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2004 US Presidential Election: Bush
December 19, 2004Time Magazine Names Bush as Person of the YearFor sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes—and ours—on his faith in the power of leadership, George W. Bush is TIME’s 2004 Person of the Year You need a Time subscription to read the full story, but you can catch the excerpts here. December 02, 2004Kerik Picked for DHS Postresident Bush will nominate former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as the next secretary for homeland security, FOX News confirmed Thursday. November 30, 2004Tom Ridge Resigns - UpdatedHomeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is resigning, FOX News confirmed Tuesday. He is expected to announce his decision at a 2:45 p.m. EST press conference. Ridge was responsible for the implementation of the Homeland Security Advisory System. The Bush administration - since its Nov. 2 presidential election victory - has already accepted the resignations of Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Among those mentioned as possible candidates for Ridge’s replacement are Bernard Kerik, interim Minister of the Interior for Iraq and former New York City police commissioner, former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt and White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend. Others are also believed to be interested in the job, including Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Homeland Security Department. Carlos M. Gutierrez Nominated For CommerceThe New York Times reports that President Bush nominated Carlos M. Gutierrez to be Secretary of Commerce:
From California Yankee. November 22, 2004Bush I Avoids Jet CrashA private jet that was en route to Houston to pick up former President Bush clipped a light pole and crashed Monday as it approached Hobby Airport in thick fog, killing all three people aboard. November 18, 2004Specter Wins Judiciary Panel ChairmanshipConservative Republican senators on Thursday unanimously supported moderate Republican Sen. Arlen Specter as the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ending a grueling campaign Specter waged both publicly and privately to guarantee his seat. November 17, 2004Bush Chooses Spellings as Education SecretaryPresident Bush has tapped another Texan to be his education secretary. November 16, 2004It's Official: Rice Tapped for Secretary of State - UpdatedCondoleezza Rice will be nominated to lead U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Bush’s second term, replacing Colin Powell as secretary of state, FOX News has confirmed. Updates after the press conference Update: President Bush this afternoon officially nominated Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser and a longtime confidante, to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state. November 15, 2004Sources: Condi to Replace PowellWhite House officials said Monday they expect President Bush to name Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, sources told FOX News on Monday night. Changes to Bush’s cabinet: RESIGNED OR EXPECTED TO RESIGN Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce Department of Justice Secretary of Education Secretary of State Secretary of Energy Secretary of Health & Human Services Source: Fox News Sources: Powell Resigns - Three Other Cabinet Members to Resign [Updated -4-]Breaking on Fox: Secretary of State Colin Powell announced his resignation to his staff during their Monday morning meeting, a State Department source told FOX News. More details as we get them. Update:
The White House was preparing an announcement to confirm Powell’s resignation. According to one official, Powell expects that his departure date will be sometime in January. It was not immediately clear whether he will leave before Bush’s second inauguration on Jan 20. Update:
Update: This makes it look pretty definite that all those mentioned will be resigning. November 14, 2004RepublicrescendoAfter four years as education secretary, bringing President Bush’s signature law on education to classrooms across the nation, Rod Paige plans to leave the cabinet in the near future, administration officials said Friday. Is this a build up to the resignation of the only respectable figure on the cabinet, Colin Powell? It seems he has been awfully busy for a man about to leave, with a rencent trip to Asia and regular interviews ( most recently ) with Arab journalist, Powell’s agenda is now lined up with Recently with the power of a phone call to Mexico’s left Presidential runner Powell’s tacit seal of approval will help López Obrador undermine his critics’ assertions that he is an irresponsible leftist populist. Powell is Bush’s man of the world, in my view it would be fitting that he eventually leave. He is too good of a man who has earned too much respect to be associated with such a crowd, but on the other hand I feel a lot more comfortable with Powell keeping an eye on Bush, its a real quagmire. November 10, 2004Attorney General Nominee - UpdatedAt this hour, MSNBC is reporting that White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales will be the Bush administration’s nominee to replace John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Update: White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has been chosen by President Bush to be the next attorney general, U.S. officials confirmed to FOX News on Wednesday. An announcement from the White House could come later Wednesday. (Texan Editor’s Note: Gonzales’ hometown. It’s pronounced “Umble” and not “Humble.” The H is not just silent, but it is out drinking with its buddies.) November 09, 2004Ashcroft, Evans Resign [Updated]Just breaking of FOX and MSNBC, details as they come in. Update: Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans resigned Tuesday, the first members of President Bush’s Cabinet to leave as he headed from re-election into his second term. “Yet I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration,” said Ashcroft, whose health problems earlier this year resulted in removal of his gall bladder. McClellan said Bush had accepted the decisions of both secretaries. November 05, 2004Transcript of President's Press ConferenceFollowing is a transcript of President Bush’s news conference yesterday, as recorded by The New York Times: Yesterday I pledged to reach out to the whole nation. And today I’m proving that I’m willing to reach out to everybody by including the White House press corps. This week the voters of America set the direction of our nation for the next four years. I’m honored by the support of my fellow citizens. And I’m ready for the job. We are fighting a continuing war on terror and every American has a stake in the outcome of this war. Republicans, Democrats and independents all love our country and together we’ll protect the American people. We will preserve - we’ll persevere until the enemy is defeated. We’ll stay strong and resolute. We have a duty - a solemn duty - to protect the American people, and we will. Every civilized country also has a stake in the outcome of this war. Whatever our past disagreements, we share a common enemy. We have common duties to protect our peoples, to confront disease and hunger and poverty in troubled regions of the world. I’ll continue to reach out to our friends and allies, our partners in the E.U. and NATO, to promote development and progress, to defeat the terrorists and to encourage freedom and democracy as alternatives to tyranny and terror. I also look forward to working with the present Congress and the new Congress that will arrive in January. I congratulate the men and women who’ve just been elected to the House and the Senate. I will join with old friends and new friends to make progress for all Americans. Congress will return later this month to finish this current session. I urge members to pass the appropriations bill that remain, showing spending discipline while focusing on our nation’s priorities. Our government also needs the very best intelligence, especially in the time of war. So I urge the Congress to pass an effective intelligence reform bill that I can sign into law. The new Congress that begins its work next year will have serious responsibilities and historic opportunities. To accelerate the momentum of this economy and to keep creating jobs we must take practical measures to help our job creators, the entrepreneurs and the small-business owners. We must confront the frivolous lawsuits that are driving up the costs of health care and hurting doctors and patients. We must continue the work of education reform to bring high standards and accountability, not just to our elementary and secondary schools but to our high schools as well. We must reform our complicated and outdated tax code. We need to get rid of the needless paperwork that makes our economy - that is a drag on our economy - to make our - to make sure our economy is the most competitive in the world. We must show our leadership by strengthening Social Security for our children and our grandchildren. This is more than a problem to be solved. It is an opportunity to help millions of our fellow citizens find security and independence that comes from owning something - from ownership. In the election of 2004, large issues were set before our country. They were discussed every day on the campaign. The campaign over, Americans are expecting a bipartisan effort and results. I’ll reach out to everyone who shares our goals. And I’m eager to start the work ahead. I’m looking forward to serving this country for four more years. I want to thank you all for your hard work in the campaign. I told you that the other day and you probably thought I was just seeking votes. But now that you voted, I really meant it. I appreciate the hard work of the press corps. We all put in long hours and you were away from your families for a long period of time. But the country’s better off when we have a vigorous and free press covering our elections. And thanks for your work. With that overpandering, I’ll answer a few questions. Q. Mr. President, thank you. As you look at your second term, how much is the war in Iraq going to cost? Do you intend to send more troops or bring troops home? And in the Middle East more broadly, do you agree with Tony Blair that revitalizing the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political issue facing the world? Mr. Bush Now that I’ve got the will of the people at my back, I’m going to start enforcing the one-question rule. That was three questions. Start with Tony Blair’s comments. I agree with him that the Middle East peace is a very important part of a peaceful world. I have been working on Middle Eastern peace ever since I’ve been the president. I laid down some - a very hopeful strategy on - in June of 2002. And my hope is that we’ll make good progress. I think it’s very important for our friends, the Israelis, to have a peaceful Palestinian state living on their border. And it’s very important for the Palestinian people to have a peaceful, hopeful future. That’s why I articulated a two-state vision in that Rose Garden speech. I meant it when I said it and I mean it now. What was the other part of your question? Q. Iraq. A. Oh, Iraq. Yeah. Listen, we will work with the Allawi government to achieve our objective, which is elections and on the path to stability. And we’ll continue to train the troops. Our commanders will have that which they need to complete their missions. And in terms of the cost, I - we will work with O.M.B. and the Defense Department to bring forth to Congress a realistic assessment of what the cost will be. Q. Thank you, Mr. President. How will you go about bringing people together? Will you seek a consensus candidate for the Supreme Court if there’s an opening? Will you bring some Democrats into your cabinet? A. Again, you violated the one-question rule right off the bat. Obviously you didn’t listen to the will of the people. But first of all, there’s no vacancy for the Supreme Court. And I will deal with a vacancy when there is one. And what I - I told the people on the campaign trail that I’ll pick somebody that knows the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. You might have heard that several times. I meant what I said. And if people are interested in knowing the kind of judges I’ll pick, look at the record. I’ve sent up a lot of judges, well qualified people who know the law, who represent a judicial temperament that I agree with and who are qualified to hold the bench. The second part of your two-part question? Q. … Democrat to your cabinet by any chance? A. I haven’t made any decisions on the cabinet yet. Q. How else will you bring people together? A. We’ll put out an agenda that everybody understands and work with people to achieve the agenda. Democrats want a free and peaceful world. And we’ll - by the way, right after Sept. 11, we worked very closely together to secure our country. There is a common ground to be had when it comes to a foreign policy that says the most important objective is to protect the American people and spread freedom and democracy. There’s common ground when it comes to making sure the intelligence services are able to provide good, actionable intelligence to protect our people. And this - it’s not a