Winer: elect a blogger

Christopher Lydon, a radio journalist, interviewed a number of people recently and posted the audio on his blog. One of those he interviewed was Dave Winer. The interview is an overview of blogging, and a revealing peek at Winer's political leanings (he mentions the 2000 election, if that gives you any indication).

But at the end of the interview, Winer has some interesting thoughts about the 2004 and the need (and his personal desire) to elect a blogger as president.

Download the mp3 here.

Lydon has also interviewed Robert Fisk, the Daily Kos and Real Live Preacher, among others.

found via: Bob Stepno's other weblog

NYT: Democrats Worry About Their Chances in 2004

The New York Times reports today that Democrats are openly skeptical about their ability to beat President Bush in 2004. The article leans towards praising Dean at a few points. Democratic skepticism, reports the Times, stems not only from Bush's perceived strengths, but also the weaknesses of the Democrat field:

"[Democratic activists] said [Bush] could be unseated only by an aggressive, partisan challenge that builds on Democratic anger lingering from the 2000 election, and by a nominee who somehow managed to survive a complicated nominating fight that was pulling their party to the left.

'It's going to be tough,' said Walter F. Mondale, the former vice president who lost his challenge to Ronald Reagan in 1984. 'You're trying to beat an incumbent who has all this money, and who has got the field all to himself, while all this infighting is going on in the Democratic Party.'

Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said: 'It's going to very, very difficult to defeat Bush next year. He will have more money than any candidate in history.'

The article ends with a parting shot at the Democratic field of candidates, by an anonymous official:

"One prominent Democratic elected official said that while Mr. Bush was 'eminently beatable,' the Democratic nominating process seemed nowhere near producing someone who could do the job. 'The trouble in 2004 is not that Bush is going to be strong, but rather than we are going to be weak,' this official said.

For once, the Democrats show some sense. They're right -- they should be worried.

Howard, Dick, John, and Joe Pull Ahead

According to the most recent poll, one would think some presidential hopefuls should be dropping out soon. The poll’s margin of error is five points, so statistically Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry could be all tied. Lieberman struggles to remain with the leaders and the others are drawing insignificant support.

The laggards must realize they have no chance to win, so they are sticking around for other reasons. They may be in it for the press, or they may have other motives. Graham is probably sticking around just to increase his odds of becoming VP.

Kucinich Supports Universal Health Care, Smaller Defense Budget

And two chickens in every pot! Kucinich is stumping in Maine on a platform of universal healthcare and defence cuts. Read the local coverage at Maine's Press Herald. Noteable for you policy wonks:

He said he supports a single-payer universal health care system that would provide coverage for various procedures, such as alternative medicines, vision care and long-term health ...

... He said he would cut the Pentagon's budget by 15 percent and ask Congress to repeal the Patriot Act.

Sky News: Hillary to Run In 2004

From Sky News comes an unconvincing, unsubstantiated article that announces Hillary Clinton's attention to run for President. But, on this topic, even unconvincing, unsubstantiated rumors are news:

"Former US first lady Hillary Clinton is planning to enter the US Presidential race in 2004, reports say. The New York Senator is expected to meet advisers - including her husband and ex-President Bill Clinton - next week to discuss the decision.
...
Her rethink has been prompted by the sudden drop in support for President George Bush, whose problems in Iraq and with the economy have made him look vulnerable, according to veteran US political commentator Richard Reeves."

If I had to guess, Clinton's people are probably just planting these stories as a trial balloon, to see if a Hillary candidacy generates a groundswell of support. Nevertheless, stay tuned on this front.

Clark Wants In, Waiting to See If He Can Win

The New York Times reports that Wesley Clark, retired four-star general, wants to join the Democratic field of presidential candidates, but is waiting to make sure he has a chance to win. Quoth the NYT:

"Wesley K. Clark, the retired four-star general who has been contemplating a run for president, has told close friends that he wants to join the Democratic race and is delaying a final decision only until he feels he has a legitimate chance of winning the nomination.

'It's safe to say he wants to run,' said a longtime friend who has had frequent political conversations with General Clark. 'But he approaches this like a military man. He wants to know, Can I win the battle? He doesn't want to have a situation where he could embarrass himself, but I'm absolutely certain he wants to run.'"

