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Poll puts Bush, Kerry about even CNN — Permalink (CNN) — President Bush and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, are about even among likely and registered voters in the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, released Sunday. The poll showed Kerry and Bush tied at 49 percent each among likely voters interviewed. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: FEEDING MY POLL JUNKIE SELF — Gallup says that the race is tied among likely voters, and that Bush has a two point lead among registered voters. Betsy Newmark: The new CNN/USA TOday/Gallup poll shows an 8 point gain for Kerry from pre-debate polls. Mathew Gross: In addition to Newsweek, CNN/USA Today/Gallup shows the race has tightened considerably: [snipped quote] No word yet on the internals.... |
Ace: Gallup: It's All Tied Up, Folks 49-49 among likelies, a small 49-47 Bush edge among registered. And the effects of the debate aren't over yet. Dwight Meredith: Gallup now has them behind a subscription wall. Update: The CNN report on the poll is here. James Joyner: Poll puts Bush, Kerry about even (CNN) "President Bush and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, are about even... |
| Also: Taegan Goddard | |
DEBATE MYSTERY: DID KERRY HAVE CHEAT SHEET? Drudge Report — Permalink Section 5, pages 4-5 of the binding "Memorandum of Understanding" that was negotiated and agreed upon by both political campaigns states: "No props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by... | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Kerry Debate Win: Set phasers on spin — Sore losers. More Sludge. Go check out that drivel. I can't bear to repeat it. Pejman Yousefzadeh: HMMM . . . What's this? Glenn Reynolds: DEBATE CHEATING? Drudge has video. UPDATE: Meanwhile, this ought to be against the rules. |
Avedon Carol: Drudge thinks Kerry used a cheat sheet, but it looks to me like something I've seen more times than I could count - a man taking a pen out of his breast-pocket. Allah: People are e-mailing to ask whether I saw the clip of Waffles "cheating" at the debate. James Joyner: DEBATE MYSTERY: DID KERRY HAVE CHEAT SHEET? (Drudge Report) [snipped quote] I really can't see much from either feed. |
Iraq: Politics or Policy? By / NYT — Permalink Sorry, I've been away writing a book. I'm back, so let's get right down to business: We're in trouble in Iraq. I don't know what is salvageable there anymore. I hope it is something decent and I am certain we have to try our best to bring about elections and rebuild the Iraqi Army to give every chance for decency to emerge there. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Friedman returns : The NY Times' Tom Friedman is back — he sure picked a lousy time to leave — and he's still resolute... Steve Gilliard: Bad choices — Another night in Iraq Iraq: Politics or Policy? Orrin Judd: ALL IT IS IS POLITICS, BUT IT'S ALL OF POLITICS: Iraq: Politics or Policy? (THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, 10/03/04, NY Times) [snipped quote] This is just nonsensical. |
Brad @ShrillBlog: Tom Friedman Is Shrill — Crouched on all fours like some savage, maddened beast, ululating psychotically at the... Paradox @LeftCoaster: Oy, the Evil Idiot Friedman is Back — Tom Friedman, champion of democracy through the killing of ordinary citizens,... Laura Rozen: Tom Friedman's back: "Being away has not changed my belief one iota in the importance of producing a decent outcome in Iraq . |
| Also: Avedon Carol, David Allan Pell, Scott Rosenberg, Kieran Healy, Rickheller @Centerfield | |
The Race is On By / Newsweek — Permalink Oct. 2 - With a solid majority of voters concluding that John Kerry outperformed George W. Bush in the first presidential debate on Thursday, the president's lead in the race for the White House has vanished, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. | |
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Ace: Update: Sometimes a little pessimism is warranted, of course— Newsweek shows Kerry back out ahead. Ahem. Taegan Goddard: New Polls — A Newsweek poll finds President Bush's lead over Sen. John Kerry "has vanished" and "the race is now statistically tied." Jeralyn Merritt: Newsweek's post-debate poll shows a drop for Bush: "In the first national telephone poll using a fresh sample, NEWSWEEK... |
James Joyner: The Race is On (Newsweek) "With a solid majority of voters concluding that John Kerry outperformed George W. Bush in... Jack Cluth: Once people see them side by side, there really is no comparison — Newsweek puts Kerry over Bush in new poll: Data... Steve Soto: Kerry's Debate Win Starts To Register In The Polls (Image courtesy of Newsweek) The fallout from the first debate... |
| Also: Oliver Willis, Joe Gandelman, Rice Grad, Avedon Carol, Harley, Judith Weiss, Ezra Klein, Lambert @Corrente, Josh Marshall, Richard TPD, David Adesnik, Dwight Meredith, Kevin Drum, Paul Glastris, Andrew Sullivan, Tom Schaller, Atrios | |
As Deadlines Hit, Rolls of Voters Show Big Surge By / NYT — Permalink A record surge of potential new voters has swamped boards of election from Pennsylvania to Oregon, as the biggest of the crucial swing states reach registration deadlines today. Elections officials have had to add staff and equipment, push well beyond budgets and work around the clock to process the registrations. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Voter Registration Deadline Monday in Many States — If you've been putting off registering to vote, Monday is the... Taegan Goddard: Surge of New Voters Seen — "A record surge of potential new voters has swamped boards of election from Pennsylvania to... |
Oliver Willis: We're Getting More Voters, They Don't Want Them Counted — Election George Bush's failed presidency is prompting thousands of new voters in America. |