Republican issue; it’s a Republican and Democrat issue. And so I’ll - plenty of places for us to work together. Q. Thank you, Mr. President. On foreign policy more broadly, do you believe that America has an image problem in the world right now because of your efforts in response to the 9/11 attacks? And as you talked down the stretch about building alliances, talk about what you’ll do to build on those alliances and to deal with these image problems, particularly in the Islamic world. A. I appreciate that. Listen, I’ve made some very hard decisions - decisions to protect ourselves, decisions to spread peace and freedom. And I understand that in certain capitals and certain countries those decisions were not popular. You know, you said - you asked me to put that in the context of the response on Sept. 11. The first response, of course, was chasing down the terror networks, which we will continue to do. And we - we’ve got great response around the world in order to do that. There’s over 90 nations involved with sharing information, finding terrorists, and bringing them to justice. That is a broad coalition and we’ll continue to strengthen it. I laid out a doctrine that said if you harbor a terrorist, you’re equally as guilty as the terrorist and that doctrine was ignored by the Taliban and we removed the Taliban. And I fully understand some people didn’t agree with that decision. But I believe that when the American president speaks, he’d better mean what he says in order to keep the world peaceful. And I believe we have a solemn duty, whether or not people agree with it or not, to protect the American people. And their - the Taliban and their harboring of al Qaeda represented a direct threat to the American people. And of course and the Iraq issue is one that people disagreed with. And I don’t need to rehash my case. But I - I did so - I made the decision I made in order to protect our country, first and foremost. I will continue to do that, as the president. But as I do so, I will reach out to others and explain why I make the decisions I make. There is a certain attitude in the world by some that says, you know, it’s a waste of time to try to promote free societies in parts of the world. I’ve heard that criticism. I remember I went to London to talk about our vision of spreading freedom throughout the greater Middle East. And I fully understand that that might rankle some and be viewed by some as folly. I just strongly disagree with those who do not see the wisdom of trying to promote free societies around the world. If we are interested in protecting our country for the long term, the best way to do so is to promote freedom and democracy. And I simply do not agree with those who either say overtly or believe that certain societies cannot be free. It’s just not a part of my thinking. And that’s why, during the course of the campaign, I was - I believe I was able to connect, at least with those who were there, in explaining my policy when I talked about the free elections in Afghanistan. There were - there was doubt about whether or not those elections would go forward. I’m not suggesting any of you here expressed skepticism, but there was. There was deep skepticism. And because there is a attitude among some that certain people may never be free, and at least don’t long to be free, or incapable of running an election. And I disagree with that. And the Afghan people, by going to the polls in the millions, proved - proved that this administration’s faith in freedom to change people’s habits is - is worthy. And that’ll be a central part of my foreign policy. And I’ve got work to do to explain to people about why that is a central part of our foreign policy. I mean I’ve been doing that for four years. But if you do not believe people can be free, and can self-govern, then all of a sudden, the two-state solution in the Middle East becomes a moot point, invalid. If you’re willing to condemn a group of people to a system of government that hasn’t worked, then you’ll never be able to achieve the peace. You cannot lead this world and our country to a better tomorrow unless you see a better - unless you have a vision of a better tomorrow. And I’ve got one based upon a great faith that people do want to be free and live in democracy. Q. Now that the political volatility is off the issue because the election is over, I’d like to ask you about troop levels in Iraq in the next couple of months leading up to elections. The Pentagon already has a plan to extend tours of duty for some 6,500 U.S. troops. How many more will be needed to provide security in Iraq for elections, seeing as how the Iraqi troops that you’re trying to train up are pretty slow coming on line? A. Yeah. Well, first of all, the - we are making good progress in training the Iraqi troops. There’ll be 125,000 of them trained by election time. Secondly, I have yet to - I have not sat down with our secretary of defense talking about troop levels. I read some reports during the course of the campaign where some were speculating, in the press corps, about the number of troops needed to protect elections. I - that has not been brought to my attention yet. And so I would caution you that what you have either read about or reported was pure speculation thus far. These elections are important and we will respond, John, to the requests of our commanders on the ground. And I have yet to hear from our commanders on the ground that they need more troops. Q. Mr. President, your victory at the polls came about in part because of strong support from people of faith, in particular Christian evangelicals and pentacostals and others. And Senator Kerry drew some of his strongest support from those who do not attend religious services. What do you make of this religious divide, it seems, becoming a political divide in this country? And what do you say to those who are concerned about the role of a faith they do not share in public life and in your policies? A. Yeah. My answer to people is I will be your president regardless of your faith. And I don’t expect you to agree with me, necessarily, on religion. As a matter of fact, no president should ever try to impose religion on our society. The great - the great tradition of America is one where people can worship the - the way they want to worship. And if they choose not to worship, they’re just as patriotic as your neighbor. That is an essential part of why we are a great nation. And I am glad people of faith voted in this election. I’m glad - I appreciate all people who voted. And I don’t think you ought to read anything into the politics, the moment, about whether or not this nation will become a divided nation over religion. I think the great thing that unites us is the fact you can worship freely if you choose and if you - you don’t have to worship. And if you’re a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim, you’re equally American. That is - that is such a wonderful aspect of our society. And it is strong today and it’ll be strong tomorrow. Q. Mr. President, you talked once again this morning about private accounts and Social Security. During the campaign you were accused of planning to privatize the entire system. It has been something you’ve discussed for some time. You’ve lost some of the key Democratic proponents such as Pat Moynihan and Bob Kerrey in the Congress. How will you proceed now with one of the key problems which is the transition cost, which some say is as much as two trillion dollars? How will you proceed on that and how soon? A. Well, first I made Social Security an issue for those of you who had to suffer through my speeches on a daily basis, for those of you who actually listened to my speeches on a daily basis, you might remember every speech I talked about the duty of an American president to lead. And we must lead on Social Security because the system is not going to be whole for our children or our grandchildren. And so to answer your second question is, we’ll start on Social Security now. We’ll start bringing together those in Congress who agree with my assessment that we need to work together. We’ve got a good blueprint, a good go-by. You mentioned Senator Moynihan, I had asked him prior to his passing to chair a committee of notable Americans to come up with some ideas on Social Security. And they did so. And it’s a good place for members of Congress to start. The president must have the will to take on the issue, not only in the campaign but now that I’m elected. And this, reforming Social Security, will be a priority of my administration. Obviously, if it were easy it would have already been done. And this is going to be hard work to bring people together and to make, to convince the Congress to move forward. And there are going to be costs. But the cost of doing nothing is insignificant - is much greater than the cost of reforming the system today. That was the case I made on the campaign trail. And I was earnest about getting something done. And as a matter of fact I talked to members of my staff today as we’re beginning to plan the strategy to move agendas forward about how to do this and do it effectively. Q. Mr. President, you were disappointed, even angry 12 years ago when the voters denied your father a second term. I’m interested in your thoughts and the conversation with him yesterday as you were walking to the Oval Office. And also whether you feel more free to do any one thing in a second term that perhaps you were politically constrained from doing in the first. A. At 3:30 in the morning on I guess it was the day after the election, he was sitting upstairs. And I finally said go to bed. He was awaiting the outcome and was hopeful that we would go over and be able to talk to our supporters. It just didn’t happen that way. So I asked him the next morning when he got up, said come by the Oval Office and visit. And he came by. We had a good talk. He was headed down to Houston. And it was, you know, there was some uncertainty about that morning as to when the election would actually end. And it wasn’t clear at that point in time. So I never got to see him face to face to watch his, I guess, pride in his tired eyes as his son got a second term. I did talk to him and he was relieved. I told him to get a nap. He was - I was worried about him staying up too late. But, so I haven’t had a chance to really visit and embrace. And you’re right, ‘92 was a disappointment. But he taught me a really good lesson, that life moves on. And it’s very important for those of us in the political arena win or lose to recognize that life is bigger than just politics. And this was one of the really good lessons he taught me. Q. Do you feel more free? A. In terms of feeling free, well, I don’t think you’ll let me be too free. There’s accountability and there are constraints on the presidency as there should be in any system. I feel it is necessary to move an agenda that I told the American people I would move. Something refreshing about coming off an election. Even more refreshing since we all got some sleep last night. But there’s, you go out and you make your case. And you tell the people this is what I intend to do. And after hundreds of speeches and three debates and interviews and the whole process where you keep basically saying the same thing over and over again that when you win there is a feeling that the people have spoken and embraced your point of view. And that’s what I intend to tell the Congress. That I made it clear what I intend to do as the president. Now let’s work - and the people made it clear what they wanted. Now let’s work together. It’s one of the wonderful - it’s like earning capital. You asked do I feel free. Let me put it to you this way. I earned capital in the campaign, political capital. And now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That’s what happened after the 2000 election, I earned some capital. I’ve earned capital in this election. And I’m going to spend it for what I told the people I’d spend it on, which is, you’ve heard the agenda: Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror. We have an obligation in this country to continue to work with nations to help alleve poverty and disease. We will continue to press forward on the H.I.V. AIDS initiative, the Millennium Challenge Account. We will continue to do our duty to help feed the hungry. And I’m looking forward to it. I really am. It’s been a fantastic experience campaigning the country. It’s, you’ve seen it from one perspective. I’ve seen it from another. I saw you standing there at the last final rally in Texas to my right over there. I was observing you observe. And you saw the energy. And there was just uplifting about people showing up at 11 o’clock at night expressing their support and their prayers and their friendship. It’s a marvelous experience to campaign across the country. Q. Do you plan to reshape your cabinet for the second term? Or will any changes come at the instigation of individuals? And as part of the same question, may I ask you what you’ve learned about cabinet government, what works, what doesn’t work. And do you mind also addressing the same question about the White House staff? A. The post-election euphoria did not last very long here at the press corps. Let me talk about the people that have worked with me. I had a cabinet meeting