Friday, October 29, 2004
A CATHOLIC'S CASE AGAINST BUSH
...from Father Andrew Greeley. My favorite line:
The pope is infallible only in certain limited circumstances and on specific matters. Unlike the pope, Mr. Bush apparently sets no limits on the policy decisions that will be made by conversations with God. We want four more years of those decisions?
Thursday, October 28, 2004
BLOW UP
As the Bush administration tries to deny responsibility for the missing explosives, more evidence from the reality-based world that the looting was a direct result of US policies.
We don't just need to vote these idiots out of office. We need to throw them in jail for how they've compromised the security of our troops and the nation.
Looters stormed the weapons site at Al Qaqaa in the days after American troops swept through the area in early April 2003 on their way to Baghdad, gutting office buildings, carrying off munitions and even dismantling heavy machinery, three Iraqi witnesses and a regional security chief said Wednesday.
The Iraqis described an orgy of theft so extensive that enterprising residents rented their trucks to looters. But some looting was clearly indiscriminate, with people grabbing anything they could find and later heaving unwanted items off the trucks.
We don't just need to vote these idiots out of office. We need to throw them in jail for how they've compromised the security of our troops and the nation.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
NOT LOCKSTEP
Great LA Times article about evangelical Christians' concerns with Bush. The secular are not the only members of the reality-based community.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
RIP JOHN PEEL
Sad. In a more just world, we'd have a Clear Channel obituary and thousands of stations emulating Peel's ear-opening approach to introducing listeners to hundreds of new musicians.
PLAIN DEALER SCOOP
Goldberg and Guthrie give some insight into the Plain Dealer's decision not to endorse a candidate for president.
Here's what really happened, according to G&G sources very close to the editorial board process: The endorsement process (if not for all candidates, at least for president this time around) involves the board sitting around with the paper's president and publisher, Alex Machaskee. The board tells Machaskee all of their thoughts and opinions on the matter. Now, I'm not sure if the normal process is that the board tells Machaskee this and then he makes the endorsement decision, or if he usually goes along with the board, or what. But, in this case, had a vote been taken, it would have been 5-2 for Kerry, and it is true that Machaskee did want to overrule them and endorse Bush. But, this leaked out over the weekend, rumors started flying about the editorial board being overruled, and Machaskee must have had second thoughts and decided that the paper would make no endorsement this time around.
Monday, October 25, 2004
THE OCTOBER SURPRISE
...is Bush's stunning incompetence. Hundreds of tons of explosives in Iraq guarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency before the war were left unattended when the US invaded in 2003 -- despite explicit warnings by the IAEA to the US that they existed and were crucial to secure. The administration has kept this quiet until now, but these are the explosives used against American troops...and who knows where else they are going?
If Bush's final argument is that Kerry cannot be depended upon to keep us safe and this happens on Bush's watch, how the hell can he claim Kerry will be anything other than an improvement?
If Bush's final argument is that Kerry cannot be depended upon to keep us safe and this happens on Bush's watch, how the hell can he claim Kerry will be anything other than an improvement?
Saturday, October 23, 2004
THIS AD NEEDS TO BE SEEN
See it, courtesy of Wesley Clark's Win Back Respect. If you have any money to donate, getting this on the air is as useful as any financial activity you can do now. (If you have time to donate, volunteer with ACT or your local party to get people to the polls and help ensure they are allowed to vote without harassment.)
WHY IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY RACIST?
If you're worried about the way African Americans are voting, perhaps you should attempt to appeal to them with policies that will help them. Hiring people to harass voters in inner city polls and calling them "ringers" rather than voters is a Jim Crow attack on democracy. That's what the Republicans are doing in Ohio.
Tell anyone you know who votes Republican to read these stories and try to justify the party's actions. Then ask them why they hate black people.
Tell anyone you know who votes Republican to read these stories and try to justify the party's actions. Then ask them why they hate black people.
Friday, October 22, 2004
MUSIC & CURRENT EVENTS
Help Carmaig de Forest retire his song "George Bush Lies" by electing John Kerry.