Iran rebuffs Kerry nuclear proposal Reuters — Permalink TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has rebuffed a proposal by U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry who has suggested supplying the Islamic state with nuclear fuel for power reactors if Tehran agrees to give up its own fuel-making capability. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: JOHN KERRY IS REINTRODUCED TO REAL LIFE — It was entirely predictable that the Islamic regime in Iran—upon seeing what... Betsy Newmark: Little Green Footballs links to this story about how the Iranian mullahs have rejected Kerry's proposals to appease them... |
Andrew Stuttaford: Unfortunately for candidate Kerry the real world has a way of intruding on such fantasies: "TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on... Charles Johnson: Iran to Kerry: We Don't Want Your Nuclear Fuel — Since John Kerry announced his moronic plan to send nuclear fuel to... |
Into Spin Alley Strode the 32 By / NYT — Permalink FOR the 32 officially designated Republican spinners, Thursday night could be summed up in President Bush's mantra for the debate: hard work. Mr. Bush said "hard work" 11 times, generally to describe the challenges facing him in the fight against terrorism, although at moments it looked as if the most onerous part of his job was the debate. | |
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Avedon Carol: Jeanne finds more evidence that, out of compassion, we should remove Bush from office so he can go to rehab. Jeanne D'Arc: From today's New York Times: "I don't want to say somebody is the winner or somebody is the loser tonight," said George... |
Meteor Blades: However - in a piece brought to my attention by Jeanne over at Body and Soul - today's New York Times gave me something new to consider. |
Exhibition Killing By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Who are we allowed to seize as hostage? Who are we allowed to kill? For the past few weeks these questions have prompted much debate throughout the Muslim world. The emerging answer to both questions is: Anyone you like! | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Today, they released it on their free site OpinionJournal.com; please go read the whole thing. Tom Smith: Religion of Peace update — Swell news from the land of peace. Michael DeBow: Now comes Amir Taheri in Opinion Journal, with a very different explanation of the post-Beslan debate within Islam. |
Allah: Today's must-read op-ed also comes from the Middle East (by way of Paris) as Iranian dissident Amir Taheri exposes the... The Big Trunk: The ROP debates — OpinionJournal has posted Amir Taheri's Wall Street Journal column on a debate with a difference —... |
Cheney presses Hussein-Qaeda link By / LAT — Permalink WARRENTON, Mo. — The phrases vary. Some days, Vice President Dick Cheney says Saddam Hussein had "long-established" ties to Al Qaeda. Other days, he says the former Iraqi dictator "had a relationship" with the terrorist group. | |
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Avedon Carol: I really hope Edwards asks why Cheney keeps claiming Iraq and Al Qaeda are connected. Taegan Goddard: Three articles make it hard not to conclude the Bush administration just makes stuff up about Iraq as they go along: The... |
Oliver Willis: What I hope to see is Sen. Edwards prosecute Dick Cheney for his continued and repetitive lies about connections between Iraq/Al Qaeda. |
'The Know-It-All': A Little Learning Is a Dangerous Thing By / NYT — Permalink SOME time ago, A. J. Jacobs, a senior editor at Esquire, set out to become the smartest man in the world, an ambition that meshed poorly with his skills set. To achieve his goal, and fulfill his book contract, Jacobs would read the Encyclopaedia Britannica... | |
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Matthew Yglesias: A Little Learning — Via Dan Drezner and odd, though amusing, book review upon which I feel compelled to comment: "A... Ann Althouse: Joe Queenan hilariously slams A. J. Jacobs' "The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World." |
Daniel Drezner: This is too bad, as it would prove most useful in assessing Joe Queenan's review of A.J. Jacobs' The Know-It-All. |
Viewers Give Round 1 to Kerry LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Sen. John F. Kerry improved his image with voters who watched his debate with President Bush last week, but didn't significantly shift their choice in the presidential race, a Times poll of debate viewers has found. | |
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Mitch Berg: In the meantime, the LATimes goes against type to note that the underlying numbers behind Bush's post-convention... Taegan Goddard: A Los Angeles Times poll shows Kerry "improved his image with voters" who watched the first debate with Bush "but didn't significantly shift their choice in the presidential race." |
James Joyner: Viewers Give Round 1 to Kerry (Ronald Brownstein and Kathleen Hennessey) "Sen. John F. Kerry improved his image with... |
Debate Leads to Shifts in Strategy By / WaPo — Permalink A newly energized battle for the White House heads into a crucial two-week period with John F. Kerry planning to capitalize on the momentum from a strong debate performance by shifting the focus to President Bush's economic record, while the president revives his attack on Kerry's foreign policy credentials, according to officials with both campaigns. | |
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Steve Gilliard: Debate Leads to Shifts in Strategy Advisers Predict Tightening Race By Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday,... Hugh Hewitt: And ask yourself why the Kerry people are in such a hurry to get away from foreign policy discussions? DemFromCT: Rethinking the Conventional Wisdom — Consider the quarter of a billion dollars spent by the GOP to paint Kerry as a... |