today. And I thanked them for their service to the country and reminded them that we’ve got a job to do. And I expected them to do the job. I have made no decisions on my Cabinet and or White House staff. I am mindful that working in the White House is really, is exhausting work. The um, the people who you try to get to leak to you spend hours away from their families. And it is, there is, the word burnout is oftentimes used in Washington. And it’s used for a reason. Because people do burn out. And so obviously, in terms of those who are, who want to stay on and who I want to stay on I’ve got to make sure that it’s right for their families. And that they’re comfortable. Because when they come to work here in the White House I expect them to work as hard as they possibly can on behalf of the American people. And the Cabinet, there will be some changes. I don’t know who they will be. It’s inevitable there will be changes. It happens in every administration. To a person I am proud of the work they have done. And I fully understand we’re about to head into the period of intense speculation as to who is going to stay and who is not going to stay. And I assured them, today I warned them of the speculative period. It’s great Washington sport to be talking about who’s going to leave and who the replacements may be and handicapping my way of thinking. I’ll just give you, but let me just help you out with the speculation right now. I haven’t thought about it. I’m going to start thinking about it. I’m going to Camp David this afternoon with Laura. And I’ll begin the process of thinking about the Cabinet and the White House staff. And we’ll let you know at the appropriate time when decisions have been made. Q. What works, what doesn’t? A. Yeah, well, first I’ve learned that I’ve put together a really good cabinet. I’m very proud of the people that have served this government. And they, to a man or woman work their hearts out for the American people. And I’ve learned that you’ve got to continue to surround yourself with good people. This is a job that requires crisp decision making. And therefore, in order for me to make decisions I’ve got to have people who bring their point of view into the Oval Office and are willing to say it. I always jest to people, the Oval Office is the kind of place where people stand outside, they’re getting ready to come in and tell me what for and they walk in and get overwhelmed by the atmosphere. And they say “man, you’re looking pretty.” And therefore, you need people to walk in on those days when you’re not looking so good and saying you’re not looking so good, Mr. President. And I’ve got, those are the kind of people that served our country. We’ve had vigorous debates, which you all during the last four years took great delight in reporting. Differences of opinion. But that’s what you want if you’re the commander in chief and a decision maker. You want people to walk in and say I don’t agree with this or I do agree with that. And here’s what my recommendation is. But the president also has to learn to decide. There’s ample time for the debate to take place. And then decide. And make up your mind. And lead. That’s what the job’s all about. And so I have learned how important it is to be, to have a really fine group of people that think through issues and that are not intimidated by the process. And who walk in and tell me what’s on their mind. Q. Sir, does it bother you that there’s a perception out there that your administration has been one that favors big business and the wealthy individuals? And what can you do to overcome that, sir? A. 70 percent of the new jobs in America are created by small businesses. I understand that. And I have promoted during the course of the last four years one of the most aggressive pro-entrepreneur, small business policies. Tax relief. You might remember, I don’t know if you know this or not but 90 percent of the businesses are sole proprietorships or Subchapter S corporations. Tax relief helped them. This is an administration that fully understands that the job creators are the entrepreneurs. And so in a new term we’ll make sure that tax relief continues to be robust for our small businesses. We’ll push legal reform and regulatory reform. Because I understand the engine of growth is through the small business sector. Q. Sir, given your commitment to reaching out across party lines and to all Americans, I wonder if you could expand on your definition bipartisanship and whether it means simply picking off a few Democrats on a case-by-case basis to pass the bills you want to pass or whether you would commit to working regularly with the Democratic leadership on solutions that can win broad support across party lines? A. Do you remember the No Child Left Behind Act? I think that’s the model I’d look at if I were you. It is a - I laid out an agenda for reforming our public schools. I worked with both Republicans and Democrats to get that bill passed. In a new term, we’ll continue to make sure we do not weaken the accountability standards that are making a huge difference in people’s lives, in these kids’ lives. But that’s the model I’d look at if I were you. And there’s a certain practicality to life here in Washington. And that is when you get a bill moving, it is important to get the votes. And if politics starts to get in the way of getting good legislation through, well, that’s just part of life here. But I’m also focused on results. I think of the Medicare bill. You might remember that old stale debate. We finally got a bill moving. I was hoping it would get strong bipartisan support. Unfortunately it was an election year. And but we got the votes necessary to get the bill passed. And so we will - I will - my goal is to work on the ideal and to reach out and to continue to work and find common ground on issues. On the other hand, I’ve been wisened to the ways of Washington. I watched what can happen during certain parts of the cycle where politics gets in the way of good policy. And at that point in time, I’ll continue to - you know, I’ll try to get this done. And try to get our bills passed in a way. Because results really do matter, as far as I’m concerned. I really didn’t come here to hold the office, just to say, Gosh, it was fun to serve. I came here to get some things done. And we are doing it. Q. I know you haven’t had a chance to learn this, but it appears that Yasir Arafat has passed away. A. Really? Q. And I was just wondering if I could get your initial reaction and also your thoughts on perhaps working with a new generation of Palestinian leadership. A. I appreciate that. My first reaction is: God bless his soul. And my second reaction is that we will continue to work for a free Palestinian state that’s at peace with Israel. Q. Mr. President, as you look at your second-term domestic priorities, I wonder of you could talk a little bit about how you see the sequence of action on issues beyond Social Security, tax reform, education, and if you could expand a little bit for us on the principles that you want to underpin your tax reform proposal? Do you want it to be revenue-neutral? What kinds of things do you want to accomplish through that process? A. I appreciate that. I was anticipating this question that, you know, what is the first thing you’re going to do when it comes to legislation. It just doesn’t work that way, particularly when you’ve laid out a comprehensive agenda. And part of that comprehensive agenda is tax simplification. The - first of all, a principle would be revenue-neutral. If I’m going to - you know, if there was a need to raise taxes, I’d say, let’s have a tax bill that raises taxes as opposed to let’s simplify the tax code and sneak a tax increase on the people. It’s just not my style. I don’t believe we need to raise taxes. I’ve said that to the American people. And so the simplification would be the goal. Now, secondly, that - obviously that it rewards risk and doesn’t have unnecessary penalties in it. But the main thing is that it would be viewed as fair, that it would be a fair system, that it wouldn’t be complicated, that there’s a, you know, kind of - that loopholes wouldn’t be there for special interests, that the code itself be viewed and deemed as a very fair way to - to encourage people to invest and save and achieve certain fiscal objectives in our country as well. You know, one of the interesting debates will be, of course, in the course of simplification: will there be incentives in the code? Charitable giving, of course, and mortgage deductions are very important. As governor of Texas, when I - at some time I think I was asked about simplification, I always noted how important it was for certain incentives to be built in the tax code. And that’ll be an interesting part of the debate. Certain issues come quicker than others in the course of a legislative session. And that depends upon whether or not those issues have been debated. I think, for example, of the legal issue - the legal reform issues. They have been - medical liability reform had been debated and got thwarted a couple of times in one body in particular on Capitol Hill. And so the groundwork has been laid for some legislation that I’ve been talking about. On an issue like tax reform, it’s going to - tax simplification - it’s going to take a lot of legwork to get something ready for a legislative package. I fully understand that. The Social Security form will require some additional legwork, although the Moynihan Commission has laid the groundwork for it, I think is a very good place to start the debate. The education issue is one that could move pretty quickly because there’s been a lot of discussion about education. You know, it’s an issue that the members are used to debating and discussing. And so I think, you know, all issues are important. And the timing of issues as they reach it through committee and floor really depend upon whether or not some work has already been done on those issues. A couple more questions. Q. Mr. President, American forces are gearing up for what appears to be a major offensive in Falluja over the next several days. I’m wondering if you could tell us what the objective is, what the stakes are there, for the United States, for the Iraqi people, and the Iraqi elections coming up in January. A. In order for Iraq to be a free country, those who are trying to stop the elections and stop a free society from emerging must be defeated. And so Prime Minister Allawi and his government, which fully understands that, are working with our generals on the ground to do just that. Now, we will work closely with the government. It’s their government; it’s their country. We’re there at their invitation. And but I think there’s a recognition that these - some of these people have to - must be defeated. And so that’s what they’re thinking about. That’s what you’re - that’s why you’re hearing discussions about potential action in Falluja. Q. Thank you, Sir. Many within your own party are unhappy over the deficit and they say keeping down discretional spending alone won’t help you reach your goal of halving the deficit in five years. What else do you plan to do to cut costs? A. Well, I, you know, I would suggest they look at our budget that we’ve submitted to Congress, which does in fact get the deficit cut in half in five years. And it is a specific, line by line budget that we are required to submit and have done so. The key to making sure that the deficit is reduced is for there to be on the one hand, spending discipline - and I’ve - as you noticed in my opening remarks, I talked about these appropriations bills that are beginning to move. And I thought I was pretty clear about the need for those bills to be - to be fiscally responsible. And I meant it. And I look forward to talking to the leadership about making sure that the - the budget agreements we had are still the budget agreements - that just because we had an election, that they shouldn’t feel comfortable changing our agreement. And I think they understand that. Secondly, the other way to make sure that the deficit is - decreases - is to grow the economy. As the economy grows, there’ll be more revenues coming into the treasury. That’s what you have seen recently. If you notice that there’s been some - there’s been some write-downs of the budget deficit whereas the deficit is less than we thought because the revenues is exceeding projections. And the reason why the revenues - the revenues are exceeding projections. Sometimes I mangle the English language. I get - anyway - yeah, very inside. The revenues are exceeding projections. And as a result, the projected deficit is less. But my point there is is that so - with good economic policy that encourages economic growth, the revenue streams begin to increase. And as the revenue streams increase, coupled with fiscal discipline, you’ll see the deficit shrinking. And we are focused on that. I do believe there ought to be budgetary reform in Washington, on the Hill - Capitol Hill. I think it’s very important. I would like to see the president have a line item veto again when it passed constitutional muster. I think it would help the executive branch work with the legislative branch to make sure that - that we’re able to maintain budget discipline. I’ve talked to a lot of members of Congress who are wondering