The article also has this enticing quote, from a "friend":

"He is going to do it...He's just going back and forth as to when."

The New York Times pegs a possible announcement date as September 19th.

Dean Leads Big in New Hampshire

From the Primary Monitor:

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean has grabbed a commanding 21-point lead over rival John Kerry in the latest New Hampshire poll, in which voters said they prefer a take-no-prisoners Democrat, even if that candidate seemed unlikely to beat President Bush.
...
Dean, who trailed Kerry in polls earlier this year, led the Massachusetts senator 38 percent to 17 percent in the Zogby International poll conducted Saturday to Tuesday and released yesterday.

LaRouche a Contender?

Here's an interesting news item. The Nationalist/Populist/Pseudo-Facist/80 year old Lyndon LaRouche has raised almost $5 Million for his 2004 presidential bid, which makes him sixth in the field of democratic hopefuls.

Is he a contender? Of course not. The man has run in every presidential election since 1976 and most people still have no idea who he is. And if they do, chances are they've met one of his supporters and vowed never to vote for him.

Originally posted at Chicago Report.

Bush Blog

Bush and Rove are in the house ... blogosphere.

Bob Graham Hits the Airwaves

As if competing with Gov. Dean's guitar, Graham hit the stage yesterday, working backstage and giving a cameo appearance on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. Keillor remarked, "Whenever you're finished in politics - and I hope it's not soon - there's a career for you in comedy".

Graham is also appearing on NHPR's The Exchange, today.

Dean Plays The Blues

Howard Dean hits a blues club in Iowa, riffing on harmonica and guitar ... read the sordid details at WaPo. But will he steal the Willie Nelson endorsement from Kucinich?

Cash Pouring In, Dean Backs Off Thrift

Newsday is reporting that Dean's camp has backed out of its pledge to accept public campaign funding and to adhere to the thrift's associated spending limits. The change in tune follows recent fundraising successes. Newsday also notes:

Just five months ago, Dean committed to accepting taxpayer money and vowed to attack any Democrat who didn't.

Dean's Rural Strategy Creates a Major Player

This Atlanta Journal Constitution article offers an interesting analysis of Dean's focus on smaller rural population centers, rather than larger urban communities--including his efforts to tie nearly every issue to the growth of rural areas.

Edwards Already at Do-or-Die Stage of Presidential Campaign

So say CNN, and it's not a headline you want to see if you're an Edwards supporter. His response: TV. Read the analysis here, and here's a sample:

"The next two or three months are critical," Edwards said aboard his huge campaign bus that is carrying his wife and two kids through Iowa and New Hampshire the next two weeks.

This month he began airing about $500,000 worth of ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states where Democrats will make their first choices early next year. The ads, scheduled to run for about four weeks, focus on his working-class upbringing, his policies to help the middle class and his argument that President Bush favors wealth over hard work.

First 2004 Presidential Primary Ad Hits South Carolina Airwaves

The Carolina Channel is reporting that John Edwards will lead the pack with ads scheduled to air this coming Monday ... SC citizen's prime-time won't be the same for some time. May they all soon get TiVo.

Schwarzenegger Signs Shultz for Team

George, not Charles. And it would seem Arnold is serious. From Yahoo / AP:

Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday that former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz will co-chair an Economic Recovery Council for his gubernatorial campaign ...

... [Warren] Buffett and Shultz will be joint co-chairs of the economic council. The appointments of Buffett, a Democrat, and Republican Shultz reflect the campaign's attempt to assemble a diverse and bipartisan team.

Huffington Receives Flack Over Taxes

She apparently did nothing illegal, but in the California's version of the Greatest Show on Earth, that doesn't seem to matter. From a Chicago Tribune article this morning:

TV commentator and author Arianna Huffington, who launched her campaign for California governor with criticism of "fat cats" who fail to shoulder a fair share of taxes, paid no individual state income tax and just $771 in federal taxes during the last two years, her tax returns show.

Huffington, who released her tax returns for the last two years to the Los Angeles Times, lives in an 8,000-square-foot home valued at about $7 million.

But the returns show that at least for the last two years, her income far outweighed reported losses by Christabella Inc., the private corporation she owns and uses to manage her writing and lecturing business.