Mathew Gross: Dan Balz on shifts in campaign strategies following the Thursday shakeup. Betsy Newmark: You know things are not going well for Bush, when all the anonymous quotes criticizing their side's candidate come from... Joe Gandelman: The Washington Post reports this is already happening: "A newly energized battle for the White House heads into a... |
Bush Says Kerry Will Allow Foreign Vetoes By / WaPo — Permalink COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 2 — President Bush said Saturday that under a "Kerry Doctrine," Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry would require permission of foreign powers before launching military action. | |
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KJL: "THERE IS NO KERRY DOCTRINE" — Methinks the Kerry campaign was better off with the "global test." Glenn Reynolds: Maybe he can fall back on Richard Holbrooke's statement: "Asked what the Kerry Doctrine actually is, Holbrooke, in a... |
Charles Johnson: Holbrooke: "There is No Kerry Doctrine" — In a Washington Post article, Kerry's foreign adviser Richard Holbrooke inadvertently reveals the essential truth. |
US 'hyping' Darfur genocide fears By / Observer — Permalink American warnings that Darfur is heading for an apocalyptic humanitarian catastrophe have been widely exaggerated by administration officials, it is alleged by international aid workers in Sudan. Washington's desire for a regime change in Khartoum has biased their reports, it is claimed. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: Result: There's really no problem in Darfur at all! It's all a fiction! The people in the camps are happy, and healthy, and grateful! Arthur Chrenkoff: International aid workers: Darfur crisis "wildly exaggerated" — It's all an American conspiracy: [snipped quote] The... |
Andrew Stuttaford: WHATEVER THE US DOES IS WRONG (A CONTINUING SERIES) Darfur hyped? Orrin Judd: DAMNED IF YOU DO...: US 'hyping' Darfur genocide fears (Peter Beaumont, October 3, 2004, The Observer) [snipped quote] So now we're to be blamed if our policy works too? |
High-court sentencing showdown By / Christian Science Monitor — Permalink WASHINGTON - Two drug dealers - one from Wisconsin and one from Maine - are at the center of a legal dispute that has brought the federal criminal justice system to a near standstill. For the past three months, federal prosecutors nationwide have been scrambling to shore up thousands of their most important cases. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: BLOGGER SCHEDULED TO argue before the Supreme Court. I'll bet he won't wear pajamas. |
Jeralyn Merritt: Supreme Court Term Begins With Sentencing Guideline Cases — Bump and Update: Just received an e-mail from TChris,... |
Kerry's polished, but he can't make his case By / Chicago Sun Times — Permalink Those of us who've been sweet on George W. Bush a long time have gotten used to these moments. Four years ago, he stacks up more money and a bigger runaway lead than any other candidate in history, but he can't be bothered campaigning in New Hampshire, so he loses the primary to John McCain. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn isn't impressed with the fact that Kerry was much more articulate than the President during the debate. Greg Ransom: STEYN. [snipped quote] More. You can also find this in the Chicago Sun-Times. |
Hugh Hewitt: The MSM can chant "strong debate performance" all day long, but, as Mark Steyn points out this morning: "Bush seems to communicate pretty clearly. Judith Weiss: UPDATE: Steyn's autopsy: "If John Kerry is so polished and eloquent and forceful and mellifluous, how come nobody has a clue what his policy on Iraq is? |
The Option Nobody's Pushing. Yet. By / NYT — Permalink CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In the worried steel town of Weirton, W.Va., last week, the first question from the crowd that came out to hear Senator John Edwards was not about the economy, tariffs or health care. It was about the draft: Is a new one coming? | |
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DemFromCT: With that ominous line, the NY Times WIR opens an article about another subject we know all about, and the public is catching up on... the Draft. |
Steve Gilliard: Could this be your son? THE DRAFT CARD The Option Nobody's Pushing. Yet. By JAMES DAO [snipped quote] Professor Flynn is dealing in mythology. |
Self-inflicted wounds By / US News — Permalink The e-mail on last week's Rather-gate column was almost entirely furious with CBS. About 95 percent of some 300 letters and E-mails attacked the network, and all but four or five of those messages denounced my oh-so-moderate suggestion that the goal is not a vengeful assault on CBS but safeguards for fairer reporting. | |
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Charles Johnson: Self-Inflicted Wounds — John Leo points out that mainstream media doesn't realize how badly their credibility has been... |
Greg Ransom: JOHN LEO — "Self-inflicted wounds." |
Brokaw, Jennings Show Support for Rather By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK - While acknowledging mistakes in CBS anchor Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" report that questioned President Bush 's service in the National Guard, competing news anchors Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings offered support Saturday for the beleaguered newsman. | |
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Andrew Stuttaford: ANCIEN REGIME — Via AP: "NEW YORK - While acknowledging mistakes in CBS anchor Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" report that... Andrew Sullivan: THE DINOSAURS GROWL: Here's what Tom Brokaw had to say about the web fact-checking Dan Rather's bottom: [snipped quote] You know what I hear in that moronic statement? Charles Johnson: Brokaw and Jennings Come to Rather's Defense — The mainstream media's other two blow-dried news announcers back Dan... |
