Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Thinner and frailer, the Comeback Kid puts heart into Kerry's campaign
Guardian Unlimited | "Bill Clinton, the perennial Comeback Kid of American politics, returned from his sick bed to centre stage yesterday, proving that his ailing, quadruply-bypassed heart is still in the fight.
But it was a much thinner, frailer man who took the stage alongside John Kerry in Philadelphia's Love Park than the vigorous leader who dominated the last American decade. He had come back from the brink of political death many times, but this has been an narrow escape of the real thing.
Backstage, he joked he was 'the healthiest man here', but barely seven weeks after surgery, he moved more slowly and spoke less forcefully than he used to. For tens of thousands of roaring fans who jammed several city blocks beyond the park, however, all Mr Clinton had to do was speak. It was more rock concert than political rally."
Monday, October 25, 2004
Kerry for President
(washingtonpost.com) | "EXPERTS TELL US that most voters have had no difficulty making up their minds in this year's presidential election. Half the nation is passionately for George W. Bush, the pollsters say, and half passionately for John F. Kerry -- or, at least, passionately against Mr. Bush.
We have not been able to share in this passion, nor in the certainty. As readers of this page know, we find much to criticize in Mr. Bush's term but also more than a few things to admire. We find much to admire in Mr. Kerry's life of service, knowledge of the world and positions on a range of issues -- but also some things that give us pause.
On balance, though, we believe Mr. Kerry, with his promise of resoluteness tempered by wisdom and open-mindedness, has staked a stronger claim on the nation's trust to lead for the next four years. "
Friday, October 22, 2004
Bush : Kerry = 227 - 207
IEX.NL | “In the short run, the market is a voting machine. In the long run, it is a weighing machine.” Dat zei Benjamin Graham al in zijn tijd, u weet wel de leermeester van Warren Buffett. Dit gezegde komt prachtig tot uiting op de future-markt van Tradesport.
Kerry seeks a shot in the arm from gun lobby
Guardian Unlimited | "Beer and baseball show Democrat as a 'regular guy' as Gore joins the fray
The Democrats made a play yesterday for crucial votes from conservative middle America, depicting their candidate as a 'regular guy' who likes nothing better than watching baseball and shooting geese.
In an effort to counter criticism that John Kerry is an arch-liberal out of touch with ordinary people, he was shown gun-in-hand on a shoot only hours after being pictured beer-in-hand for a ball game.
The aim, as Mr Kerry sought votes in the key swing state of Ohio, was to show the blueblooded Massachusetts senator as a man of the people.
Or as the senior Kerry adviser Mike McCurry said: 'We want people to have a better sense of John Kerry the guy.' "
Profile: Ralph Nader
Guardian Unlimited | "Former Nader's raiders are determined to stop the man they believe lost the 2000 election for the Democrats doing so once again. He says that if the US constitution means anything, it is his right to put his name on the ballot paper "
The Bush Record: Mixed Results for Bush in Battles Over Judges
The New York Times | "Soon after President Bush took office, two events set in motion what has become an extraordinary battle between the White House and Senate Democrats over the appointment of federal judges.
First, the new president and his aides turned to the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers' group, to help select candidates. Of Mr. Bush's first batch of nominees, 8 of 11 were proposed by the society. There could have been no clearer signal that Mr. Bush intended to follow the pattern set by his father and President Ronald Reagan of shifting the courts rightward and reaping the political benefit of pleasing social conservatives.
Then, at a weekend retreat in April 2001, Democratic senators adopted an aggressive new strategy in dealing with judicial candidates. Under Mr. Bush's Republican predecessors, the Democrats believed they could block only candidates with egregious faults. But that weekend, two prominent law professors and a women's rights lobbyist urged the senators to oppose even nominees with strong credentials and no embarrassing flaws, simply because the White House was trying to push the courts in a conservative direction."