Given that it's common knowledge that Huffington is not blue collar, I am not sure there is a story here. Yet, it might be a sign of the mud-slinging to come between the higher profile candidates.

Clark Still on the Fence

Excerpt from Clark's CNN Interview with Aaron Brown:

BROWN: General, what say we make news here? Going to run?

CLARK: I haven't made a decision. It's not time to make a decision yet.

BROWN: There are those, general, who, in fact, would say that it is too late to make a decision. ... Are you concerned that if you decide you want to do this, it is too late to put organization and money together?

CLARK: No, I'm not concerned about that.

BROWN: Why?

CLARK: There's a tremendous groundswell of support out there in America for candidates who can offer the promise of leadership. And I see it every day in the mail and phone calls that are coming to me. And it's reflected, really, in the groundswell of support for Howard Dean, it's reflected in the concern of mainstream Democratic Party politicians for John Kerry. It's even reflected in California.

BROWN:... There is a group of people that very much are pushing the idea that you ought to run. They're going to put an ad up soon in a couple of key primary states. ..

General, did you have anything to do with that ad?

CLARK: No, I didn't, Aaron.

BROWN: Are you in contact with the draft-Clark people?

CLARK: No, I'm not. ... Recently opened a headquarters in Little Rock, I guess to make it come closer to home and put more pressure.

BROWN: Did you or anybody that you like a lot say to them, "Hang in there, I'll make a decision by Labor Day"?

CLARK: I certainly didn't say it, and nobody that I know of did. I've said all along that it would be some time -- a couple of months or so from the middle of June. And so people have pegged Labor Day as a logical time. But I haven't made a specific hard date.

BROWN: OK. ... Let's talk about a couple of issues here. Do you believe that a Democratic candidate, yourself or someone else, can use the situation in Iraq, both before, during, and after the war, to his or her political advantage?

CLARK: Well, I'm not thinking in those terms, Aaron. I'm thinking in terms of what's right for the United States. And one of the principles that we operate on in this country is that leaders are held accountable. The simple truth is that we went into Iraq on the basis of some intuition, some fear, and some exaggerated rhetoric and some very, very scanty evidence.

We found a situation that wasn't at all what was predicted. We're in there now, we're committed, we need to do our best. But that's a classic presidential-level misjudgment. And I think the voters have to be aware of that. And they have to appreciate it.

And if democracy means something, then that will be reflected in the ballot box.

BROWN: What was the misjudgment? If there was an exaggeration of the threat, what was the misjudgment?

CLARK: First of all, the idea that this was going to solve the war on terror. The president said this is the centerpiece of the war on terror. Seems to me that the only terrorists we're finding there are the ones who have come back in to attack us since we arrived.

There was a misjudgment about what would happen afterward. The idea that we would go in, be welcomed as liberators. They'd quickly move to the ballot boxes, we'd bring our troops home, out before the heat wave hit.

That didn't happen either. There have been a whole series of issues associated with this campaign, starting from why we went into Iraq, to how we dealt with our allies, to how we prepared for the aftermath, that are very, very troublesome.

BROWN: But just briefly, if you were a candidate, you would not walk away from those issues?

CLARK: I think those issues are at the very center of what America stands for, and what America's future will be.

BROWN: Back to the politics of this. As you debate it in your mind, as you talk to your family, what are your concerns? What is it about making this race that gives you pause?

CLARK: Well, I haven't speculated publicly on this, Aaron. But just to put it in perspective, I've been a career military officer. I've worn U.S. on my collars throughout my entire professional life, from the time I went to West Point at the age of 17, until I retired three years ago.

For me, it's not about partisan politics. ... This is a huge transition. And it's a transition that I'll be making if I should go into this, right after I've just been through another transition ... to go from military to civilian life. So it's a huge change of direction.

BROWN: Is your family supportive of the idea?

CLARK: Well, we've talked about it. And in general, my family's been very supportive of all the things I've done in public service throughout my career.

BROWN: Labor Day seem like a pretty good guess for a decision right around there?

CLARK: We haven't nailed this down. And it depends on a number of factors and discussions and phone calls with people. And just some more heart-to-heart talk and really sitting down and putting pencil to paper and looking at what the future could hold, and what the best way is to make a further contribution to the count

2004 Election Futures

For those who don't know, the University of Iowa B. School has managed an on-line electronic futures market for some time--a market that has proven extremely reliable in predicting future outcomes. (Learn more about the IEM here.)