Steve Bainbridge: E.g., Tom Brokaw's defense of Dan Rather:Brokaw blasted what he called an attempt to "demonize" CBS and Rather on the Internet, where complaints about the report first surfaced. Mike Hendrix: Septic tank breached, but not emptied — Allah thinks we've now seen rock-bottom with these comments from Brokaw and... Baldilocks: How Low They Can Go — Allah posts this missive from NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw: [snipped quote] Charming. |
| Also: Allah | |
Finley's Slam Is the Grand Finale as Dodgers Pull Off a Stunner, 7-3 By / LAT — Permalink It was 4:40 p.m. Saturday as Steve Finley walked to home plate at Dodger Stadium. He paused to soak in the environment, to feel the cheers of the crowd of 54,594 wash over him, to look at the clear blue sky, to note the shadows that stretched nearly all the way to right field. | |
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Captain Ed: Yesterday's game looked like it would bring the same news, but the Dodgers showed their mettle unlike anything we've... |
Orrin Judd: TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A: Finley's Slam Is the Grand Finale as Dodgers Pull Off a Stunner, 7-3 (Steve Springer, October 3,... |
Kerry Ad Says Bush Lost Debate, Then Lied By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - John Kerry on Saturday looked to frame the next presidential debate in a specriticizing President Bush 's economic record, but also tried to get in a final word about their last face-off by declaring himself the winner and Bush a liar. | |
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Charles Johnson: Kerry Ad Says Bush Lost Debate, Then Lied. |
Tom @Corrente: Sorry Nedra but a lie is a lie — Nedra Pickler, everyone's favorite "Republican-in-reporter's -clothing," is back. |
Bush looked scared, Kerry was at home Observer — Permalink I have only once been to a county cricket match; I have never been again. The problem was that, from the stands, I couldn't see the ball. That didn't matter, my companion told me, because you can infer the presence of the ball from the body language and movements of the players. | |
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Barbara O'Brien: Early on, they thought a Kerry misspeak — he said "Treblinka Square" when he meant "Dzerzhinsky Square" — would rally opinion back to Bush. |
Harry @HarrysPlace: In the Observer David Aaronovitch picks up Kerry's failure to present a clear position over Iraq: 'Under Bush,' said Kerry, 'the best case scenario - what we have now. |
Key Bush assertions about Iraq in dispute By / Reuters — Permalink CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Many of President George W. Bush's assertions about progress in Iraq — from police training and reconstruction to preparations for January elections — are in dispute, according to internal Pentagon documents, lawmakers and key congressional aides on Sunday. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Reuters notes that many of the "assertions about progress in Iraq" that President Bush made in the first debate — "from... Josh Marshall: President George W. Bush Presidential Debate September 30th, 2004 And then this from Reuters, out today ... |
Mark Kleiman: Bush fib: 100,000 trained Iraqi security forces — How about 22,700 with enough training to be "minimally effective at their tasks" ? |
Bush vs. Kerry: Round One By / The Atlantic Online — Permalink T hat was George Bush's worst performance in a debate, by far, ever. My mantra had been that neither Bush nor Kerry had ever lost a debate. That is no longer true. If you are already a subscriber, but have not yet registered for access to the Web site, click here to do so. | |
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DeLong: James Fallows Looks at the Debate — James Fallows tries to make sense of the debate: [snipped quote] Also take a look at Fallows's "When George Meets John". |
Chris Nolan: It's all worth reading either here at The Atlantic's site or here — with lots of other commentary, rounded up from around the web and annotated here — at Brad DeLong's site. |
How the White House Embraced Disputed Iraqi Arms Intelligence By / NYT — Permalink In 2002, at a crucial juncture on the path to war, senior members of the Bush administration gave a series of speeches and interviews in which they asserted that Saddam Hussein was rebuilding his nuclear weapons program. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Going Nuclear Tubing — The New York Times has a massive expose on the White House's misuse of what might very charitably be called "intelligence". Michael Froomkin: Smoking Gun: Admin Was Warned Early that Iraq Nuke Claims Were False — New York Times: How the White House Embraced... Barry Ritholtz: How the White House Embraced Disputed Iraqi Arms Intelligence — MONSTER 10,000 word article in Sundays NYT tracing the... |
Captain Ed: NY Times Reruns The Golden Oldies — Tomorrow's New York Times runs a 10,000-word article about prewar intelligence on... Dan Gillmor: Deceptions Leading to War — This lengthy article in tomorrow's New York Times persuasively describes that the Bush... Tom Maguire: Your Weekend "Must-Read" — The blogosphere will be buzzing about "Skewed Intelligence Data in March to War in Iraq", by Timesmen Jeff Gerth, David Barstow, and William J. Broad. |
On Kerry's Journey to Health, Stops for Shrapnel and Cancer By / NYT — Permalink Senator John Kerry, a lean athlete who is the picture of health as he skis, skates, cycles and windsurfs, is in robust condition, he and his doctors said in their first extended interviews discussing his medical history. | |