BECAUSE I CAN'T AVERT MY EYES
I had to watch the Obama-Keyes debate on CSPAN2 last night before flipping over to the Astros-Cardinals game. If you missed it, the Daily Northwestern has some choice quotes, but there's nothing like trying to decide between a condesending lunatic and one of the more sensible, progressive minds in national politics. Keyes kept trying to attack Obama and wound up making him look even more reasonable...to conservative voters who might otherwise not support a man with his positions. Obama could well crack 80% of the vote if enough voters saw the debate.
I wish the segment where the candidates asked each other questions was longer, as Obama's points on both sex education and democracy showed the contrast between a reasonable, fair man and a raving loon. (Obama probably had to resist stating that Keyes's desire to repeal the 17th amendment was the "slaveholder's position" -- though I suppose by bringing up the eventual enfranchisement of African Americans and women, he implicitly made that point.)
Enjoyed seeing Keyes completely avoid Laura Washington's question about homosexual children...followed by Obama's statement that he would love and understand such a child. Even viewers who knew nothing about the Maya Keyes controversy would find Keyes's answer off-putting (and Obama's comforting).
Does Andy Shaw think he's asking tough questions? Someone should let him know he's not.
I wish the segment where the candidates asked each other questions was longer, as Obama's points on both sex education and democracy showed the contrast between a reasonable, fair man and a raving loon. (Obama probably had to resist stating that Keyes's desire to repeal the 17th amendment was the "slaveholder's position" -- though I suppose by bringing up the eventual enfranchisement of African Americans and women, he implicitly made that point.)
Enjoyed seeing Keyes completely avoid Laura Washington's question about homosexual children...followed by Obama's statement that he would love and understand such a child. Even viewers who knew nothing about the Maya Keyes controversy would find Keyes's answer off-putting (and Obama's comforting).
Does Andy Shaw think he's asking tough questions? Someone should let him know he's not.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED
...if you're a sitting Republican president depending on conservative Christians and Pat Robertson goes on TV voicing concerns over your handling of the war. Now the White House is, nicely, calling Robertson a liar. Way to keep the base together, George.
BLACKWELL SPANKED BY JUDGE
U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr offered up guidelines to handle provisional ballots stating Blackwell "can't be trusted" to fulfill his duties as Secretary of State.
Having the Secretary of State be the state chairman of the Bush campaign just reeks of, well, Harris's Florida.
Having the Secretary of State be the state chairman of the Bush campaign just reeks of, well, Harris's Florida.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
PLEASE DON'T LET THEM SING TOGETHER
John Kerry and Jon Bon Jovi will be at Carnegie Mellon tomorrow afternoon.
ELECTORAL MAP SPECULATION
We're getting close to election day, and I need something to distract me from my manuscript revisions. The interactive electoral college map at the LA Times is a fine distraction. It reminds me that, regardless of what national polls say, Bush is in deep trouble. Most state polls have him losing in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and New Hampshire, and in tight races in Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arkansas, Iowa, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Factor in large registration gains and anticipated heavy turnout in Ohio and Iowa, and the map favors Kerry decidedly.
My conclusions:
Kerry still has an excellent chance to not only win, but crack 300 electoral votes. If he wins Florida, he may crack 330.
Bush absolutely must hold on to Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and West Virginia, and hope to pick off New Mexico. He is dead if he loses any of those states, unless he can pull off a victory in Wisconsin. Even if he wins Wisconsin, he needs to win at least two of those states.
In the unlikely but possible event that Kerry wins Arkansas, North Carolina, Virgina, or Missouri, it is over. I mention those four states because each has had a poll in the last week that has Kerry within the margin of error.
