Matt Drudge: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan "is having a rough first week." The White House was evidently unhappy about some remarks made by US soldiers in a story that aired on ABC News earlier this week. Soldiers in the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division had some unkind things to say about the Bush administration. One sergeant said that "The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz." Another soldier went on camera and said "If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation." The soldiers were apparently upset because over repeated extensions of their time in Iraq. They have been scheduled to return home several times, only to have those schedules revised at the last minute [ABC News]. The White House was not happy with these remarks, and there are complaints of retaliation:

"It was the end of the world," said one officer Thursday. "It went all the way up to President Bush and back down again on top of us. At least six of us here will lose our careers." First lesson for the troops, it seemed: Don't ever talk to the media "on the record" -- that is, with your name attached -- unless you're giving the sort of chin-forward, everything's-great message the Pentagon loves to hear. [Drudge Report]

Perhaps such retaliation is not surprising. But the White House also attempted a sloppier retaliation against Jeffry Kofman, the reporter who collected the interviews. The White House apparently felt it was important that people know Kofman is openly gay and Canadian [Washington Post]. Damning. Meanwhile, a memo has turned up which makes the Recall campaign against Cal. Gov. Gray Davis look pretty blatantly like a Republican coup. This is a rare glimpse at some of the more cynical inner workings of American politics.

"While it is important to trash the governor," reads the blunt, 17-page memo from Virginia-based communications expert Frank Luntz, "it should be done in the context of regret, sadness and balance." [SF Gate]

And in other news that caught my eye, Bush's approval ratings continue to fall. According to the latest Zogby International poll, Bush's overall approval rating is now down to 53%, with a negative rating of 46%. More "likely voters" say that they do not want Bush to be re-elected. 42% say they have an unfavorable opinion of Bush as a person. Bush still maintains a plurality of support against a hypothetical Democrat, by five percentage points. [Zogby].