The New York Times > Magazine > How to Reinvent the G.O.P.

Sounds like Brooks is warming up the Clinton 2008 bandwagon. This is all stuff from the DLC. Now only if a Dem would grab it by the horns and go for a ride.

Being There - What does 9/11 tell us about Bush? Nothing. By William�Saletan

Saletan makes easy work of demolishing the arguments of the GOP speakers. It's too bad about McCain, the Bushies will screw him in the end when Jebby comes to the fore in 2008 and all those chits he's earning with W. and the rest of the family will count for a pitcher of warm piss.

Bush: 'We Will Win' the War on Terror (washingtonpost.com)

Flip flop flip . . . I guess we'll win it won't we?

Questions For a Wartime President (washingtonpost.com)

"Wartime President" my ass. He need to answer many questions including what mistakes have you made and what are you doing to fix it? What's the war plan? (we don't need details, but a rough outline would be nice. Are we going after Al Queda? Are we using other countries or our own intelligence?) How are things in Afghanistan? When will it be stable? When will we be leaving Iraq? What are we doing about Saudi Arabia? What are you doing about loose nukes, port security, and dirty bombs? Why is missile defense still a priority? What are you doing flip-flopping on the 9/11 Commission? 9/11 Commission report? 9/11 Commission recommendations? What are you doing flip flopping on the Department of Homeland Security? How does the Patriot Act make us safer? How does releasing 3 year old information make us safer? Does putting U.S. soldiers in harms way in Iraq make us safer? We want real answers and not sound bites.

For Openers, Recalling the Past to Win the Present (washingtonpost.com)

Maybe conservatives aren't don't really believe what the pollsters are asking. Maybe they do believe that their kind of government is ok and there should be more of that, ie. more military, more business gimmes, more mingling of church and state. What about the other foundations of so called conservative thinking?

Abortion? School vouchers? They have only elected officials that give lip service and little else to the issue. I think the conservative movement has lost its way and has returned to the most base of reasons to vote for someone, "what's in it for me?"

Kerry is pulling a total Dukakis on the attack issues. He's not playing defense, he's not even trying to play defense. He's playing it soft and losing badly. Sure you negative is unpopular, but better to be unpopular and president than virtuous and a has been.

Still pictures of kids, flashing . . . . They look about 20 years old and the kids are in the 80's best. The pictures slowly show the same kids get older and older (school photos, prom, etc.) "If you like losing the war on terror stick with Bush. If you want to try something better, vote Kerry Edwards. They have a plan to keep our troops safe and win the war on terror. yadda, yadda, yadda.

Bush has sat back while they ran one ad that is basically taking down Kerry. What's Kerry's response? I can't beleive they are doing this or I can't believe I'm losing to this idiot? Meaner and leaner is what they need, and NOW.

The 'Dumb' Factor (washingtonpost.com)

This is the best piece I've read about the Bush Reelection strategy in awhile. How does the President think about issues? Why does no one care? The decisions he makes leaves little room for ambiguity. Breaking everything down into black and white, leaves no room for subtlety or irrational behavior. What about people that don't share your values or care about the things that you treasure? You end up making bad decisions based on bad assumptions.

Chicago Tribune | Bush Faces Heavy Pre-RNC Travel Schedule

Wow! they are good. I'm already feeling softened up about the Prez.

TIME.com: Kerry in a Straitjacket

Why things are so close? Klein is on the right track. Kerry needs to get the "are you better off than you were four years ago" and the "if you don't like what's going on in Iraq (or the "war" on terror) vote for me, if you like how things are going vote for the other guy" themes out there and in force. It's simple and relates directly to the what voters care about.

Looking around the Web at some of the poll stuff that is coming out, is that their are still a few states in play that you might not have expected. Check out what's happening in Arkansas, Tennessee, and to a much lesser extent, North Carolina. The numbers are getting close. However, I'm still not understanding what Bush's appeal in Ohio is yet. Is there something else?

washingtonpost.com: Disband of Brothers

The anger is what drives these people. They drove the Clinton haters too. It is hard to reconcile that with the GOP image of family because they are such hard haters. I have always said that the Dems are too nice and not angry enough. This election may prove me wrong.

Chicago Tribune %7C Character issues

Got to love Advertising people.

washingtonpost.com %96 White House Briefing

Yeah this wasn't plotted by Rove and I got a bridge to sell ya. This is so political it stinks. It gets the Veep some good press with swing voters. Conservatives have no place to go, plus he's just being a loving father. Big time bull . . .

DesMoinesRegister.com %7C Columnists - opinion

While true on one level, the he started it argument could start with the "go fuck yourself" comment that Cheney said on the SENATE floor. All Harkin did was call a duck a duck.

USATODAY.com

What is he hiding?

The New York Times %3E Washington %3E Campaign 2004 %3E TV Watch%3A On Cable%2C a Fog of Words About Kerry%27s War Record

In the eternal words of Prof. Black, "So What?" Sure the cable networks are shrill and miss half the story. Fox News is bad, CNN isn't much better, so what? Is it good for Kerry or Bush? Will it effect the Iraq war? Do our friends think we look weak? Is Cable News for Stupid people? This is a useless article that could mean anything to anyone.