Here's the latest Daily Prices Graph for the Democratic nomination. The leading candidate, "ROF" represents any candidate OTHER than Gephardt, Kerry, Lieberman, or H. Clinton (ROF=Rest Of Field). Notice that Gephardt's price tends to fluctuate in tandem with interest in the rest of the field (ROF).

There is a market for the General Election as well, and here's its most recent price chart. Note that there are a variety of contracts: those for a particular Dem candidate (KERR represents a Kerry victory), and those for Bush winning over a Dem candidate (BU|GEPH represents a Bush victory over Gephardt). Also note that ODEM represents any other Dem candidate, and that current pricing reflects a near even heat between ODEM and BU|ODEM.

(This entry is cross-posted here.)

Advising Ah-nold

Over at Armed Liberal, I've started what I think will be a series of posts advising Ah-nold on how to lock up my support (and the support of the tens of thousands of Californians like me).

Schwarzenegger's Liberal Views Leave GOP Flummoxed

What do you know: A.S. is pro-choice, pro-gun control and pro-gay rights. Read more here at the S. F. Chronicle:

As Arnold Schwarzenegger explodes onto the national political scene as California's great Republican hope, conservatives are increasingly voicing concern over his lack of right-wing credentials.

From talk radio to the pages of conservative journals, Republicans are openly struggling over whether to rally around a man who may break the Democratic lock on state government, or keep their distance from a candidate who appears to be at odds with their core ideology.

Pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights -- and yet to identify a single cut he'd make in the state's deficit-ridden budget -- Schwarzenegger would put a new face on the Republican Party from coast to coast.

Karl Rove: Fla. 'Ground Zero' in 2004

From Yahoo / AP:

Rove, in an interview with editors and reporters of The News Herald of Panama City, said the campaign strategy in Florida would be a combination of "brotherly love" — a reference to the president's younger brother, Gov. Jeb Bush — and an effort to "register, identify and turn out our vote."

"This clearly is going to be ground zero," Rove said in the interview, published in Wednesday's editions. Rove has been vacationing in northwest Florida, where he has been making trips for the past 16 years.

"Register, identify and turn out our vote ..." Yes, and, with any luck, educate them in how to correctly complete a ballot as well.

Effort Emerges to Help Democrats Deal With 'Soft Money' Loss

In this story FOXNews details the efforts of Dem-leaning interest groups to raise campaign funds ... because they are not political parties, they are exempt from soft money restrictions and can raise contributions from corporations and unions in any size and from any source for next year's election.

So expect to see a host of "This message brought to you by the AFL-CIO / NEA / Trial Lawyers" ads in the upcoming campaign.

Latest Polling Data: General Election

From the Washington Post poll:

Read the full poll and get the statistical nitty-gritty here; there are a wealth of tracking data, including comparative rankings of economic performance, do we need to kill / capture Saddam to be successful, etc.

Schwarzenegger Taps Warren Buffett for Campaign

... and his financial advisor will be Warren Buffett. From FOXNews:

Financial and investment guru Warren Buffett (search) will serve as actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's senior financial and economic adviser in his gubernatorial bid, the Schwarzenegger for Governor campaign announced Wednesday ...

... The announcement came as the Schwarzenegger camp announced new roles for several former top aides to GOP Gov. Pete Wilson, who has been working closely with the actor in his bid to replace Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election scheduled for Oct. 7.

Fox News has confirmed that former Wilson chief of staff Bob White will run the Schwarzenegger campaign and a senior adviser will be Patricia Cleary, a top aide in Wilson's administration who is taking a leave of absence from a large hospital firm, Tenet Healthcare Corporation. Marty Wilson, a top Wilson political adviser, will also join the campaign.

Sacramento Bee starts "Insider" Blog

Add this to your list of good resources for the California recall election. Daniel Weintraub, a "California Insider", is now blogging for the Sacramento Bee.

Davis Files Recall Lawsuit

This is a bit dated, but when it occurred I refrained from posting it. Gov. Gray Davis has filed a law suit seeking to delay the California recall election until March and to fix alleged weaknesses in the recall election law. All so that the CA election of 2003 doesn't make the Florida election of 2000 look like a "cakewalk".