whether or not we’ll have the will to confront entitlements, to make sure that there is entitlement reform that helps us maintain fiscal discipline. The answer is yes. That’s why I took on the Social Security issue. I believe that we have a duty to do so. I want to make sure that the Medicare reforms that we put in place remain robust to help us make sure Medicare is available for generations to come. And so there is a - I’ve got quite an active agenda to help work with Congress to bring not only fiscal discipline but to make sure that our pro-growth policies are still in place. Q. I‘m interested in getting back to Steven - Stevenson’s question about unity. Clearly, you believe you have reached out and will continue to reach out. Do you believe that Democrats have made a sincere and sufficient effort to meet you somewhere halfway? And do you think now there’s more reason for them to do that in light of the election results? A. I think the Democrats agree that we have an obligation to serve our country. I believe there will be goodwill, now that this election is over, to work together. I found that to be the case when I first arrived here in Washington. And working with the Democrats and fellow Republicans, we got a lot done. And it is with that spirit that I go into this coming session. And I will meet with both Republican and Democrat leaders and I am - they’ll see I’m genuine about working toward some of these important issues. It’s going to be - it’s not easy, you know. These - I readily concede I’ve laid out some very difficult issues for people to deal with. Reforming the Social Security system for generations to come is a difficult issue. Otherwise it would have already been done. But it is necessary to confront it. And I would hope to be able to work with Democrats to get this done. I’m not sure we can get it done without Democrat participation. Because it is a big issue. And I will explain to them, you know, I will show them Senator Moynihan’s thinking as a way to begin the process. And I will remind everybody who’s here that we have a duty to leave behind a better America and when we see a problem, to deal with it. And I think Democrats agree with that. And so I’m optimistic. You’ve covered me when I was a governor of Texas. I told you that I was going to do that as the governor. There was probably some skepticism in your beady eyes there. But you might remember we were able to accomplish a lot by - and Washington is different from Austin, no question about it. Washington - one of the disappointments of the - of being here in Washington is how bitter this town can become and how divisive. I’m not blaming one party or the other. It’s just the reality of Washington, D.C. Sometimes exacerbated by - by you because it’s great sport; it’s entertaining for some. It also makes it difficult to govern at times. And I - but nevertheless, my commitment is there. I fully - now I’m more seasoned to Washington. I have cut my political eye teeth, at least the ones I’ve recently grown here in Washington. And so I’m aware of what can happen in this town. But nevertheless, having said that, I am fully prepared to work with both Republican and Democrat leadership to advance an agenda that I think makes a big difference for the country. Listen, thank you all. I look forward to working with you. I’ve got a question for you: How many of you are going to be here for a second term? Please raise your hand. Gosh, we’re going to have a lot of fun then. Thank you all. November 04, 2004Students Arrested Protesting President Bush's Re-electionAbout 250 Bard College students protested the presidential election results on Friday claiming George Bush was not the legitimate winner. The protesters marched from campus to the center of the Hudson Valley village of Red Hook and blocked traffic at by staging a 45-minute sit-in:
Twelve students were charged with disorderly conduct after becoming confrontational with officers. From California Yankee. Bush Outlines Agenda For Second TermA minority president no more, President Bush sketched a second-term agenda Thursday that includes fighting the worldwide war on terror and seeking tax overhaul and fundamental changes in Social Security at home. November 03, 2004Election 2004 EndgameWell it looks like it’s over overall pending the Democrats don’t throw a lawsuit our way challenging the 20 electoral votes of Ohio. Right now New Mexico and Iowa is closing with 98% & 97% counted which will give Bush a total of 12 EC Points to take it to 261 EC Points (If Democrats challenging Ohio). Then there’s Nevada with 80% counted at this moment with 5 EC points and it’s leaning Bush. Which raises it to Bush’s 266 to Kerry’s 225. Wiscousin, Michigan, & possibly Hawaii are going Kerry which will bring Kerry’s total to 252 Total. Right now, Bush is the winner of the 2004 Presidential Election if Kerry respects the voters of Ohio. My conclusion of the 2004 Presidential Election: November 02, 2004Bush Invites Pool reporters into White HouseABC News reports President Bush has invited the Press Pool in for a quick interview. According to ABC, this is highly unusual and may have never happened before during an election night. UPDATE: Why You Should Vote For Me Today : BushFrom USA Today : I am running for president with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. My record demonstrates the consistent and principled leadership our nation needs in these challenging times. I ran for president four years ago with an ambitious agenda for America’s future, and I have kept my commitments. With bipartisan support, we passed the No Child Left Behind Act — the most sweeping education reform in generations. Now states are setting higher standards for schools, parents have more options for their children’s education, and student achievement is rising. I also promised to lower taxes, and the tax relief we passed has delivered financial relief to more than 111 million Americans. A family of four with a $40,000 income has seen taxes reduced by more than $1,900. Families and small businesses are using that money to move our economy forward. In the past 13 months, we have created more than 1.9 million new jobs. Moronski predicts...Today in political punditry from Sean Moronski, he treats us to his final predictions. The only number to care about is 270 — as in electoral votes. Last week, I gave an assessment of where I believe the Electoral College stands… not a whole lot has changed… with the likelihood that Maine will give all 4 of its votes (Bear bait amendments notwithstanding) to the Ds and that Coloradoans aren’t stupid enough to vote away their electoral clout by dividing their electoral votes by the popular vote percentage, I believe the College stands as follows: Bush: 222 votes (26 states covering the South and middle America) Kerry: 207 votes (15 states covering the Northeast, some of the Great Lakes region and the West Coast) That leaves 109 votes up for grabs, which I predict will go as follows: “Western 5-Card” - Nevada and New Mexico each have 5 electoral votes. Bush has been trending well in Nevada and I expect him to hold serve there. Kerry will probably win New Mexico barring a sudden Nader move. Give them each 5. Bush 227, Kerry 212 “Iron Triangle” - The Upper Midwestern states of Wisconsin (10), Minnesota (10) and Iowa (7). Gore won all of these in 2000. There will be no Democrat sweep this time around. Bush will win at least one — Wisconsin. I’ll give Kerry the other 2. All will be close. Bush 237, Kerry 229 “The BIG 3” - Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio Pennsylvania is the one Gore won in 2000 and Kerry will do it again. Two reasons: the Philly suburbs have become fertile vote territory for Dems and there are probably enough votes that can be hustled (manufactured?) out of Philly to overcome the rest of the state. Kerry 250, Bush 237 Florida — the mother of all contests — won’t be razor thin this time. For all the ranting and raving about 2000, it is estimated that Bush lost at least 5,000 votes in the Panhandle (located in the Central time zone) as the networks called the state for Gore while polls were still open. Since 2000, Republicans have performed quite well in the state. Hispanics, particularly Cubans, are motivated to elect Mel Martinez to the U.S. Senate. Jews don’t have the same motivation to make John Edwards the VP as opposed to Joe Lieberman in 2000. Close, BUT… Bush takes it… Bush 264, Kerry 250 Ohio… the center of the electoral universe. No GOP has EVER been elected President without winning here. The last Dem to win the Presidency without Ohio was JFK in 1960. It will all come down to turnout — who is motivated more??? Kerry is not Clinton… he’s not even Gore… he doesn’t connect… W is not his father… whatever faults he may have, he will connect with enough Ohioans to win… Bush 284, Kerry 250… but wait… UPSET SPECIAL… 4 votes are outstanding… in 2000, West Virginia was the Democrat state that came out of nowhere to go for Bush and provide the margin of victory… this time Aloha has a whole different political meaning… the latest polls out of Hawaii have Bush tied or slightly ahead… this time 4 years ago, Gore was up 19 in the same polls and won by 17… sometimes you have to make a call for the unexpected… lei the 4 votes for W… final Bush 288, Kerry 250 for those of you who care I figure the national popular vote percentage margin will be 2.5%… Nader won’t break 2% remember - vote early and often… for you Ds, election day is November 4… the Rs get to vote on November 2 November 01, 2004Cheney "Cooks Kerry's Goose" in HawaiiDick Cheney, the first major party candidate to stump in Hawaii, addressed a crowd of about 9,000 in Honolulu:
Hawaii, normally a strong Democratic state, suddenly finds itself in the spotlight as a battleground state this year. Bush Regains I point Lead In Zogby Tracking PollReuters reports that President Bush edged into a one-point lead in the Reuters/Zogby International Tracking Poll released on Monday: Bush 48% Bush and Kerry were deadlocked at 48 percent on Sunday. From California Yankee. October 31, 2004"Tora Bora: What Really Happened?"CNN’s terrorism analyst Peter Bergen:
The question of whether the United Sates missed an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden during the battle of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan in December 2001 has become a contentious issue in the razor-close campaign. During the October 8th presidential debate, Sen. John Kerry said of capturing bin Laden, “The right time was Tora Bora, when we had him cornered in the mountains.” Writing in the New York Times last week, General Tommy Franks, a Bush supporter, and the overall commander of the Tora Bora operation, said that this charge: “doesn’t square with reality”. Franks also stated, “We don’t know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora,” and that the US did not “outsource” the battle to Afghan warlords of questionable competence and loyalty, as Sen. Kerry has repeatedly charged. At a town hall meeting in Ohio on the day that General Franks’ Times story appeared, vice president Cheney said Kerry’s criticisms of the Tora Bora campaign were “absolute garbage.” In Colorado on Monday, President Bush said; “My opponent is throwing out the wild claim that he knows where bin Laden was in the fall of 2001 and that our military had a chance to get him in Tora Bora.” New Democrat 527 VideoAnother not-serious look at the US Elections. At least, I think it’s not-serious. You can never tell, when OBL is on tape channelling Michael Moore, parotting parts of the Democrat Platform, and pleading to “live and let live”. A Minneapolis-based 527 group GeorgeTheMenace, has just produced a new video which they hope will counter the SwiftVet ones. The one showing hundreds of Veterans and ex-POWs of all party affilliations, all united against John F Kerry. The video, which if taken at face value is extremely damaging to George Bush, is available in 2 formats: Bush supporters will no doubt claim that the video has been “doctored” by Democrats, however the GeorgeTheMenace group hopes to put in on TV “straight”, according to their (satirical) website. No doubt some people will believe it, but they probably wouldn’t be voting for Bush even before seeing it. Others will see it as an act of Democrat desperation, but they probably wouldn’t be voting for Kerry anyway. Hat Tip : Captain’s Quarters October 30, 2004"Reporter saw insurgents loot Qaqaa arms depot"From IHT:
A French journalist who visited the Qaqaa munitions depot south of Baghdad in November last year said she witnessed Islamic insurgents looting vast supplies of explosives more than six months after the demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime. See also ABC News: Video Suggests Explosives Disappeared After U.S. Took Control, “[KSTP] video may be linked to missing explosives in Iraq” and Al Qaqaa roundup. From 10/06/04’s Outside Baghdad, lawlessness haunts a small Iraqi town:
The insurgents probably are using weapons and ammunition looted from the nearby Qa-Qaa complex, a 3-mile by 3-mile weapons-storage facility about 25 miles southwest of Baghdad, said Maj. Brian Neil, operations officer for the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, which initially patrolled the area. The facility was bombed during last year’s invasion and then left unguarded, Neil said. “There’s definitely no shortage of weapons around here,” he said. Breaking For President BushReuters reports that President Bush’s lead over Kerry has widened to 6 percent among likely voters in Newsweek’s poll. From California Yankee. October 29, 2004"In final hours, Bush mailings display images of burning World Trade Center"Pictures of the mailing are here:
President George W. Bush has engaged in mailings [in Pennsylvania] which contain myriad graphic images of the burning World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001… Muslims cite betrayal by BushHOUSTON CHRONICLE: Muslims cite betrayal by Bush Syed Ahmed voted for George W. Bush in 2000. But he won’t this year. October 28, 2004Political Human Sacrifice takes a shocking turnAs previously discussed, talk jocks John & Ken (KFI AM 640 - Los Angeles) are conducting a “Political Human Sacrifice” of two Californian congressmen. They’re encouraging their listeners to vote those congressmen out of office because of their support for massive illegal immigration. The congressmen are Joe Baca (Democrat) and David Dreier (Republican). In a shocking development, John & Ken have received a federal complaint filed by the Dreier Campaign (Dreier site here) and the National Republican Congressional Committee. The complaint is relating to the McCain-Feingold law; although a copy of the complaint is not yet publicly available, apparently one of the charges involves John & Ken encouraging the crowd at a Political Human Sacrifice rally to shout “Fire Dreier!” The L.A. Times reportedly interviewed John & Ken today, and, as they’ve appeared on several national news shows in the past, I would imagine this will receive national attention. John & Ken are encouraging all their listeners and anyone else to contact the National Republican Congressional Committee; their contact information is here. Dreier’s opponent is Cynthia Matthews. The district includes most of the San Gabriel Valley foothill communities. A map is here. UPDATE: KFI producer and blogger Justin Levine comments here. Quinnipiac Polls: Bush Leads In Pennsylvania And FloridaBloomberg reports that Quinnipiac University polls find President Bush now leads Kerry in both Florida and Pennsylvania. Florida Likely Voters Pennsylvania Likely Voters From California Yankee. "[KSTP] video may be linked to missing explosives in Iraq"From Minneapolis/St. Paul TV station KSTP:
A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew in Iraq shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein was in the area where tons of explosives disappeared, and may have videotaped some of those weapons… Bush's Lead Narrows To 1 In Reuters/Zogby Daily Tracking PollBloomberg reports that President Bush and Kerry are statistically tied in the Reuters/Zogby Daily Tracking Poll: Bush 48% - Kerry 46% UPDATE: The post was supposed to read “Bush 48 Kerry 46,” not “Bush 48 Kerry 47.” I have corrected the post. I wish to thank TCP reader dickmr for pointing out the error. From California Yankee. October 27, 2004Political Human SacrificeIf you live in Southern California, you’ve probably heard about Political Human Sacrifice by now. That’s the attempt by KFI AM 640 talk jocks John & Ken to unseat two Congressmen who refuse to do anything about our incredible problem with illegal immigration. These are the same talk jocks who played a major role in getting former governor Gray Davis recalled. The goal is to send the message to politicians in Washington: either do something about massive illegal immigration, or lose your job. If you aren’t familiar with how much illegal immigration is a hot button issue in SoCal, I’d suggest listening to their show. You can listen live over the internet here; they’re on from 3pm to 7pm Pacific time M-F. They have a segment on Political Human Sacrifice every day at 5pm Pacific time. And, they freely admit they’re doing this for ratings: their ratings have gone up since starting the sacrifice. This effort is controversial and has national implications because one of the Congressmen is David Dreier, the third most powerful Republican in the House. The other Congressman selected to be “sacrificed” is Joe Baca, a Democrat. John & Ken are encouraging their million-plus listeners to vote for their challengers. In Dreier’s case that’s Cynthia Matthews, and in Baca’s case it’s Ed Laning. Dreier appears to be worried. He’s spent around a million dollars on the campaign so far, and he’s even gotten Arnold Schwarzenegger to record a message that’s being phoned to his district. Dreier claims that his record on illegal immigration has been misrepresented, but a little research shows that’s not the case. Dreier also has the assistance of a local newspaper chain that’s going to bat for him. Details here, including an example of a blatant lie by Dreier. As for Baca, read more about him here. The Washington Times offers older coverage here and here, and this has received national coverage in other papers as well. See also this site from a supporter of the effort. KFI producer and blogger Justin Levine has posts about this here and here. To see what prompted Political Human Sacrifice and how angry many citizens are about this issue, read about the Temecula townhall meeting. And, to read about the administration’s heavy-handed tactics to influence John & Ken’s coverage of illegal immigration, click here. "Wild Charges" Leveled In DesperationAgence France-Presse reports that President Bush responded to Kerry’s attacks about missing Iraqi explosives calling Kerry’s explosive claims “wild charges” levelled in desperation.
Terrorists Hope To defeat BushThe Washington Times reports that leaders and supporters of the Iraqi insurgency say that the objective of attacks in recent weeks has been to defeat President Bush.
From California Yankee. Al Qaqaa roundupFrom No Check of Bunker, Unit Commander Says:
White House officials reasserted yesterday that 380 tons of powerful explosives may have disappeared from a vast Iraqi military complex while Saddam Hussein controlled Iraq, saying a brigade of American soldiers did not find the explosives when they visited the complex on April 10, 2003, the day after Baghdad fell. Other reports: 10/26/04’s Al-Qaqaa spokesman says no weapons search has similar comments from the spokesman for the same unit. 10/26/04’s Timing of theft of explosives a mystery: Army officials told NBC News on condition of anonymity that troops from the Army’s 3rd Infantry did not arrive at Al-Qaqaa until April 4, finding “looters everywhere” carrying what they could out on their backs. The troops searched bunkers and found conventional weapons but no high explosives, the officials said. Six days later, the 101st Airborne Division arrived. Neither group was specifically searching for HMX or RDX, and the complex is so large — with more than 1,000 buildings — that it is not clear that the troops even saw the bunkers that might have held the explosives. The Iraq Survey Group discovered that the stockpiles of HMX and RDX were missing on May 27, seven weeks after the last visit by U.S. troops. 10/26/04’s Embedded Reporter Saw No Explosives Search: “There wasn’t a search,” [NBC Dateline reporter Lai Ling Jew] told MSNBC, an NBC cable news channel. “The mission that the brigade had was to get to Baghdad. That was more of a pit stop there for us. And, you know, the searching, I mean certainly some of the soldiers head off on their own, looked through the bunkers just to look at the vast amount of ordnance lying around. 10/26/04’s Paula Zahn: talks to former assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin, now a foreign policy adviser to the Kerry campaign, and Dan Senor, the former spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority now representing the Bush campaign about this issue. AP’s 10/25/04 Timeline on missing explosives in Iraq 10/06/04’s Outside Baghdad, lawlessness haunts a small Iraqi town: The insurgents probably are using weapons and ammunition looted from the nearby Qa-Qaa complex, a 3-mile by 3-mile weapons-storage facility about 25 miles southwest of Baghdad, said Maj. Brian Neil, operations officer for the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, which initially patrolled the area. The facility was bombed during last year’s invasion and then left unguarded, Neil said. “There’s definitely no shortage of weapons around here,” he said. April 5, 2003’s Banned Iraqi Weapons Might Be Hard to Find briefly describes items found at al Qaqaa. Earlier links in “White House Downplays Missing Iraq Explosives”. October 26, 2004Bush 49% Kerry's 46% In Daily Zogby PollBloomberg reports that President Bush leads Kerry by 3 points 49% to 46% in the latest daily Reuters/Zogby tracking poll. From California Yankee. "White House Downplays Missing Iraq Explosives"
WASHINGTON — The White House acknowledged Monday that nearly 380 tons of powerful explosives were missing from a weapons facility that American forces failed to guard after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, raising fears that the munitions could be given to militants or used for attacks against troops in Iraq… From Drudge:
But tonight, NBCNEWS reported: The 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives were already missing back in April 10, 2003 — when U.S. troops arrived at the installation south of Baghdad! However, from this: At the Pentagon, an official who monitors developments in Iraq said U.S.-led coalition troops had searched Al Qaqaa in the immediate aftermath of the March 2003 invasion and confirmed that the explosives were intact. Thereafter the site was not secured by U.S. forces, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. And, note that the April 10, 2003 visit by NBC was not the first time troops arrived at the facility, and that the facility has 87 or so buildings. See “Are troops at tip of Iraq chemical weapon cache?” That describes a visit to al Qaqaa on Friday, April 4, 2003:
Closer to Baghdad, troops at Iraq’s largest military industrial complex found nerve agent antidotes, documents describing chemical warfare and a white powder that appeared to be used for explosives. The NYT has more on the political ramifications and statements from administration officials in “Iraq Explosives Become Issue in Campaign”. UPDATE: The oft-repeated phrase “the explosives weren’t there when troops arrived” could be correct. However, it’s also quite misleading, and perhaps intentionally so. That phrase does not acknowledge that the troops in question were not the first U.S. troops at the site. The NBC reporter visited the site on April 10. However, another group of U.S. troops visited the site six days earlier, on April 4. And, those April 4 troops found “thousands of 2-inch by 5-inch boxes, each containing three vials of white powder.” The white powder was believed to be explosives. I included this information in the original post, but it bears repeating. Note also this:
IAEA inspectors last saw the explosives in January 2003 when they took an inventory and placed fresh seals on the bunkers, Fleming said. [U.N.] Inspectors visited the site again in March 2003, but didn’t view the explosives because the seals were not broken, she said. UPDATE 2: On MSNBC today (October 26), the NBC Dateline producer (Lai Ling Jew) who arrived on the scene on April 10 was interviewed. A partial transcript is here:
Lai Ling Jew (LLJ): When we went into the area, we were actually leaving Karbala and we were initially heading to Baghdad with the 101st Airborne, Second Brigade. The situation in Baghdad, the Third Infantry Division had taken over Baghdad and so they were trying to carve up the area that the 101st Airborne Division would be in charge of. As a result, they had trouble figuring out who was going to take up what piece of Baghdad. They sent us over to this area in Iskanderia. We didn’t know it as the Qaqaa facility at that point but when they did bring us over there we stayed there for quite a while. We stayed overnight, almost 24 hours. And we walked around, we saw the bunkers that had been bombed, and that exposed all of the ordinances that just lied dormant on the desert. UPDATE 3: The AP report Embedded Reporter Saw No Explosives Search summarizes the transcript in Update 2. October 25, 2004Bush Leads By 5 Points In Gallup/USA Today/CNN PollCNN reports that President Bush leads Kerry by 5 Points in the latest Gallup/USA Today/CNN Poll: Likely Voters From California Yankee. Bush 48% Kerry's 45% In Daily Zogby PollBloomberg reports that President Bush leads Kerry by 3 percentage points 48% to $%5 in the latest daily Reuters/Zogby tracking poll. Reuters/Zogby polls over the previous three days showed Bush up 2 points. From California Yankee. October 24, 2004Flu vaccine shortage roundup10/19/04’s “Experts have been predicting flu vaccine shortage for years” offers a short but informative FAQ and 10/17/04’s “With Few Suppliers of Flu Shots, Shortage Was Long in Making” (excerpted below) is a longer piece that provides a good overview of the problem. The most newsworthy charge is in “Without a Clue on Flu: A Hapless Performance on the Flu Vaccine”:
John Taylor, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, told the Wall Street Journal that the 2003 Liverpool inspection showed “systemic quality-control issues” at the Chiron facility. The Journal summarized Taylor’s remarks by stating that FDA inspectors concluded, “Chiron wouldn’t necessarily be able to discover problems, identify the root cause and take steps to prevent similar issues from arising again.” […the FDA did not reinspect the Liverpool plant between the 2003 inspection and October 2004, the FDA relied on Chiron’s assurances that everything was OK…] 10/22/04’s “FDA ‘would have’ spotted flu shot problems” confirms that the FDA had not inspected the Liverpool plant during the period indicated above. The FDA claims that based on a “troubling” safety report from Chiron that the FDA ordered in August 2004, it would have reinspected the plant, but Britain’s 10/5/04 decision to halt production at the plant made that reinspection unnecessary. Chiron’s Liverpool plant had changed owners a few times recently, it had a history of problems, and Chiron may have ramped up production too quickly. See “Questions remain about flu-vaccine maker” and “British plant suffers in flu vaccine fiasco”. From 10/9/04’s “Britain: U.S. Told Of Vaccine Shortage”:
Records at Britain’s Department of Health show that the plant’s owner, Chiron Corp., warned officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency on Sept. 13 that potential contamination problems remained unresolved at the plant, according to Alison Langley, a senior spokeswoman at the department. The British account is at odds with statements by U.S. health officials that they were caught by surprise by the British regulatory agency’s decision this week to suspend vaccine manufacturing for three months at the Liverpool plant… Jason Brodsky, an FDA spokesman, provided an agency statement disputing the British account, saying: “None of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) staff who were in regular communication with Chiron since August 25, 2004, were notified by Chiron that there was an increased level of concern regarding the company’s investigation of the bacterial contamination.” Furthermore, according to the statement, there had been no communication between CBER and the British agency until that agency suspended Chiron’s license. That decision was reached last weekend, and Chiron was informed Tuesday… As for the bottom line, from 10/22/04’s “Flu vaccine shortage could cost billions”
This year’s flu vaccine shortage could cost the nation up to $20 billion in lost productivity — almost twice as much as in a typical year — depending on the severity of the outbreak, according to one estimate… This year’s flu vaccine shortage could cause deaths to spike by 25 percent, said Dr. John Treanor, an infectious disease expert at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In a typical year, 36,000 Americans die from the flu. That mortality figure rises to 51,000 when flu-related complications, such as heart attacks and strokes, are included. The shortage resulted in “New Kerry Ad on Bush Flu Failures”. The GOP responds here. Rush Limbaugh blames it on Bill Clinton here. The NYT editorializes in “Supplying flu vaccine”. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) offers 10/18/04’s “Flu Vaccine Crisis: The Administration’s Response to Recommendations and Warnings” [PDF file]. Intel chairman Andy Grove says he’s voting for Kerry specifically because of this issue and what it indicates about the administration in “Flu muddle makes Intel’s Grove mad at administration”: “I can’t make an argument that a Kerry government would be better… But I can argue that (the Bush) government is not working and is unlikely to change.” From 10/16/04’s Shaheen says administration was warned of flu vaccine issues:
…”If we can’t deal with something as simple as flu vaccine, what are we going to do if we have biological warfare under this president?” [former [NH] Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Kerry’s national campaign chairwoman] said. The HHS requested that that private sector statement be included in the GAO report. See the letter in the 5/2001 GAO PDF “Supply Problems Heighten Need to Ensure Access for High-Risk People”. The PDF “John Kerry’s Plan to Address the Flu Vaccine Crisis” proposes adding flu vaccine manufacturers to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, encouraging multiple manufacturers, and establishing a “strategic reserve of flu vaccine… The government will guarantee purchases of unused vaccines at the end of the flu season to help prepare for the possibility of sudden shortages…” During the third presidential debate, president Bush addressed this issue:
Bob, we relied upon a company out of England to provide about half of the flu vaccines for the United States citizen, and it turned out that the vaccine they were producing was contaminated. And so we took the right action and didn‘t allow contaminated medicine into our country… [perhaps vaccines will come from Canada…] My call to our fellow Americans is if you‘re healthy, if you‘re younger, don‘t get a flu shot this year. [CDC is prioritizing who gets the flu vaccine… Bush didn’t get a flu shot… blames suits for driving producers out of market, says legal reforms are necessary…] But the best thing we can do now, Bob, given the circumstances with the company in England is for those of us who are younger and healthy, don‘t get a flu shot. 07/30/2001’s “Production of vaccines in dire need of a boost” warned of potential problems over three years ago:
…”We have a (vaccine supply) system that is the best in the world, but it’s rather fragile,” says Bruce Gellin, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University and director of the National Network for Immunization Information. “Unless we start paying attention to it, we might find ourselves in a crisis situation.” Chiron is under attack: “Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Chiron Corporation by The Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP”, but seems to have already started protecting themselves at the start of 2004. From “Big lobbying effort from Chiron could boost defense”:
Chiron, in a shift from last year, invested heavily this year in lobbying federal officials now investigating its role in the flu vaccine meltdown. 10/19/04’s “Flu vaccine providers took a random shot” discusses distribution issues, how chain pharmacies got some supplies and smaller pharmacies did not, etc. Summary: “Those lucky or big enough to order vaccine from Aventis got some. Those who ordered from Chiron did not.” From 10/10/04’s “Flu shot shortage exposes bug in vaccine industry”
“This shortage is a call to action,” Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… The FDA offers 2004 Chiron Flu Vaccine Chronology 10/20/04’s “Chiron vaccine in doubt for 2005” says that statement from Chiron might just be CYA. 10/17/04 With Few Suppliers of Flu Shots, Shortage Was Long in Making:
“We’re in the middle of a crisis that could have been averted,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, associate dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and director of its national center for disaster preparedness. 5/15/01’s GAO PDF Flu Vaccine: Supply Problems Heighten Need to Ensure Access for High-Risk People From 10/11/04’s Experts Urge More Firms to Make Flu Shots: …The basic problem is that “we’ve lost most of our domestic manufacturers” of flu vaccine, said Richard Webby at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. “When you’re relying on two manufacturers … and one goes down, you’re up the creek.” Bush's IQ Greater Than Kerry'sThe New York Times reports that George W. Bush probably had a higher I.Q. than John Kerry:
October 23, 2004"Bush Backs Temporary Cards for Immigrants"
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush told a Spanish-language television interviewer Thursday that he supports offering temporary legal status to immigrants who want jobs that go unfilled by United States citizens. In the interview (Spanish-language version here), Bush also mentions that this would take the pressure off our borders and would allow these workers to send their money back to their home countries (a.k.a. “remittances”). In January at a Cato Institute conference, Margaret Spellings, assistant to the president for domestic policy, discussed Bush’s guest worker plan:
Spellings: “We do envision that [the Bush guest worker plan] would be open to any type of employee and any type of employer, such as nurses, teachers, high-tech workers, low-skilled workers. This is a concept that can apply broadly” In an interview last month, Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson (the “border czar”) said the following:
“I think [the American public has] too much compassion to tell our law-enforcement people to go out there and uproot those 8 million [illegal aliens here] — some of whom might have been here 8 or 12 years, who got kids here that are American citizens — and to send them out of the country.” The details of how the administration would deal with guest workers who have overstayed the term of their work permit - especially those who have had U.S. citizen children - has not been disclosed. See also Analysis: Bush temp worker plan open-ended:
Neither Bush nor the two senior administration officials who briefed the media Tuesday [in January 2004], however, made any suggestion that employers wishing to bring in workers from overseas would be required to first offer wages high enough to attract American workers. The only specific requirement that the senior officials mentioned was that the job offer meet the minimum wage. At the federal minimum of $5.15 per hour, a full-time worker earns $10,712 per year, well under the official poverty line for a family of three of $15,260. Whether Bush’s plan meets the formal definition of amnesty or not, many do perceive it as an amnesty. Internal Border Patrol memos say that many are prepared to come to the U.S. to take advantage of any program that is perceived as amnesty: “Border Agents Warn of Influx”. Regarding remittances:
Remittances rose to four-fifths the value of oil exports in the first half of the year, according to the Bank of Mexico. Remittances have surpassed foreign investment and tourism revenues, and are the second-largest source of foreign income, behind oil. Other countries receive an even greater share. Remittances represent about 29% of El Salvador’s GDP. Some, such as Dan Griswold at the Cato conference, say that remittances are good and a replacement for foreign aid. As pointed out here and here, others say they create an unhealthy dependency and have other negative impacts. Some say that one half of the residents of the Mexican state of Zacatecas reside in the U.S. That’s caused internal migration as Indians from southern Mexico move into that state to do the work previously done by Zacatecans: “Mexico’s other migrant wave” See also “The Big Show on the Border” and regarding the general topic of guest worker plans, see “The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers”, “Guest worker program offers lessons: Bush might profit by German experience”, and “Unemployed in the U.S.: Guestworker amnesty not wanted, not needed” October 22, 2004Early Voting Problems for GOP in Florida?I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who travelled down to Florida to work for the GOP at the polls. He’s monitoring the early voting in southern Florida and he says it’s a zoo. There’s very little Republican presence monitoring the voting, while Democrats are out in force at the early voting stations. He reports that Democratic thugs are blocking parking access for clearly Republican voters, and there has been at least one incident involving a shotgun. My friend, who’s got quite a bit of campaign experience and grew up in Florida, sounded dejected about the GOPs efforts thus far. Cross-posted: October 21, 2004A debate on a draftIn a contentious debate on today’s PBS NewsHour, two retired generals squared off on the possibility of a draft. The segment was too short to arrive at much of a conclusion, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