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William J. Dyer: MSM still clueless about basic details of Kerry's military record (and SwiftVets' claims) Tom Maguire of Just One Minute... Greg Ransom: JOHN KERRY WON'T RELEASE his medical records, not even his military medical records — and the NY Times neglects to... |
Tim Blair: ROBUST ATHLETE ACHIEVES NUANCED POSITION — [snipped quote] reports the New York Times. He also looks great doing this. |
NEWSWEEK POLL: Campaign 2004 PRNewsWire — Permalink NEW YORK, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ — From what they've seen, heard or read about the controversy over President George W. Bush's service in the National Guard at the time of the Vietnam War, registered voters are split over whether he fulfilled his military obligations, according to the latest Newsweek Poll. | |
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James Frederick Dwight: Charles Johnson points out the following on his invaluable LGF site: "Look at the makeup of Republicans vs. Democrats in... |
Charles Johnson: Look at the makeup of Republicans vs. Democrats in Newsweek's poll from September 11, 2004: NEWSWEEK POLL: Campaign 2004. |
Fellow news anchors support beleaguered Dan Rather By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK — While acknowledging that a mistake was made in a "60 Minutes" report questioning President Bush's National Guard service, fellow network news anchors Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings offered their support Saturday for beleaguered colleague Dan Rather. | |
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Avedon Carol: Media Stuff — Newsday says Fellow news anchors support beleaguered Dan Rather. I've been waiting to see if this would happen. William J. Dyer: Seriously confused about the concepts of demagoguery and jihad — The Associated Press reports on Peter Jennings' and... |
Greg Ransom: MORE UNSUBSTANTIATED Rathergate lies from Democrat Tom Brokaw. And Dan "a bit too tightly wrapped in the flag" Rather plays the victim. Jeff Jarvis: Birds of a feather stonewall together : Tom Brokaw stupidly sides with fellow anchor Dan Rather against the people he is... |
Campaigns worry about last-minute surprise AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) — In the presidential campaign's closing weeks, Democrats are bracing for an "October surprise," an event so dramatic it could influence the election's outcome. The capture of Osama bin Laden, for instance. | |
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Michele Catalano: "..Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University, said the administration risks a backlash. |
Allah: Meanwhile, three weeks after CBS tried to inject forged documents into the presidential campaign, and on the very day... |
How the White House Embraced Disputed Arms Intelligence By / NYT — Permalink In 2002, at a crucial juncture on the path to war, senior members of the Bush administration gave a series of speeches and interviews in which they asserted that Saddam Hussein was rebuilding his nuclear weapons program. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Bush Gave One-Sided Data on Iraq: New York Times — After a lengthy investigation, New York Times reporters have found... Charles Johnson: Another Curious Coincidence — Given that CBS News was about to run a piece on the very same subject (a piece they... |
Oliver Willis: How the White House Embraced Disputed Arms Intelligence [snipped quote] Uncovered - The Whole Truth About the Iraq War (related) |
Militant Cleric Considers Entry Into Iraqi Politics By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 2 - The Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has begun laying the groundwork to enter Iraq's nascent democratic process, telling Iraqi leaders that he is planning to disband his militia and possibly field candidates for office. | |
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Captain Ed: Now, for at least the third time as well, Sadr has decided to create a political party instead of an army, only this time it looks like he means it. Juan Cole: Dexter Filkin of the New York Times reports that Muqtada al-Sadr appears to be weighing a run for parliament. Orrin Judd: AT THE END OF HISTORY EVERYONE'S A DEMOCRAT: Militant Cleric Is Testing Entry In Iraqi Politics (DEXTER FILKINS,... |
Jan Haugland: Sign of progress in Iraq I — Moqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shiite cleric who had his Mehdi militia decimated by... Tacitus: Done — [snipped quote] At long last, all questions and controversy on the utility and character of Ahmed Chalabi are settled. |
NEWSWEEK POLL: BUSH LEAD GONE Drudge Report — Permalink New York-Sixty-one percent of Americans who watched the first presidential debate on September 30 say Sen. John Kerry won; 19 percent say President George W. Bush won and 16 percent say they tied, according to the latest Newsweek Poll which was conducted after the debate ended. | |
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Avedon Carol: Put Nader in the mix and Kerry's margin drops from 3 to 2. (Drudge has headlined this, "Bush Lead Gone.") Byron L: And as for the Dallas Morning News, they ought to take a look at the latest Newsweek poll. |
Dwight Meredith: Kerry Takes Lead in Newsweek Poll — Drudge is reporting that a new poll by Newsweek has John Kerry leading President... Hindrocket: The Comeback Is Launched — Drudge is headlining a Newsweek poll purporting to show that President Bush's lead has... |
Some Voters Still Flip-Flop After Debate By / Fox News — Permalink Thanks to a high-stakes election that has taken some vicious turns, the first debate of the season drew viewers who were especially keen to watch a smackdown between Sen. John Kerry (search) and President George W. Bush (search) after months of trading attacks. | |