Bush is playing defense on a lot more territory than Kerry is defending. Pennsylvania trending Democratic is cause for great relief, and Bush's low favorability ratings in Ohio combined with comparatively strong Democratic registration leads me to belive Kerry will win here as well. Kerry's aggressiveness in Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico gives Bush very little leeway...even if Bush can win Florida, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Bush's re-elect numbers in all of those states are below 50%. Kerry's position today is far stronger than Gore's was at the same time in 2000, at least in the electoral college. The popular vote might be close, perhaps it may go to Bush, but Bush's margin for error is tiny. Recall he won 271 electoral votes last time and is waging a campaign to mobilize his base rather than appeal to moderates. If everything (and I mean everything) goes right for the Republicans, Bush wins the White House with 290 electoral votes. If everything goes right for the Democrats (I assume there is no chanced they can win Louisiana, Kentucky, or Arizona but have at least slight chances in Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, and West Virginia, for 50 total electoral votes) Kerry wins the White House with 371 electoral votes. The odds of either extreme are remote, but Kerry's margin for error in the drive to 270 is much greater than is Bush's.
UPDATE: I am not the only one crunching numbers today. Nor am I the only one seeing good news for Kerry.
My conclusions:
Kerry still has an excellent chance to not only win, but crack 300 electoral votes. If he wins Florida, he may crack 330.
Bush absolutely must hold on to Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and West Virginia, and hope to pick off New Mexico. He is dead if he loses any of those states, unless he can pull off a victory in Wisconsin. Even if he wins Wisconsin, he needs to win at least two of those states.
In the unlikely but possible event that Kerry wins Arkansas, North Carolina, Virgina, or Missouri, it is over. I mention those four states because each has had a poll in the last week that has Kerry within the margin of error.
Bush is playing defense on a lot more territory than Kerry is defending. Pennsylvania trending Democratic is cause for great relief, and Bush's low favorability ratings in Ohio combined with comparatively strong Democratic registration leads me to belive Kerry will win here as well. Kerry's aggressiveness in Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico gives Bush very little leeway...even if Bush can win Florida, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Bush's re-elect numbers in all of those states are below 50%. Kerry's position today is far stronger than Gore's was at the same time in 2000, at least in the electoral college. The popular vote might be close, perhaps it may go to Bush, but Bush's margin for error is tiny. Recall he won 271 electoral votes last time and is waging a campaign to mobilize his base rather than appeal to moderates. If everything (and I mean everything) goes right for the Republicans, Bush wins the White House with 290 electoral votes. If everything goes right for the Democrats (I assume there is no chanced they can win Louisiana, Kentucky, or Arizona but have at least slight chances in Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, and West Virginia, for 50 total electoral votes) Kerry wins the White House with 371 electoral votes. The odds of either extreme are remote, but Kerry's margin for error in the drive to 270 is much greater than is Bush's.
UPDATE: I am not the only one crunching numbers today. Nor am I the only one seeing good news for Kerry.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
YOU CAN'T RUN THE WORLD ON FAITH
Ron Suskind has a profile of Bush that shows just how important it is to elect Kerry. Read it and try not to be scared.
GOOD NEWS FROM WISCONSIN
No snakeheads there, plus the city of Milwaukee will get all the ballots it needs to ensure alll registered voters may vote.
15 YEARS AGO TODAY
Downtown Santa Cruz fell down as I dived under a table while the television set showing the World Series acted like a basketball.
Friday, October 15, 2004
ROVE TESTIFIES IN PLAME CASE
Sadly there will be no charges in the next couple of weeks, but this story really should get more publicity than it's received. Unless several pardons occur, it will take some people down.
SEE THE KERRY MOVIE
Counterprogram Sinclair's smears. Going Upriver is free to download (authorized) here.
THE WORKING (VOTING?) POOR
Charlie Madigan is writing a blog on the campaign for the Chicago Tribune which has some of the most insightful reporting I've seen this year. Today's entry has his scoring of the final debate, but also discussion of where the working poor fit into the political landscape. He concludes:
This, in the Chicago Tribune. Whether the registration drives in places like Cleveland (a.k.a. The Poorest City in America) will alter this dynamic in any sustained way, I do not know. I do hope that real discussion of poverty and how to address it becomes a priority again, and perhaps a louder citizenry will fuel that change.