…Brigadier General David McGinnis (Ret.), U.S. Army National Guard [and Kerry campaign advisor]: If we continue to proceed the way we are proceeding with the current strategy, there’s going to become a point in time where the draft could be very necessary… Complete transcript here. October 19, 2004Progress for America To Spend $14 Million Airing "Ashley's Story"USA Today reports that Progress for America Voter Fund will spend $14 million to run an ad about 16-year-old Ashley Faulkner’s encounter with President Bush. From California Yankee. Tampa Tribune Endorses No One for PresidentTampa Tribune - “Why We Cannot Endorse President Bush for Re-election” We find ourselves in a position unimaginable four years ago when we strongly endorsed for president a fiscal conservative and “moderate man of mainstream convictions” who promised to wield military muscle only as a last resort and to resist the lure of “nation building.” We find ourselves deeply conflicted today about the presidential race, skeptical of the promises and positions of Sen. John Kerry and disappointed by the performance of President George W. Bush. October 18, 2004Putin urges voters to back BushCNN: Putin urges voters to back Bush Russian President Vladimir Putin says terrorist attacks in Iraq are aimed at preventing the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush and that a Bush defeat “could lead to the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world.” October 16, 2004Reuters Poll: Bush Keeps Four-Point LeadReuters reports that President Bush’s lead over Democratic Sen. John Kerry held steady at four points for the second consecutive day, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Saturday: Bush 48% The poll was conducted October 13-15 and has an margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent. From California Yankee. Bush Leads by 6 % In New Newsweek PollMSNBC reports that according to the NEWSWEEK poll, taken after Wednesday’s final debate in Arizona, President Bush has a 6 percent lead among likely voters. Likely Voters The poll was conducted October 14-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. From California Yankee. October 15, 2004President Bush Opens 4-Point LeadBloomberg reports that Bush leads Senator John Kerry by 4 percentage points in the Reuters/Zogby tracking poll. Bush 48% The poll was conducted October 12-14 survey and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent. From California Yankee. October 14, 2004Reuters Poll: Bush Takes One-Point LeadReuters reports President Bush leads Kerry by 1 point in the latest Reuters/Zogby tracking poll: Reuters/Zogby International Tracking Poll From California Yankee. "Republicans and the Politics of the Latino Vote"From the report “Losing Ground or Staying Even: Republicans and the Politics of the Latino Vote” by University of Maryland Professor of Government James Gimpel:
Is Bush Pulling Back In PA?The AP / Philly.com report that the Bush campaign has “vehemently denied” reports that it’s pulling back in PA. Living there, I can’t say if B/C has pulled back, but the K/E direct mail offensive is in full swing … I’m getting three mailings a day … October 13, 2004National Rifle Association Endorses BushThe Associated Press reports that the National Rifle Association endorsed President Bush for re-election:
From California Yankee. October 08, 2004Bush Maintains Electoral College LeadA new CNN survey based on state polling as well as interviews with campaign aides and independent analysts found that President Bush maintains a lead in electoral votes. Bush 301 Bush’s Electoral College lead is unchanged from last week. October 04, 2004ABC News Poll: Bush Maintains Lead Over KerryABCNews reports that a new ABC News poll finds President Bush maintaining a lead over Kerry. The poll was conducted October 1-3 and has a three-point error margin for the likely voter sample. From California Yankee. Pew Poll: Bush Still Has Edge Over KerryThe Associated Press reports that President Bush still leads Kerry: Likely Voters The poll was conducted October 1-3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. Troops Support President Bush Over Kerry 4 to 1USA Today reports that an admittedly unscientific survey of U.S. military personnel finds they support President Bush for re-election by a 4-to-1 ratio. Two-thirds said John Kerry’s anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam make them less likely to vote for him. Bush 73% The survey was conducted September 15-28 by the Army Times Publishing, which is owned by Gannett. From California Yankee. Robertson: If Bush 'touches' Jerusalem, we'll form 3rd partyHAARETZ: Robertson: If Bush ‘touches’ Jerusalem, we’ll form 3rd party Influential American evangelist Pat Robertson said Monday that Evangelical Christians feel so deeply about Jerusalem, that if President George W. Bush were to “touch” Jerusalem, Evangelicals would abandon their traditional Republican leanings and form a third party. September 30, 2004Bush Ahead In Ohio, Fla. And Pa.USA Today reports that a New USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll finds President Bush widened his advantage with likely voters in Florida, taken the lead in Pennsylvania, and maintains a small margin over Kerry in Ohio. From California Yankee. LA Times Poll: Bush by 5The latest Los Angeles Times Poll finds President Bush has a 5-percentage-point lead over Sen. John F. Kerry among likely voters. Likely Voters From California Yankee. September 27, 2004Washington Post-ABC News Poll - Bush By 6The Washington Post reports that a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll finds that President Bush maintains maintains a solid 6% lead over Kerry: Likely Voters Registered Voters The poll was conducted September 23-26, 2004 and has a margin of error of ±3 percent for registered voters. From California Yankee. USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll - Bush By 8USA Today reports that the latest the USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds President Bush leads Kerry by 8 points among likely voters: Likely Voters Registered Voters The poll was conducted September 24-26, 2004 and has a margin of error of ±3 percent. From California Yankee. September 25, 2004Bush Volunteered For VietnamKnoxville’s WVLT Volunteer TV reports that when he was the National Guard President Bush volunteered for Vietnam:
From California Yankee via Betsy’s Page. Bush's Lead Narrows in Latest Time PollReuters reports that President Bush leads Kerry by 6 percentage points in a new Time Magazine poll:
From California Yankee. Bush blasts Kerry for remarks on the AllawiFrom the Fort Worth Star Telegram: President Bush hit back hard at Sen. John Kerry on Friday for what he called Kerry’s attacks on Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who stood by the president’s side this week as steadfastly as a member of the Bush campaign. Bush Prepping In CrawfordKFOR reports that the president is spending the weekend in Crawford, preparing for the upcoming debates. September 24, 2004Does George W. Bush Have Presenile Dementia?In the July/August Atlantic James Fallows has an excellent piece about the upcoming debates … an article worth reading in particular for its review of Bush’s not-well-understood history of performing well in debates, especially in situations when he’s expected to lose (as his defeats of collegiate debate scholar Ann Richards in the Texas Gubernatorial election demonstrates). Good news for you: this article is among the few the Atlantic pieces online free, and you may read it here. What caught my eye in the article, however, was this passage: Yolette Garcia, who as the executive producer at KERA-TV, in Dallas, had supervised negotiations for the Bush-Richards debate, says that in those days Bush was noted for his poise and ease in public appearances—including the informal Q&As he has tried to avoid as President. “You never saw him in an awkward situation as governor,” she told me. “You expected he’d know the right thing to say.” Then, in the current edition of The Atlantic, to which I subscribe, there is this letter to the editor: James Fallows’s description of John Kerry’s debating skills (“When George Meets John,” July/August Atlantic) was interesting, but what was most remarkable was Fallows’s documentation of President Bush’s mostly overlooked changes over the past decade—specifically, “the striking decline in his sentence-by-sentence speaking skills.” Fallows points to “speculations that there must be some organic basis for the President’s peculiar mode of speech—a learning disability, a reading problem, dyslexia or some other disorder,” but correctly concludes, “The main problem with these theories is that through his forties Bush was perfectly articulate.” This letter is NOT available online, but I’ve decided to post it here nonetheless … if you want to register with The Atlantic and see it online, you may do so here. An interesting, if ultimately sorrowful, hypothesis. About presenile dementia: Dorlands Medical Dictionary offers this definition of the affliction: presenile dementia, that occurring in younger persons, usually in persons age 65 or younger; since most cases are due to Alzheimer’s disease, the term is sometimes used as a synonym of d. of the Alzheimer type, early onset, and has also been used to denote Alzheimer’s disease. It was difficult to locate anything online about symptoms … any links or information from readers is welcome. Update: First of all, I’m not saying I BELIEVE this any more than I’ve said I believe any other post we put on this page. As always, our interpretive stance is “we post, you decide.” So please keep that in mind if you’re about to make a personal attribution about me based on this post. I’ve posted a million items on this page favorable to G. W. Bush, and when folks from the left have leveled the “you’re biased” gun at my head I wouldn’t tolerate that attribution either, and I’m not about to invoke (or tolerate) a double-standard now. Thanks. Now, as to whether this should be on Op/Ed: since it’s not my opinion, and since I’m not editorializing, and since it’s from a respected news publication, I don’t think so. Neither does Michele. Again with a possible double standard: when the first Rathergate items started to fly, they were all opinion or informed opinion, but they appeared on this page because we thought the claim was newsworthy and not editorializing. If anything, y’all should fact-check the shit out of this and disprove it, if Bush is your guy. And if he’s not, you should hope the fact-checkers turn up diddly. But for God’s sake: don’t rant at management. We just pay the bills and keep the lights on. Update 2: This from a very trusted source … I’ll protect his anonymity, but I will say he practiced medicine for 35 years, and has served as a respected member of the international medical community for decades: Dubbya may be losing it, but the evidence cited has no credibility. The “confabulation” part tells me that the author didn’t know what he was talking about. I’m sure that we can expect a bunch of conspiracy stories next, with Karl Rove and Laura hiding the president’s disability ala Edith Wilson. So … if we buy the premise that Joseph M. Price, M.D. of Carsonville, Mich. really DOESN‘T know what he’s talking about, doesn’t it seem a bit untoward for the Atlantic to print the letter? Of course, Mr. Anonymous Respected Source above could be wrong (but I doubt it). In Their Own Words: Allawi, Bush, KerryThere have been 3 speeches in recent weeks that are worth reading on their own, unfiltered by media spin. So, here they are, in alphabetical order:
Flash: Afghan Army In Najaf! (??)I may or may not love our president, but I often love his candid style. Every once in a while, though, he serves up a softball for those who think his elevator don’t go all the way to th’ top, as he did yesterday. From yesterday’s Bush / Allawi press conference (FOXNews): [Bush speaking] The prime minister said something very interesting a while ago and it’s important for the American people to understand. Our strategy is to help the Iraqis help themselves. It’s important that we train Iraqi troops. There are nearly 100,000 troops trained. I’m pretty sure he meant the Iraqi army, not the Afghan army, just to be clearly … September 23, 2004Church role in politics may be expanding without debateThe Bush campaign has been courting church-goers this year, soliciting church directories for potential voters, for example. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the role of religion in the business of politics may be expanding. A movement is afoot in Congress to attach a “Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act” to a bill that does not require debate or even a vote. More than 130 members of the US House of Representatives want to amend the law that prohibits partisan activity - such as political rallies, fundraisers, distribution of political literature, and direct endorsements from the pulpit - by pastors and houses of worship. They hope to do this by inserting a provision into a bill that is already before a House-Senate conference committee - thus avoiding public debate or votes in either body. September 22, 2004Drudge: Burkett to Sue CBSDrudge reports Burkett will sue CBS: CBS DOC SOURCE SET TO SUE NETWORK FOR LIBEL In particular, Burkett is complaining that CBS promised to authenticate the documents:
Via JustOneMinute "Bush's Passion For Secrecy"The Boston Globe: SOME MAY be tempted to dismiss this column as more self-interested whining from the media, but stick with it — it’s really about the public’s right to know, not the media’s. The Bush administration, resistant to scrutiny even before Sept. 11, has drawn a cloak of secrecy over its official actions that has steadily insulated it from the taxpayers. John Dean, counsel to Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandals, says the administration is using regulations and administrative actions to achieve what it could not get through Congress: an official secrets act. Tracking No Child Left BehindA No Child Left Behind opposition group has created a site to track the issue. From their press release: A powerful and unique Web site – http://www.nclbgrassroots.org – being launched today is intended to help national policymakers and the news media understand that the controversial No Child Left Behind (NCLB) school reforms are not working as intended and have sparked widespread local opposition. September 15, 2004Gore Voters Moving To President BushAt the Wall Street Journal, Al Hunt reports that some Gore voters may be moving to President Bush.