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Thomas Leavitt: "Tim Finin 743 Oella Ave Oella MD 21043 [1] http://www.foxnews.com/st ory/0,2933,134268,00.html [2] http://communistsforkerry .com/ [3] http://www.hellgate.org/d isclaimer/" Avedon Carol: News & views — At Eschaton: Fox News - Snookered Again, in which we learn that Fox interviewed an alleged group of... Atrios: Fox News - Snookered Again — Is anyone ever going to hold this network to any standard? |
Tom Tomorrow: More unimpeachable reporting from Fox News — Here: [snipped quote] Trouble is, Communists for Kerry is a pretty obvious joke. Chris Bowers: Atrios has another classic from America's worst news source: "Of course, there were some Kerry supporters in attendance who had no doubts whatever about their candidate. |
The Battle for Iraq By / Weekly Standard — Permalink WHAT SHOULD WE DO IN IRAQ? The U.S. presidential election will likely be won or lost over the war and its aftermath. If the United States fails in Iraq—if it is driven out by violence, and the country descends into internecine strife—then former ambassador... | |
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Wretchard: In the Weekly Standard, Gerecht rejects the notion of awaiting the availability of Iraqi forces before crushing — yes,... |
Orrin Judd: SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THE APPOINTMENT BOOK: The Battle for Iraq: Forget gradualism and Iraqification—send in the Marines. |
Skewed Intelligence Data in March to War in Iraq By / NYT — Permalink In 2002, at a crucial juncture on the path to war, senior members of the Bush administration gave a series of speeches and interviews in which they asserted that Saddam Hussein was rebuilding his nuclear weapons program. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Finally, in a front page story, the New York Times says the White House "embraced the theory that aluminum tubes bound... Mathew Gross: New York Times on how the White House (surprise!) embraced disputed intelligence on Iraq's nuclear capability in the run-up to war. DemFromCT: So here's the proof: [snipped quote] I wonder if Mr. Edwards will ask Mr. Cheney on Tuesday when they get together for a... |
Lambert @Corrente: Here is how The World's Greatest Newspaper (not!) covers FUX's pitiful non-retraction retraction, where their chief... Barbara O'Brien: Busted — As I keyboard, I'm watching George Stephanopoulos grill Condi Rice over the findings in this New York Times... Atrios: Liars — Rice: [snipped quote] I think we can put to rest any notion that, as Connolly and Kessler wrote, "there is... |
Guantanamo has 'failed to prevent terror attacks' Observer — Permalink Prisoner interrogations at Guantánamo Bay, the controversial US military detention centre where guards have been accused of brutality and torture, have not prevented a single terrorist attack, according to a senior Pentagon intelligence officer who worked at the heart of the US war on terror. | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Report: Guantanamo Hasn't Prevented Any Terror Acts — Another embarassing revelation is headed to Team Bush this week... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: Useless Abuse — As well as being accused of torture and being beyond the realms of legal and human rights norms, the US... |
DeLay's troubles could deepen San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Washington — With House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, now involved directly or tangentially in a handful of ethics cases and investigations, some analysts say another setback could substantially weaken the lawmaker's ability to champion Republican causes and candidates. | |
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Laura Rozen: And among the notable observations and gossip from folks there, the word on the Hill is that Tom DeLay is finished. |
Matt Stoller: Delay Over? Laura Rozen says the rumors are out that Delay is 'finished'. This article suggests as much. |
Winning the war of words By / Salon — Permalink It was midway through the second half of the first Monday Night Football game this season. The New England Patriots, the reigning Super Bowl champions, were fighting off the Indianapolis Colts on their home field in Foxboro, Mass. A series of events had put... | |
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Avedon Carol: All the news in bits — Dave Johnson at Seeing the Forest discusses the use of repetition in spreading things like the... Simon @BOPNews: However, if you're just stopping by, take a look at Kraft's article on Lakoff: how Kerry lost the debate. |
Dave Johnson: The "Flip-Flopper" Label — How It's Done — Salon has an article by Matthew Craft today, Winning the war of words, that... |
Sense and Sensibility By / NYT — Permalink In weak moments, I think the best ticket for this country would be Bush-Kerry. The two men balance each other out so well. Kerry can't make a decision; Bush makes them too quickly. Kerry changes his mind by the month; Bush almost never changes his mind. | |
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Hilzoy @ObsidianWings: Today, the sentence in question was this: "In weak moments, I think the best ticket for this country would be Bush-Kerry." Barbara O'Brien: If you don't believe me, read today's column. Brooks manages to string together 763 words into grammatically correct sentences, but there is no evidence in them of human thought. Jeff Jarvis: Today's column is a superb analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates for President and says much better than I did why this is such a troubling choice. |
Avedon Carol: Meanwhile, David Brooks endorses a Bush-Kerry ticket, saying the two men balance each other well: Kerry can't make a decision; Bush makes them too quickly. Chris Nolan: Only no one's block got knocked off. It was just a slog. Andrew Sullivan: CONSERVATIVE KERRY: David Brooks, as usual, has a fair column today. |