Part of the obsession with articulating middle-class rather than working-class issues, I realize, is the desire to see oneself as middle class even as the bills coming in swallow all income. And the complexities of what Americans feel the need to consume certainly play a role in increasing the ranks of the working poor, just as structural problems in health care and education do. Bill Clinton realized this well, and his appeals to the middle class were also appeals to the masses below them who saw themselves as working hard and achieving yet found their anxieties about making ends meet rise. John Edwards's rhetoric sharpens Clinton's focus even more. It's stealth politics though, and risks the dangers of minimizing what can be done to help those most in need. I am glad Kerry mentioned the minimum wage in the last debate; it's a simple issue of fairness that -- while by no means sufficient -- is necessary to confronting serious inequalities in our society.
The poorest fifth of these workers pay something like 12.5 percent of their income in state and federal taxes. Loads of them have no health insurance. And there's not much time or money to improve their situations by going to community college....
My rhetorical questions about all of this are two that have more to do with politics than with economics and they make me sound a little like a Woody Guthrie clone. So be it. I couldn't have picked a better role model for this gig. (The compassion part, not the Communist part, of course.)
Why is it that those who benefit the most from capitalism in America tend to be those who vote the most? And why is it that the people who would benefit the most from democracy by making their numbers known on Election Day tend to vote the least?
It could be why we hear a lot more about the $200,000 people than the $38,000 or less people.
And that is a pity.
This, in the Chicago Tribune. Whether the registration drives in places like Cleveland (a.k.a. The Poorest City in America) will alter this dynamic in any sustained way, I do not know. I do hope that real discussion of poverty and how to address it becomes a priority again, and perhaps a louder citizenry will fuel that change.
Part of the obsession with articulating middle-class rather than working-class issues, I realize, is the desire to see oneself as middle class even as the bills coming in swallow all income. And the complexities of what Americans feel the need to consume certainly play a role in increasing the ranks of the working poor, just as structural problems in health care and education do. Bill Clinton realized this well, and his appeals to the middle class were also appeals to the masses below them who saw themselves as working hard and achieving yet found their anxieties about making ends meet rise. John Edwards's rhetoric sharpens Clinton's focus even more. It's stealth politics though, and risks the dangers of minimizing what can be done to help those most in need. I am glad Kerry mentioned the minimum wage in the last debate; it's a simple issue of fairness that -- while by no means sufficient -- is necessary to confronting serious inequalities in our society.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
FINGERHUT IN OBERLIN TONIGHT
At the College's Environmental Studies Center at 7. See if he has blisters.
THE FINAL DEBATE
I missed the first third of the debate due to work, but from what I saw (and later read about Bush's denial of saying he wasn't concerned about bin Laden), Kerry continued to rise in stature as Bush attempted (yet again) to moderate his behavior. (Perhaps there really is little difference between Bush and Gore, after all.) We leave the debates with the media and comics joking about the bulge in Bush's back and his speaking patterns -- with just over two weeks to go, he's the focus of ridicule and his opponent is making a better impression than he did at his convention.
Bush's strategy of appealing to his base and ceding the middle to Kerry is very risky, and will only work if the systematic attempts by the RNC to disenfranchise thousands of voters in several states are successful...and given how great the upswing in registration this year is, they'd better hope they can get 60-75% of the new voters off the rolls. Even then, Kerry may have convinced enough of the middle that he should be in charge.
The head-to-head is done. Now the mud flies and the machines roll out to get the folks to the ballot box.
Bush's strategy of appealing to his base and ceding the middle to Kerry is very risky, and will only work if the systematic attempts by the RNC to disenfranchise thousands of voters in several states are successful...and given how great the upswing in registration this year is, they'd better hope they can get 60-75% of the new voters off the rolls. Even then, Kerry may have convinced enough of the middle that he should be in charge.
The head-to-head is done. Now the mud flies and the machines roll out to get the folks to the ballot box.