On the October 7th ballot, voters will have to answer two questions. A) Should Gov. Davis be recalled and (B) Who should relpace him. The alleged weakness is that the first question is a yes/no question which requires a strict majority. Question B has an unlimited range of choices requiring one only to receive a plurality in order to win. Davis' contention is that it is unfair and "unconstitutional" that he could have 49% of the votes on the first question, but still be replaced by someone with a mere 20% on the second question. So
Its certainly a creative argument but it doubtful it will get very far.

Davis also wants to move the election to March claiming it will save the state millions of dollars

Al Sharpton has Foreign Policy Instincts

From Slate:

Moralism and multilateralism: Sharpton wants more transparency and consistency in U.S. relations with other countries. In his book Al on America, he says we "cannot out of one side of our mouth call one nation evil and then enter into a partnership with another nation that can be considered equally or even more evil." He renounces a role as the world's "supercop" and argues that instead of relying on its military, the United States should "invest in other nations." Sharpton also accuses President Bush of sending young black men off to war while doing little for their welfare at home.

Humanitarianism and Africa: Sharpton argues that the United States owes a "moral debt" to Africa. He regards recent U.S. policy on AIDS abroad as insufficient and chides economic policymakers for subjecting African nations to a "debt service they can never pay." He advocates a new Africa policy focusing on debt relief, investment, and "fair trade." Sharpton visited Sudan in 2001 in an effort to stop the human slavery that persists there. He proposes to make America's "selective" humanitarianism more consistent by moving aggressively to eliminate the Sudanese slave trade.

Dictators and Latin America: Sharpton wants an immediate end to the embargo on Cuba, which he says has an "anti-Latino flavor." After visiting Cuba in 2000, Sharpton met Fidel Castro and called him "one of the three most impressive people I have ever met in my life." Sharpton says they had a "talk about the human rights violations—of which I personally saw none." He argues that the United States has "continued to demonize Castro at the expense of good, sound foreign policy." He also believes we've treated Mexico with heavy-handed superiority. Current immigration laws are "biased," he says, and the United States needs a more "respectful relationship" with Mexico.

General Clark Poised to Join President Race

So say the IHT:

In the strongest signal yet that General Wesley Clark, the former NATO commander, is planning to join the Democratic presidential race, Clark told volunteers last week to step up their efforts and prepare for an announcement in early September.

If Clark, 58, who is retired from the army, does take on the nine announced Democratic candidates, supporters say he would offer a strong voice on national security issues and sell himself as a newcomer untainted by the political process.

Lieberman Meets Oklahoma Oil, Gas Producers

From Newsday:

Presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman told Oklahoma oil and gas producers Tuesday he would push for tax incentives to help create more jobs in the industry ...

... "As long as we're dependent on foreign oil, we are not going to be as strong a country as we could be, no matter how strong we are militarily or even economically," Lieberman said as he munched on a tuna fish sandwich in the steakhouse's back room.

Bush Is Coy, White House Cautious In Recall Strategy

President Bush will be in CA Thursday for a two-day campaign swing, and there's some consideration about how Karl Rove et al will handle the recall issue here from NBC4. But is a Davis recall good or bad for the Bush camp? Seems there's some disagreement on the issue:

While Bush and his top advisers profess to be little more than curious onlookers to an unpredictable drama, Democrats insist the recall has been at least partly orchestrated by the White House -- an illegitimate power grab, they say, in a state Bush lost by more than 13 million votes in 2000.

As recently as three weeks ago, there was a consensus among the Bush political team -- including powerful adviser Karl Rove -- that Bush's own prospects in California would be better served if the unpopular Davis remained in office during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Schwarzenegger Films Would Trigger FCC Equal Time Rule

What'chu talkin'bout, Willis? From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Films and television shows featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrity candidates in California's gubernatorial recall election will likely not be broadcast in the state for the next few months so that stations can avoid having to give rival candidates equal time.

The airing of "Total Recall" or another Schwarzenegger film, or a repeat of a "Diff'rent Strokes" episode with Gary Coleman on broadcast television in California would trigger the Federal Communications Commission's equal time provision, allowing other candidates to demand the same amount of time.