Iran at the tipping point By / Townhall.com — Permalink I'm ashamed of myself. I haven't written a word about Iran in years, and Iran may be the most important story no one is talking about. I shouldn't say no one. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART — All hail Jonah Goldberg: "I'm ashamed of myself. |
Glenn Reynolds: JONAH GOLDBERG says we need to be paying more attention to Iran. He's right. Excerpt: [snipped quote] I wonder why it's not getting more attention? |
Democrats call for more inquiries against DeLay By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink WASHINGTON - A public admonishment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay by the House ethics committee spurred Democrats to call for further investigations and liberal interest groups to question how much longer he can hold onto power. | |
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John Emerson: http://www.chron.com/cs/C DA/ssistory.mpl/nation/28 2 5990 http://news.google.com/ne ws?hl=en&ned=us&q=Delay&b t nG=Search+News |
Charles Kuffner: The Chron has some pretty tame by comparison coverage, with no analysis of how things might play out. MSNBC picks up that ball. |
3 Nations Reportedly Slowed Probe of Oil Sales By / NYT — Permalink Congressional investigators say that France, Russia and China systematically sabotaged the former United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq by preventing the United States and Britain from investigating whether Saddam Hussein was diverting billions of dollars. | |
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Orrin Judd: KERRY'S "ALLIES": 3 Nations Reportedly Slowed Probe of Oil Sales (JUDITH MILLER, 10/02/04, NY Times) [snipped quote] So... Glenn Reynolds: UNSCAM UPDATE: Shocking developments in the Oil-for-food investigation: [snipped quote] Okay, it's not that shocking. |
FrancoAlemán: NOW YOU KNOW why no one was complaining, let alone stopping, the Oil For Food scandal which put approximately 10 billion... |
Bush won the debate with Kerry San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink I'LL CONCEDE, style counts. It was fair game for critics to say Democratic candidate Al Gore's demeanor defined his performance in the 2000 presidential debates. In that spirit, my verdict is: On the demeanor question, George W. Bush lost Thursday night. | |
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Joe Gandelman: There are some who are still basically doing "spin" but the consensus on the debate results cut ACROSS party lines. Skippy: we found this piece in the sfchron that made us drop our jaw in disbelief. Barbara O'Brien: I could even understand it (sort of) if they believed Bush won the debate. If you're going to be delusional you might as well go all the way with it. |
Avedon Carol: Debra Saunders spins the debate - and finally calls Kerry a "know-it-all". Jesse Taylor: Bushic Victory — Debra Saunders: George Bush won the debate because John Kerry voted to allow him to f**k up a war... John Emerson: FYI, here's Debra Saunders' attempt to respin the debate — the first RNC plant I've seen. |
| Also: Kevin Hayden | |
Laptops Stolen From Bush Campaign Office By / AP — Permalink SEATTLE (AP) - Three laptop computers containing campaign plans were stolen overnight from the Bush-Cheney state headquarters office, Republican officials said Friday. | |
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Dean Esmay: Breakin At Bush-Cheney Headquarters — Someone broke in to Bush-Cheney headquarters in Washington and stole three laptops containing campaign plans. FrancoAlemán: LAPTOPGATE? [snipped quote] Tim Blair is right: this is a case taylored for Woodward and Berstein. KJL: BUSH CAMPAIGN LAPTOPS STOLEN IN WASHINGTON STATE |
Glenn Reynolds: WATERGATE WEST? It seems to be a season of dirty tricks. Tim Blair: Bernstein? Woodward? You guys awake? Jim Treacher demands: "Write my URL on the forehead of a sleeping hobo!" |
Raid on Bigley's brother By / Telegraph — Permalink Dutch intelligence officers raided the home of Kenneth Bigley's brother last night. An intelligence officer from the Foreign Office is understood to have accompanied them to Paul Bigley's home in Amsterdam. | |
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James Joyner: The London Telegraph has a related story: "Dutch intelligence officers raided the home of Kenneth Bigley's brother last night. Orrin Judd: MORE: Raid on Bigley's brother (Jack Fairweather, 02/10/2004, Daily Telegraph) "Dutch intelligence officers raided the home of Kenneth Bigley's brother last night. Michael Young: The whole thing is here in the Daily Telegraph, though the Daily Mail offers a far more skeptical take on the whole thing. |
Captain Ed: The British and Dutch may already be taking that approach with hostage Kenneth Bigley, whose heartbreaking videos have... Gabriel Syme: Victim's victims — The Telegraph reports that an Iraqi-born gunman with a British passport, Mohammed Kasim, talked to... |
Dems' Online Coup D'état CBS News — Permalink In an effort to manage the message, Democrats bombarded media websites with post-debate spin immediately following Thursday's Bush-Kerry face-off in Florida - and it apppears to have paid off. | |
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Chris Bowers: Dems' Online Coup D'état — I really like the title of this CBS article: [snipped quote] Post-debate, you guys raised the bar for online activism. Jerome Armstrong: From Dems' Online Coup D'état: [quote] "Al Gore won the debate on the issues and George Bush's henchmen stole it in the...[end quote] |
Charles Johnson: McAuliffe's Poll-Stuffing Paid Off — Here's another great achievement for the Democratic Party: Terry McAuliffe's media... |
To Our Readers (and Writers) WaPo — Permalink WE RECEIVED THE following letter from a woman in Yonkers, N.Y. : "Dear editor: This debate made it clear: John Kerry is a leader we can trust to tell us the truth when it comes to our nation's security. George Bush has had his chance; I'm ready for a new direction." | |