Monday, October 11, 2004
THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD
The straw that breaks Tom DeLay's back may come from Colorado. Rep. Tom Tancredo testified to the House Ethics Committee that the pressure on Nick Smith to change his vote on Medicare may have extended beyond an endorsement to offers of cash.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
GOOD NEWS FROM IOWA
As if on cue after my post about the second debate worrying about Iowa, the Washington Post has a detailed article out chronicling the Democrats' advantage on both new registrations and absentee ballots in the state. To repeat myself, Kerry looks to keep all of the states Gore carried, and he's well-positioned to take several others. I would not be surprised to see Kerry win with over 330 electoral votes.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
THE SECOND DEBATE
One friend who watched the second presidential debate last night lamented that the countless idiotic remarks from Bush's mouth came at such a dizzying frequency, Kerry couldn't point out most of the mistakes because he couldn't possibly keep count.
Kerry (like Edwards before him) didn't need to point out the lies. The media will harp on a few ("got any wood?") and much of the misinformation is a smokescreen that won't change the theme of the week that Bush and his operatives are being angry that they're being questioned, and lying blatantly in ways that the media will pick up. So it doesn't matter how jaw-droppingly inaccurate Bush's comments about clean skies and forest fires were; Kerry's accomplishment was to look and act like a leader so anyone still on the fence would feel more comfortable with his finger on the button than the ranting tooth-grinder on the other stool.
Bush is in deep trouble with one debate left to go. The news on the economy and Iraq are bad and both the polls and the media indicate a new receptiveness to Kerry. Bush's entire strategy is to paint Kerry as an unpalatable option and it may be too late to convince anyone with that strategy (which the Bush team has stayed on since March) as Kerry's appeared calm, thoughtful, imposing, and decisive when standing next to Bush. Bush's larger problem isn't how he's going to drag Kerry down, it's convincing voters who aren't already convinced that his foreign and economic policies deserve to be continued. We'll see harsher and more regular smears and Swift Boat ads over the next couple of weeks, but I don't think they'll change any minds that haven't already been convinced to turn away from Kerry.
I said a few weeks ago that I don't think this election will be particularly close; likely high turnout by Democratic-leaning new and return voters means any swing state where the two candidates are close give Kerry an advantage that only gets mentioned in passing in most news stories. This week's bad news about the economy and the refutation of Bush's rationale for invading Iraq just give Kerry greater leverage as the campaign goes into the final weeks. I would be surprised if Kerry loses any of the states Gore won other than maybe Iowa (just because I don't have good information on what's happening in terms of registration and get out the vote efforts by both parties there), and he's in good shape to pick up New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, Florida (even accounting for the ways in which Bush "won" Florida last time), and depending on which polls you trust, Missouri, North Carolina, Arkansas, and West Virginia. Kerry is very likely to get more than 300 electoral votes, and could well crack 330 unless some dramatic shift causes voters in several states to renew their faith in Bush. Expect to see more speculation about getting bin Laden, because that may be Bush's only option to turn around the perception his administration is failing.
Kerry (like Edwards before him) didn't need to point out the lies. The media will harp on a few ("got any wood?") and much of the misinformation is a smokescreen that won't change the theme of the week that Bush and his operatives are being angry that they're being questioned, and lying blatantly in ways that the media will pick up. So it doesn't matter how jaw-droppingly inaccurate Bush's comments about clean skies and forest fires were; Kerry's accomplishment was to look and act like a leader so anyone still on the fence would feel more comfortable with his finger on the button than the ranting tooth-grinder on the other stool.
Bush is in deep trouble with one debate left to go. The news on the economy and Iraq are bad and both the polls and the media indicate a new receptiveness to Kerry. Bush's entire strategy is to paint Kerry as an unpalatable option and it may be too late to convince anyone with that strategy (which the Bush team has stayed on since March) as Kerry's appeared calm, thoughtful, imposing, and decisive when standing next to Bush. Bush's larger problem isn't how he's going to drag Kerry down, it's convincing voters who aren't already convinced that his foreign and economic policies deserve to be continued. We'll see harsher and more regular smears and Swift Boat ads over the next couple of weeks, but I don't think they'll change any minds that haven't already been convinced to turn away from Kerry.