Candidates Argue Taxes

The 2004 Democratic hopefuls spent Monday night discussing how much of Bush's tax cuts should be repealed. Kerry, Kucinich, Mosley-Braun and Lieberman all agreed to repeal only those cuts effecting the rich, while Howard Dean lined up with Dick Gephardt and Al Sharpton to advocate reversing the Bush cuts across the board.

"I think it's very important that Democrats not promise more than we can deliver," Dean said. "We can deliver health care for every American, or we can have the tax cuts."

Are Dean's supporters still trying to convince the public and the pundits that he's a moderate?

Source: NH Primary Monitor

A Tearful Gephardt Accepts Union Endorsement (With Glee)

Gephardt is quickly racking up union endorsements. He picked up his eleventh on Sunday:

U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri choked up Saturday when accepting the endorsement of the Teamsters - a union his father, a truck driver, belonged to before he died 15 years ago.

"How proud my dad would be to see me here today getting the endorsement of his union that fought for him," Gephardt, wiping his eyes, said at a Teamsters rally in Des Moines.

While union endorsements will help him get the support of the Democrat base, his biggest challenge is likely to come from the centrists like Edwards and Lieberman. Lieberman is already framing the primary around the middle class where union membership is much lesss important. Edwards is likely to follow suit.

Does the Media Yearn for a Gore/Clinton Ticket?

This CNN article notes the difficulty the nine democratic hopefuls have at getting attention, when Gore and Clinton seem to ooze it.

Consider this. Gore delivered a speech in New York Thursday criticizing Bush on everything from Iraq to the economy, echoing the same complaints that the nine candidates have been delivering to varying degrees during the last few months. And yet the cable news stations cut away to a live broadcast of Gore's speech, something they've rarely done with the nine candidates.

Even the first Democratic presidential debate sponsored by ABC News was delayed tape at the discretion of the local affiliates, or next day C-Span coverage.

In the meantime, the pundits breathlessly speculate about what would happen if Gore entered the race, even though his aides insist that he will not. The publication of Hillary Clinton's book, "Living History," provided even longer and more intense coverage, and fierce speculation that she's going to run for president one day.

Does the media want Hillary or Al to run? of course, and not just for political reasons either. So far the consensus is that Bush is going to easily step over any of the potential candidates, leading inevitably to a boring fall. Punditry will be unnecessary and journalists will be praying for scandal. Add Clinton or Gore and you have a political blockbuster.

Graham Op-Ed: We've Offerred

Seeing the Graham blog, I posted a comment offering the Senator a post on our op-ed page. You may see the comment here.

FYI, I made the same offer to the Dean campaign on July 4, and received no response.

As Campaign Tightens, Kerry Sharpens Message

And to at least some extent, it's about dealing with Howard Dean. From Yahoo / NY Times:

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had just finished a walking tour through Littleton, a small town near here in the White Mountains, when he paused to take questions from local reporters outside a candy store. There was one subject this day: Howard Dean.

Again and again, Mr. Kerry was asked his views of Dr. Dean. Again and again, Mr. Kerry, who had passed a half-dozen Dean placards on his walk, demurred. When a television reporter taunted Mr. Kerry to at least utter Dr. Dean's name, Mr. Kerry, who is rarely at a loss for words, grinned and pinched his mouth shut.

This is Mr. Kerry's world these days. Three months after many Democrats and Mr. Kerry himself thought he was rolling to the Democratic presidential nomination, he is frequently stuck in the shadow of an opponent who has moved from small-bore annoyance to potential threat. By all appearances, the changed atmosphere in the early battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire has forced Mr. Kerry to recalibrate his approach to the crowded race for the nomination.

Graham Plays Catch Up With Cross–Iowa RV Tour

Local coverage of the Graham Iowa campaign from the Burlington Hawk Eye. Sample from the stump:

Graham called the recent increase in deficit spending as "immoral."

"What it essentially says is that this generation, by not paying their bills, is going to increase the burden for our children and grandchildren," he said. "That goes against the way America has always been."

Lieberman Lashes Left-Wing Democrats

Note to all from the Lieberman camp: "I am not George McGovern." (My words, not his.) From CNN:

Joe Lieberman attacked the left wing of his party Sunday, saying Democrats "don't deserve to run the country" if they move left and embrace "the failed solutions of the past."

