost an Apology

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Liberal Web site Truthout.org has issued what it calls a "partial apology" for reporting that White House adviser Karl Rove had been indicted last weekend in the CIA leak case and given "24 hours" to set his affairs in order.

More than 200 hours later, no indictment has emerged and Rove's attorney has categorically denied the account. Truthout director Marc Ash says he regrets doing readers a disservice, not by getting the story wrong, but by "getting too far out in front of the news-cycle."

Ash says, "In moving as quickly as we did, we caused more confusion than clarity," adding, "we will be taking the wait-and-see approach for the time being." But Ash also conceded, "Unless we get some official confirmation, we're going to look stupider and stupider."

No Jobs, No Immigrants?

Mexico's foreign-born population makes up just 0.5 percent of the country's one hundred and five million people, but officials there have banned non-natives from thousands of local government jobs.

Even legal, naturalized citizens can't hold elected office or seats on the Supreme Court under Mexico's constitution, and since 2003, the Mexican government has pushed local communities to extend the "native-born" requirement to jobs such as firefighters, policemen and judges.

Officials changed that policy last week after being contacted by the Associated Press about the story, but not before dozens of communities banned non-natives from the posts.

Gaining Ground

New York Senator Hillary Clinton, considered the Democratic frontrunner for the 2008 presidential nomination, would still lose in a head-to-head match up with Republicans John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, but she's gaining on them in the latest Jeb Bush, who has not suggested he would run. Just 28 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the Florida governor and 22 percent said he would make a good president.

Betrayed by Bush?

Conservative activist Richard Viguerie — who pioneered direct mail in political fundraising — argues in Sunday's Washington Post that conservatives feel betrayed by President Bush, and urges them to avoid the polls in November, saying, "Nothing will change until there's a change in the GOP leadership."

Viguerie may no longer hold much influence with the Republican Party, but he has a history of disillusionment with its leaders. In 1981, Viguerie said Ronald Reagan's Cabinet choices, "gave conservatives the back of the hand" and complained that Reagan allied himself with "the liberals, the Democrats and the Soviets."

Viguerie later said of Reagan, "The emperor has no clothes on; just about every conservative I know is now acknowledging it."

—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.