I said a few weeks ago that I don't think this election will be particularly close; likely high turnout by Democratic-leaning new and return voters means any swing state where the two candidates are close give Kerry an advantage that only gets mentioned in passing in most news stories. This week's bad news about the economy and the refutation of Bush's rationale for invading Iraq just give Kerry greater leverage as the campaign goes into the final weeks. I would be surprised if Kerry loses any of the states Gore won other than maybe Iowa (just because I don't have good information on what's happening in terms of registration and get out the vote efforts by both parties there), and he's in good shape to pick up New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, Florida (even accounting for the ways in which Bush "won" Florida last time), and depending on which polls you trust, Missouri, North Carolina, Arkansas, and West Virginia. Kerry is very likely to get more than 300 electoral votes, and could well crack 330 unless some dramatic shift causes voters in several states to renew their faith in Bush. Expect to see more speculation about getting bin Laden, because that may be Bush's only option to turn around the perception his administration is failing.
Friday, October 08, 2004
A GREENER WORLD
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Wangari Maathai because she "represents an example and a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace."
Nobel committee chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes said "It is clear that with this award, we have expanded the term peace to encompass environmental questions related to our beloved earth." And in his prepared statement, he added, "Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment."
On the heels of Russia approving Kyoto, some powerful symbolism for global environmental issues. Maybe someone will ask about global warming at tonight's debate.
Nobel committee chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes said "It is clear that with this award, we have expanded the term peace to encompass environmental questions related to our beloved earth." And in his prepared statement, he added, "Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment."
On the heels of Russia approving Kyoto, some powerful symbolism for global environmental issues. Maybe someone will ask about global warming at tonight's debate.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
OBAMA'S INFLUENCE
Who could imagine in February that Barack Obama would be such a heavy favorite for election that he's diverting his campaign funds to help several other Democrats? Lynn Sweet in the Chicago Sun-Times reports Obama has:
Obama's not only a wonderful story and the opportunity for real progressive change in the Senate, but clearly a powerful force who will shape the national party in this and future years.
*Helped raise $850,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
*Donated $100,000 directly to the DSCC on Sept. 30, the end of the third-quarter reporting period.
*Donated $125,000 ($25,000 each) to the Colorado, Wisconsin, Alaska, South Dakota and Oklahoma Democratic parties on Sept. 30. Control of the Senate hinges on the outcome of close races in these states.
*Donated $25,000 to Florida Victory 2004, to bankroll get-out-the vote operations in a swing state that may prove decisive in the presidential election.
*Raised $260,000 for Senate candidates in 13 states.
*Raised $25,000 for Iowa state House and Senate candidates in Davenport on Monday.
*Headlined a Sept. 22 fund-raiser to collect $75,000 for the marquee House race in Illinois, where Democrat Melissa Bean is challenging Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.) in the northwest suburban district.
Obama's not only a wonderful story and the opportunity for real progressive change in the Senate, but clearly a powerful force who will shape the national party in this and future years.
THE ADDICTION MEME
One of the reasons I have been optimistic about the Presidential race despite a rough August is John Kerry's track record of waging aggressive, mean campaigns at the finish. We're starting to see that here with John Edwards's rhetoric about Bush in the debate and his speech reacting to Bush's recent speech. Taken at face value, the words don't unusually cutting, claiming that Bush (as his father was in '92) was out of touch and unable to fix the nation's problems. This, though, is different:
This is 12-step language, and I can't help but feel it is a conscious effort to raise the spectre of Bush's alcohol and cocaine problems and tie them to his current performance in office. It's subtle, and doesn't make Edwards look like an attack dog, but doesn't it raise concerns to you about Bush's capacity to lead that tie directly into his past acknowledged transgressions? Expect more on this theme soon.