"If we're for middle-class tax increases, if we send a message of weakness and ambivalence on defense, if we go back to big government spending, if we're against trade [and] for protectionism -- which never created a job -- we don't deserve to run the country," Lieberman, a presidential candidate, said on "Fox News Sunday."

"We're not going to be able to meet the challenges that America faces today."

If you can't tell, his real target with these jabs is Dean.

Presidential Candidate Hillary?

More speculation on the Senator's aspirations, this time from the Rochester Democrat Chronicle. It notes:

In New Hampshire, a Boston Herald poll of likely Democratic voters in late July showed Clinton the front-runner by a narrow margin over former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean if she entered the fray. Clinton received 27 percent, up 14 percent from an early-July poll by the University of New Hampshire that had her in third place, four points behind Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and two points behind Dean.

Grahams Start "Web Log"

It seems that Dean has started a trend. From the Tallahassee Democrat:

"Bob and I have started blogging," says a cheery public announcement issued by Adele Graham last week.

That's not to be confused with jogging. To "blog" is to start a "Web log," which Florida's senior senator is doing in his presidential campaign.

"Bob has been keeping a journal for decades," she wrote. "Now, Bob and I are using a blog to keep a journal online. On our blog, you can read about what is going on with the campaign and you can also share your ideas with us."

Visit the Grahamblog here.

Speaking Of Off Topic ...

... should we cover the Cal. Gov. Recall story? We can, in this space, if that's what readers prefer. If you have an opinion, voice it in the comments.

(Note: Yes, posts have been spurious lately, but I was on vacation. I'm back, and I'm thinking elections.)

Slightly Off-Topic, But Here's The First Calif. Recall Poll ...

... and Arnold has the lead. Poll conducted by CNN/Time; story by SF Gate:

Gov. Gray Davis would lose his job in the Oct. 7 recall election, a poll found Saturday, while actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the strongest candidate to replace him.

The Time/CNN poll, released on the last day for candidates to file to run in the election, found 54 percent of voters would recall the Democratic governor and 35 percent would keep him in office. Eleven percent were not sure.

Of eight potential replacement candidates, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, got support from 25 percent of respondents. Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante got 15 percent.

The rest of the potential candidates were in single digits: 9 percent for state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks; 7 percent for GOP businessman Bill Simon, who lost to Davis in November; 4 percent for former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth; 4 percent for columnist Arianna Huffington; and 4 percent for Hustler publisher Larry Flynt.

The Internet & American Politics

A pair of posts up on Winds of Change.NET today:

• Trent Telenko notes that Dick Morris, former politcal consultant to Presidents turned columnist and Fox News Channel talking head, has a very interesting column in the New York Post. What does the use of the Internet by the Dean campaign mean for the future of politcal campaigning in America? Is the power of TV declining? What is the role of money?

• Armed Liberal, meanwhile, steps into an ongoing discussion on this topic by Doc Searls and American Digest in "Blogging != Politics. He senses a shift of some kind, but is more cautious about the real impact of blogging. For him it's "a dojo - a training and practice ground - in which I hope to develop my own political thinking so I can take it out and use it in the real world." As usual, there are lots of good comments too.

Give them a read, and decide for yourself.

Edwards Hires New Campaign Consultant

In an attempt to jump start an underperforming campaign, Edwards has hired Jim Andrews, former campaign strategist for Paul Welstone and Zell Miller.

Source: Eye on Edwards

Lieberman Winning South Carolina

A recent poll shows Joe Lieberman with a slight lead in South Carolina (13% to Gephardt's 8%). The Democrats will do well to pay attention to these southern polls; to have any chance at catching Bush, the presidential nominee will have to make serious inroads into Bush's southern popularity. Interestingly the same poll showed the "insurgent" Howard Dean with a mere 4% of potential South Carolinian votes (6th place among competing Dems).

Perhaps Dean should run a commercial in SC as well.

Watch Howard Dean's Texas TV Ad

Dean takes it to the President's home state.

Unemployment Falls

It looks like a red letter day for Bush. Unemployment is down to 6.2% in July from 6.4%in June. A small drop, but an important one.