Top News Article %7C Reuters.com

Hmmm. I wonder if this was getting to him or was it something else?

The New York Times %3E Washington %3E Campaign 2004 %3E Bearhug Politics%3A Careful Steps to a New Bush-McCain Alliance

Blackmail? I think McCain is coming home again. Maybe he is more a more forgiving man than I thought. Certainly more forgiving than I would be if I and my family had been the subject of those attacks.

The New York Times %3E Washington %3E Campaign 2004 %3E Kerry TV Ad Pins Veterans%27 Attack Firmly on Bush

Why are they not using some verbal judo and turning this into an exploration of Bush's activities during the war? Is this the underlying story that is running underneath all this? I wonder if people are thinking about Bush's "service"/desertion from the Alabama Air Guard? Or are they only focused on the Bush's lies?

CBS News %7C Meanwhile%2C Back At The Ranch ... %7C August 19%2C 2004%A015%3A49%3A08

Wish I could take that much vacation. More importantly if I was in the "middle class" and had this much "work" to do I think I'd be pretty happy. No wonder why Bush is smiling.

The New York Times %3E Washington %3E Campaign 2004 %3E Friendly Fire%3A The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad

Must read about the swift boat stuff.

Five More Years%3A Selig Extended Through 2009 %28washingtonpost.com%29

Talk about moronic . . . DC . . . forget about baseball. Why keep going back to someone who kicks you in the shins. Let the sport die a slow death.

ACC Title Game Will Be in Jacksonville %28washingtonpost.com%29

This is another good idea . . . Like holding the basketball tourney in Greensboro makes for a "neutral" site. This is just going to be a coronation to Miami or FSU every year. It's moronic and punishes the northern schools in the ACC.

Records Counter a Critic of Kerry %28washingtonpost.com%29

Why was he so reticent to reveal his own records? The Bushies are ruthless political operatives that are easily on par with the worst Nixononian campaigns of the past. The total lack of limits is shocking. I hate refering to the McCain thing, but that was the worst stuff I have ever heard of in a political campaign.

The New York Times %3E Washington %3E The Contracts%3A Army%2C in Shift%2C Will Pay Halliburton

Brown and Root have been shafting the American people since before LBJ's time. Talk about "gimmes." Why is there no investigation into this? Do people care that their tax dollars are being used to subsidize corrupt politicians?

The New York Times %3E Sports %3E Olympics %3E Sports Media and Business%3A Must-See TV Lacks Must-Have Buzz

The IOC and the Athens committee are fools. They continue to act like this is the biggest things since sliced bread while at the same time leaving the middle hollow. Where's the Olympic Spirit when you can't afford to get in to see any of the Games?

Lower-wage Americans burdened by income gap

Not only is this a long-term problem, but the better question is what can government do to protect its citizens. Should we raise walls of tariffs? I think if we did this to protect jobs, we would only in the end be swamped by the coming economy. Better to accept it and make sure that everyone has a lifeboat or at least a floatation device.

Now for the wealthy, they are going to be ok. They have the opportunities and the access. What they choose to do with it is another thing. Now what about the people in the middle and lower end of the scale? How should government protect them? First thing is to understand that this is coming and will effect folks. The GOP doesn't seem to even believe that this is happening. The Unions want raise tariffs and protect jobs. They're wrong, but at least they know that folks are losing jobs.

Better to give everyone a hand up through education and expanded opportunities. How best to do that? That's another great question. Affirmative Action? Lowering the cost of higher education? Reinstating the draft? Tax credits (for continuing education and R&D)? How do you get market forces to encourage people to do what's best for them?

The New York Times > Sports > Olympics > Sports Media and Business: The Shackles of Prime Time Are History

Cheeky . . . No de Moraes though . . .

The New York Times > Dining & Wine > Julia Child, the French Chef for a Jell-O Nation, Dies at 91

Pretty good obit, but a terribly elitist headline.

The New York Times > Business > Wal-Mart Tries to Shine Its Image by Supporting Public Broadcasting

Interesting. I'm still waiting for the Newshour investigation of ADM. It's WalMart's money and they aren't supporting extremeists so what?

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Report Finds Tax Cuts Heavily Favor the Wealthy

More proof that Bush is benefiting his people. He's better than Forbes as Prez. Who needs a regressive flat tax fight when you can just make taxes more and more regressive.

Enter and Win: What Makes Alan Run? (washingtonpost.com)

Follow the money . . . Keyes is in it for the money. If he goes back to form, he'll pay himself out of the campaign fund and then they'll be a book, TV, media.

WSJ.com - Political Capital

Alternative Minimum Tax is effecting the middle class? I'd like to join his idea of the middle class . . .

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Advertising: With Shopping Magazines Thriving, Who Needs Articles?

The headline says it all . . . .