``You can't fix these problems until you recognize there is a problem,'' the Democratic vice presidential candidate told a sign-waving audience in a warehouse at the Palm Beach County convention center. ``They're in denial. They're in denial about everything.''
This is 12-step language, and I can't help but feel it is a conscious effort to raise the spectre of Bush's alcohol and cocaine problems and tie them to his current performance in office. It's subtle, and doesn't make Edwards look like an attack dog, but doesn't it raise concerns to you about Bush's capacity to lead that tie directly into his past acknowledged transgressions? Expect more on this theme soon.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
THE VP DEBATE
...bored the hell out of me. Cheney was atrocious and veered between looking disinterested and trying to tell the most outrageous lie (with the big one being that he'd never met Edwards before the debate). Edwards was determinined to hit his talking points and did so more smoothly than Bush did last week, but he didn't engage the audience...neither man did. At least Edwards fought Cheney, unlike Lieberman four years ago, but I can't imagine this debate had much impact on undecided voters.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
THE OCTOBER SURPRISE
...reveals the dangerous incompetence and dishonesty of the Bush administration. They've covered up a report (until now) that 380 tons of explosives the US-led coalition was guarding in the aftermath of the attack on Iraq were looted and are now being used against the troops in terrorist attacks.
The Bush campaign's final plea is not to trust Kerry in these dangerous times. Now that it's been revealed that Bush's blunderings produced this risk AND he covered it up, who will be convinced to turn away from Kerry?
Bush was already in deep trouble before this news broke. I don't see how he recovers.
The Bush campaign's final plea is not to trust Kerry in these dangerous times. Now that it's been revealed that Bush's blunderings produced this risk AND he covered it up, who will be convinced to turn away from Kerry?
Bush was already in deep trouble before this news broke. I don't see how he recovers.
Monday, October 04, 2004
MICHAEL POWELL VS. AMERICA'S SCHOOLCHILDREN
FCC Commissioner Powell has already shown his disdain for the voices of anyone other than corporate America; now he has cut the funding of internet connections to America's schools (one of the few decent provisions of the abysmal 1996 Federal Communications Act).
Sunday, October 03, 2004
MORE GOOD REGISTRATION NEWS
The NY Times reports surges in registration in many swing states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Nevada...all ACT targets.
"It's going to be insane," said Tim Dowling, who was opening registration forms in Philadelphia. He corrected himself: "It's already insane. It's been nuts since June."
ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE ME OR YOUR LYING EYES?
Nothing we didn't know already, but it is nice to see a gigantic New York Times story lay out how the Bush Administration willfully distorted the evidence for WMD in the rush to go to war in Iraq. Even if CBS was bullied into shelving their investigation of WMD, this should set the agenda for the week (and John Edwards's talking points for his across-the-table meeting with Dick Cheney):
The report goes on to deliver a meticulous discussion of how the aluminum tubes Bush & Rice claimed might produce a mushroom cloud were always in doubt. The language of the report is restrained, but implicates Dick Cheney as making the most questionable decisions about valuing discredited intelligence. (The Times also mildly -- without mentioning Judith Miller's name -- chastises itself several times for not adequately reporting on the story two years ago.)
Kerry and Edwards get called on their votes for the war, but this is a damning way to start Dick Cheney's week.
Senior administration officials repeatedly failed to fully disclose the contrary views of America's leading nuclear scientists, an examination by The New York Times has found. They sometimes overstated even the most dire intelligence assessments of the tubes, yet minimized or rejected the strong doubts of nuclear experts. They worried privately that the nuclear case was weak, but expressed sober certitude in public.
One result was a largely one-sided presentation to the public that did not convey the depth of evidence and argument against the administration's most tangible proof of a revived nuclear weapons program in Iraq.
The report goes on to deliver a meticulous discussion of how the aluminum tubes Bush & Rice claimed might produce a mushroom cloud were always in doubt. The language of the report is restrained, but implicates Dick Cheney as making the most questionable decisions about valuing discredited intelligence. (The Times also mildly -- without mentioning Judith Miller's name -- chastises itself several times for not adequately reporting on the story two years ago.)