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Charles Johnson: WaPo Upbraids McAuliffe — The Washington Post issues a mild rebuke to Terry McAuliffe and his media spamming campaign,... Captain Ed: People Who Can't Think For Themselves Can't Tell Time, Either — The Washington Post has an unusual editorial in today's... |
David Adesnik: HEHEHE! From the WaPo editorial page: [snipped quote] As they say in Chicago, vote early and vote often! |
Benigni shooting Iraq 'comedy' BBC — Permalink Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni is to make a film about the Iraq war. La Tigre e la Neve (The Tiger and the Snow) is set in Iraq in March 2003 - right at the beginning of the US-led campaign. | |
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Tim Blair: Roberto Benigni sounding like Puce: "Westerners are running the show, all of those doing these things have studied in the West, it is not the Easterners. Eszter Hargittai: Benigni is shooting a "comedy" about Iraq. (Hat tip: Nomad via Dove's Eye View) |
Andrew Stuttaford: Here's Roberto Benigni, the actor/director of Life is Beautiful. Now he's making a movie about the Iraq war. The BBC has more. |
Italians fall out of love with 'two Simonas' By / Telegraph — Permalink Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas", the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear. | |
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Damian Penny: Baghdad syndrome — The two Italian hostages recently released in Iraq say they support their captors' "resistance"... Orrin Judd: SIMPLE SIMONAS: Italians fall out of love with 'two Simonas' (Bruce Johnston, 02/10/2004, Daily Telegraph) "Italy's... Christopher Kanis: Turns out I was right: [quote] Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas", the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour...[end quote] |
Cori Dauber: ISN'T THAT SPECIAL — I'm sure the families of all those held hostage in Iraq, and all those who have been killed there,... Gabriel Syme: From yesterday news, Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas" (Simona Pari and Simona Torretta), the women aid workers... Captain Ed: If the rumors are true and the Italians paid $1 million for the return of the "Two Simonas", they likely will ask for a... |
| Also: Tim Blair | |
Trail Tales: What's That Face? Fox News — Permalink The election is 32 days away and the first presidential debate is over. One down and two more to go between President Bush (search) and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (search). What's That Face? | |
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Mike Hendrix: As for selective outrage, try this on for size: loud and long wailing from the usual suspects about Fox News' gaffe,... Bill @INDCJournal: FOX WATCH oops.jpg As you've probably heard, FOX News just created its own news scandal by posting politically... H.D. Miller: Yesterday, our favorite bloviator, Joshua Cougar Mellancamp Marshall (hat tip to Ace for that one) tried to gin up some... |
Jeff Goldstein: Fox issued a correction and an apology. Quickly. Consequently, I feel no compulsion to explore this story any further. Andrew Sullivan: FAKE BUT ACCURATE: The new slogan for Fox News' Carl Cameron. Well, at least they apologized. Atrios: What Fox Thinks of The Liberal Media — While everyone's been focusing on the Made Up Story over at Fox News, a reader... |
| Also: Tim Blair, David Adesnik, Joe Gandelman, Avedon Carol, Jeff Harrell, Joe Carter, Steve Soto, Glenn Reynolds, Tim Dunlop, Ed Cone, Kos, Ogged @Unfogged, Byron L, Noam Alaska, Skippy, Josh Marshall | |
Troops Battle to Control Samarra By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, Oct. 1 — A heavily armored force of 3,000 U.S. troops, followed by 2,000 Iraqi soldiers, police officers, commandos and National Guardsmen, swept into Samarra on Friday to confront insurgents in what a senior Iraqi official said had become an "outlaw city." | |
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Phillip Carter: Major combat operations resume — The Washington Post reports this morning on the progress of a major U.S. offensive to take Samarra. |
DemFromCT: In any case, there's the matter of Iraq to burst their bubble. In any case, this weekend will be the fight over the debate results. |
From a Virtual Shadow, Messages of Terror By / WaPo — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO — He calls himself Abu Maysara al Iraqi, or father of Maysara the Iraqi, and he's a master at being everywhere and nowhere in the virtual world, constantly switching his online accounts and taking advantage of new technologies to issue his communiqués to the world. | |
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James Joyner: Terrorism and the Internet — From a Virtual Shadow, Messages of Terror (Ariana Eunjung Cha, WaPo, A1) "The Internet,... |
Hugh Hewitt: The Washington Post has a must read on Islamist use of the internet. The United States has been mounting efforts to deny use of the web to terrorists operating abroad. |
The Battle, If Not The War, To Kerry By / WaPo — Permalink ALLENTOWN, Pa. — It's hard to say if it was that smirk, or his repeated insistence that he would never change course in Iraq, but by the end of the first presidential debate President Bush had come awfully close to losing the vote of Republican Thomas C. Racosky. | |
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Oliver Willis: Consensus: Kerry Won — The Washington Post: "But a majority of the voters interviewed echoed the results of snapshot national polls taken immediately after the debate. |
Hugh Hewitt: The article does not mention whether such efforts pass Kerry's "global test": "But if and when you do it, Jim, you have... |