From California Yankee. September 14, 2004Transcript of Dan Rather / CBS Monday Eve. News Response On MemosFrom Ratherbiased, who has asked that we (and others) mirror the transcript of CBS Evening News’ Monday night response to the memo controversy:
September 13, 2004John Fund Would Rather Be BloggingThe blogger element of Memogate gains additional attention, this time from John Fund of the Wall Street Journal. From today’s OpinionJournal: A watershed media moment occurred Friday on Fox News Channel, when Jonathan Klein, a former executive vice president of CBS News who oversaw “60 Minutes,” debated Stephen Hayes, a writer for The Weekly Standard, on the documents CBS used to raise questions about George W. Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard service. September 12, 2004Newsweek Reports Bush’s Lead NarrowingNewsweek reports that the double-digit “bounce” last week’s Newsweek poll found for President Bush has narrowed to six points.
From California Yankee. September 10, 2004Killian son on H&Coriginally posted here Gary Killian is being interviewed by Alan Colmes right now. He thinks all the documents are forged - nothing new. Meanwhile, Hannity had Amy Barnes on his radio show today, and apparently, there’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff going on. A publicist for her father apparently called Hannity’s screener and cancelled the interview - purportedly on her behalf. Very fishy stuff. Killian says he gave names to a CBS producer BEFORE the 60 Minutes report. So what Dan Rather says about corroborating evidence is BS. Rather and his cohorts at CBS refused to air testimony from sources that disagreed with their angle on the story. This is NOT journalism. Killian says he spoke to Mary Mates (sp?) out of a Dallas office of CBS before the story aired. No one from CBS has contacted anyone from the Killian family since the story aired. Killian didn’t see Dan Rather’s defense on the CBS Evening News tonight. Killian says he’d rather just “give it the benefit of the doubt and say they didn’t do their homework.” Hannity says it seems they were setting up the president. Colmes will be interviewing Amy Barnes after the break. September 09, 2004Faked Documents - Whose blood do the others smell - Bush or Rather? (UPDATED 9:13 ET)cross-posted at SSG Alright out of the ordinary for my blog, but as all of the political blogs are hopping on the possibility that Dan Rather may have reported on what may be faked documents, I went ahead and took a peak at the daily Nightline email with the subject line, “Truth and Politics.” If you haven’t caught up on this brewing story take a look at Powerline, Command Post, LGF, Allahpundit, Spacetown, and Wizbang. Now take a look at what Nightline’s daily email had to say~~ Tonight we’re going to look at two issues, separate but related. The first centers on new questions about whether or not President Bush really did complete his service in the National Guard. Our friends over at CBS News were the first to report on new documents that raise new questions about President’s service. One of his former superiors, who is now deceased, wrote a memo to his file saying that then-Lt.Bush apparently disobeyed a direct order in not undergoing a required physical. The White House fired back of course. Chris Bury will report on the new documents, coming out at the same time as a new ad campaign by a group calling itself Texans for Truth. Sound familiar? Of course. Does this issue resonate with the voters? Also tonight, Dave Marash will report on a statement made by Vice-President Cheney earlier this week. In essence, the Vice-President said that the election of John Kerry could make it more likely that terrorists would attack the U.S. (Full text of Nightline email can be found in the extended entry) Regardless of how you lean during this election, this can be rather troubling for big media. Clearly, if the faked documents story bears out, it can (and probably should) be devastating to Dan Rather’s credibility. The second issue they claim to examine is a clear case of taken Cheny’s quote out of context. Here’s what he really said: (emphasis mine) “If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we’ll get hit again — that we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States,” Cheney said. “And then we’ll fall back into the pre-9/11 mindset, if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we’re not really at war. I think that would be a terrible mistake for us.” He’s clearly talking about the way in which we respond to terrorist attacks, not that a Kerry presidency would bring additional attacks. UPDATE: NBC’s First Read has this~~ Thursday, September 9, 2004 | 9:30 p.m. ET First glance (54 days until Election Day) UPDATE2: For what it’s worth, I sent the following to Nightline’s staff via their webpage~~ I received your daily email about tonight’s broadcast and am certainly intrigued. I am especially intrigued considering today’s developments regarding the possibility that the documents cited by Dan Rather may well be fakes. While there has been a great deal of documentation into what more and more appears to be the likelihood that the documents are indeed forged, the question becomes how will you deal with the story. I’ve added my thoughts at the web log The Command Post. You can read the whole thing at http://www.command-post.org/2004/2_archives/015176.html. The people will be watching, do us proud. UPDATE3: Fred Barnes on Fox News’s Special Report with Brit Hume is attacking along all of the lines mentioned in Powerline’s and others posts and notes that Gary Killian, son of Lt. Col. Killian is disputing the documents. UPDATE 4: Hannity and Colmes will be discussing the authenticity of the documents shortly, per their promos. Nightline Daily E-Mail TONIGHT’S FOCUS: New allegations about President Bush’s service in the National Guard. Vice-President Cheney makes a statement that many in his own party consider over-the-top. Looking for the truth, but in politics these days, does the truth really matter? ———————————————————————————————————————— Negative attacks work. No matter how much voters say they only want to hear about the issues and all, the reason that campaigns put so much effort into defining their opponents in negative terms is that it works. You have only to look at the impact of the attacks on John Kerry’s record in Vietnam. A rebuttal, even when it has the advantage of being accurate, never seems to have the same power as the original attack. And if you repeat something often enough, it takes on a life of its own. Tonight we’re going to look at two issues, separate but related. The first centers on new questions about whether or not President Bush really did complete his service in the National Guard. Our friends over at CBS News were the first to report on new documents that raise new questions about President’s service. One of his former superiors, who is now deceased, wrote a memo to his file saying that then-Lt.Bush apparently disobeyed a direct order in not undergoing a required physical. The White House fired back of course. Chris Bury will report on the new documents, coming out at the same time as a new ad campaign by a group calling itself Texans for Truth. Sound familiar? Of course. Does this issue resonate with the voters? Also tonight, Dave Marash will report on a statement made by Vice-President Cheney earlier this week. In essence, the Vice-President said that the election of John Kerry could make it more likely that terrorists would attack the U.S. This is, as many Republicans were quick to point out along with Democrats, over the top. The campaign, as campaigns are designed to do, immediately began explaining what he really meant. But does that matter, does anyone really pay attention to what comes after a charge like that? The Democrats are, of course, guilty of similar attacks. And these will certainly not be the last ones we see in the next two months or so. Ted will anchor tonight, we’ll look at the truth, or lack thereof behind these two stories. There is a football game tonight, so we’ll be delayed on the East Coast. I hope you’ll join us. Leroy Sievers and the Nightline Staff New CBS Poll: Bush by 7CBSNews reports that a week after Republican National Convention a new CBS News poll finds President Bush has a seven-point lead over Kerry. From California Yankee. President Bush Endorsed by Former Leaders Of Two Veterans' GroupsUnited Press International reports that President Bush has been endorsed by the former leaders of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. From California Yankee. President Bush Gains in Ohio And MissouriUSA Today reports that President Bush now holds a clear lead over Kerry in the critical battlegrounds states of Missouri and Ohio.
From California Yankee. September 06, 2004New 527 Ads Reportedly Attack Sharpton, Willie HortonThe NY Daily News reports that an independent pro-Bush group, “MoveOnForAmerica[, ]led by GOP political consultant Stephen Marks”, is preparing to run two controversial ads. The first targets the Democrats’ embrace of Al Sharpton:
In the Sharpton ad, Kerry is seen shaking hands and embracing the black leader and a narrator asks grimly what role he might have in a Kerry administration. [snip]
In the Sharpton spot, the narrator accuses Sharpton of blaming the U.S. for the 9/11 attacks, calling Adolf Hitler “a great man,” urging college students to kill cops and indirectly instigating a fatal fire at a Jewish-owned store in Harlem. Then there’s the second ad:
[I]t invokes the name of Willie Horton, the African-American inmate who raped and tortured a suburban couple while on furlough from a Massachusetts prison. Note that the Horton-furlough case didn’t happen while Kerry was Dukakis’ Lieutenant Governor. Instead, the ‘hook’ is this:
In the new ad, a narrator says that in 1982, Kerry, as a private attorney, “successfully overturned the conviction of his client George Reissfelder,” who had escaped in ‘74 while on furlough - “just like Willie Horton.” USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll: Bush by 7%USA Today reports that the latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll results show President Bush has a 7% lead: Likely Voters Bush 52% - Kerry 45% - Nader 1% From California Yankee. September 05, 2004Campaign Finance Reform: 60-day window is hereIn case y’all hadn’t noticed, we’re now within 60 days of the election, which means that in theory, 527 groups are now prohibited from running television and radio ads: Restrictions on “Phony Issue Ads” Run by Corporations and Unions (The Snowe-Jeffords Amendment). First adopted as part of McCain-Feingold during the Senate’s February 1998 campaign finance debate, the Snowe-Jeffords amendment addresses the explosion of thinly-veiled campaign advertising funded by corporate and union treasuries. These ads skirt federal election law by avoiding the use of direct entreaties to “vote for” or “vote against” a particular candidate. Under the bill, labor unions and corporations would be prohibited from spending their treasury funds on “electioneering communications.” “Electioneering communications” are defined as radio or TV ads that refer to a clearly identified candidate or candidates and appear within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. This definition does not include any printed communication, direct mail, voter guides, or the Internet. It would also not cover issue advertising that does not identify a specific candidate or appears outside of the 30/60 day pre-election window. Update 9/6: Note that this restriction doesn’t apply to all 527’s, only those that are incorporated or take corporate/union money. If anyone knows a definitive source to identify which 527’s fall into this category and which don’t, please chime in. So the question becomes: what the hell are the 527’s going to do with any money that they’ve amassed but haven’t spent yet? One interesting theory is that 527’s may channel advertising dollars online. And hey, I’m all for that. Bring that dirty, filthy campaign lucre right on! But does anybody have any money left anyway? Easy enough to check, thanks to the invaluable OpenSecrets.org. I pulled down the expenditures and receipts for the top 50 527’s, added columns to show the percentage of their funds that has been spent and their funds remaining, and put it back in a chart again:
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