Kerry and Edwards get called on their votes for the war, but this is a damning way to start Dick Cheney's week.
RECYCLING GARBAGE
John Tierney is used to quoting ridiculous statements in the New York Times; his 1996 "expose" of recycling programs as more damaging to the environment than throwing garbage in landfills relied heavily on creative information from the Cato Institute.
This week's amazing quotes come from Bush campaign flacks attempting to spin their man's stumbling performance in Thursday's debate.
George P. Bush:
Karl Rove:
Nicolle Devenish:
I didn't realize petulance was a folksy trait, but maybe Lorain County is inside the Beltway.
This week's amazing quotes come from Bush campaign flacks attempting to spin their man's stumbling performance in Thursday's debate.
George P. Bush:
"I don't want to say somebody is the winner or somebody is the loser tonight," said George P. Bush, the president's nephew, and he went on to set a fairly low bar for his uncle. "I think his main objective, apart from not falling on the ground on the stage, which he didn't do tonight, was to say, look, here are my positions, and talk directly to the voters."
Karl Rove:
"I think the president was appropriately on the offense," he said. Asked if he thought Mr. Bush had seemed at a loss for words at times, Mr. Rove said: "No, I didn't at all. He was very careful. At points he paused to draw attention to what he was saying. He wanted to keep a straightforward manner about him. No, not all."
Nicolle Devenish:
"The president, in his folksy way that no one inside the Beltway understands or recognizes, was able to speak in real clear terms about why we're at war against terror," she said. "John Kerry didn't pass the living room test. I don't think he came across as anyone that people want have in their homes for four years."
I didn't realize petulance was a folksy trait, but maybe Lorain County is inside the Beltway.
Friday, October 01, 2004
THE FIRST DEBATE
I don't know how it came across on radio or the networks, but CSPAN had the two men on split-screen the entire night and that made Kerry look a lot better than Bush. Kerry seemed cool, forceful, decisive, and in control while Bush rolled his eyes and fidgeted a lot. Bush seemed angry and very defensive, moreso than I remember from any other forum. Kerry also looked and acted like a relaxed human being, without going through Al Gore's weird series of behaviors in 2000's debates.
As for the actual words coming out of their mouths, Kerry's resonanted more for me and as a partisan I'd be inclined to say he won. The fact that he seemed to actually have thought about the questions and answered them in complete sentences rather than repeating talking points over and over like bumper sticker messages made him sound more in command of his message than Bush was of his. Calling Iraq "hard work" over and over again made Bush sound like a kid whose dog ate his homework. I kept thinking of Malibu Stacey saying "math is hard."
Bush was best when making it appear that he favorited multilateral talks rather than bilateral talks with North Korea. That's his best defense against looking like a hotheaded idiot for the way he went into Iraq, and was about the only time during the debate where he seemed able to frame the discussion. (On the other hand, he sounded less convincing when discussing the massive coalition on Iraq -- and perhaps President Ford should tell him it's never a good idea to bring up Poland in the debates.)
I was in a good mood when it ended. Here's hoping the other ones go as well.
As for the actual words coming out of their mouths, Kerry's resonanted more for me and as a partisan I'd be inclined to say he won. The fact that he seemed to actually have thought about the questions and answered them in complete sentences rather than repeating talking points over and over like bumper sticker messages made him sound more in command of his message than Bush was of his. Calling Iraq "hard work" over and over again made Bush sound like a kid whose dog ate his homework. I kept thinking of Malibu Stacey saying "math is hard."
Bush was best when making it appear that he favorited multilateral talks rather than bilateral talks with North Korea. That's his best defense against looking like a hotheaded idiot for the way he went into Iraq, and was about the only time during the debate where he seemed able to frame the discussion. (On the other hand, he sounded less convincing when discussing the massive coalition on Iraq -- and perhaps President Ford should tell him it's never a good idea to bring up Poland in the debates.)
I was in a good mood when it ended. Here's hoping the other ones go as well.