Afghanistan, Iraq: Two Wars Collide
(washingtonpost.com) | "In the second half of March 2002, as the Bush administration mapped its next steps against al Qaeda, Deputy CIA Director John E. McLaughlin brought an unexpected message to the White House Situation Room. According to two people with firsthand knowledge, he told senior members of the president's national security team that the CIA was scaling back operations in Afghanistan.
That announcement marked a year-long drawdown of specialized military and intelligence resources from the geographic center of combat with Osama bin Laden. As jihadist enemies reorganized, slipping back and forth from Pakistan and Iran, the CIA closed forward bases in the cities of Herat, Mazar-e Sharif and Kandahar. The agency put off an $80 million plan to train and equip a friendly intelligence service for the new U.S.-installed Afghan government. Replacements did not keep pace with departures as case officers finished six-week tours. And Task Force 5 -- a covert commando team that led the hunt for bin Laden and his lieutenants in the border region -- lost more than two-thirds of its fighting strength. "
Sunday, October 17, 2004
John Kerry for President
The New York Times | Opinion | Senator John Kerry goes toward the election with a base that is built more on opposition to George W. Bush than loyalty to his own candidacy. But over the last year we have come to know Mr. Kerry as more than just an alternative to the status quo. We like what we've seen. He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent.
We have been impressed with Mr. Kerry's wide knowledge and clear thinking - something that became more apparent once he was reined in by that two-minute debate light. He is blessedly willing to re-evaluate decisions when conditions change. And while Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam was first over-promoted and then over-pilloried, his entire life has been devoted to public service, from the war to a series of elected offices. He strikes us, above all, as a man with a strong moral core."
Scary Ads Take Campaign to a Grim New Level
The New York Times | "In one of President Bush's latest advertisements, a clock ticks menacingly as a young mother pulls a quart of milk out of a refrigerator in slow motion, a young father loads toddlers into a minivan and an announcer intones ominously, 'Weakness invites those who would do us harm.'
In one of Senator John Kerry's recent commercials, a man shoots a machine gun into the air, a car bursts into a huge orange fireball and a group of Iraqi men carry what appears to be an injured person on a stretcher as an announcer says, 'Now Americans are being kidnapped, held hostage - even beheaded.'"
Super Rich Step Into Political Vacuum
(washingtonpost.com) | "This was going to be the year -- thanks to the 2002 campaign finance law -- when big money lost its influence in American politics.
But if the election comes down to which presidential candidate is better at getting supporters to the polls, the huge donations of a handful of wealthy liberals named Linda Pritzker, Stephen L. Bing, Peter B. Lewis and George Soros could determine the outcome. Together, they have given more than $26 million to help finance the most extensive get-out-the vote operation in history, the goal of which is to make John F. Kerry president. "
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Bush and Kerry clash on domestic policy
Guardian Unlimited | "The series of presidential debates that have transformed the US election campaign ended last night in Arizona, with President George Bush characterising his opponent as a politician on the 'far left' of the political mainstream, and Senator John Kerry attacking the president's record on jobs, the economy, healthcare and Iraq.
Instant polls on the debate suggested that the result of the confrontation was another victory for the Democratic candidate. Some news organisations had Senator Kerry posting a lead of between 1% (on ABC) and 14% (CBS), although other polls indicated a draw, with neither candidate deemed to have landed a killer blow."
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Poll: Kerry Gains on Bush
(washingtonpost.com) | "Democratic nominee John F. Kerry has gained ground on President Bush since last week's presidential debate and narrowly trails Bush among likely voters in one of the most closely followed presidential campaigns in at least two decades, according to the latest Washington Post tracking poll.
Bush leads Kerry 49 percent to 47 percent among those most likely to go to the polls. Independent Ralph Nader continues to barely register nationally, receiving 1 percent of the vote while 3 percent of voters remain undecided. Among all registered voters, Bush holds a three percentage-point lead. "
Bush: Kerry Would 'Weaken' U.S.
(washingtonpost.com) | "President Bush leveled his toughest and most comprehensive attack on Democratic challenger John F. Kerry on Wednesday, warning that Kerry 'would weaken America and make the world more dangerous' while defending his decision to go to war against Iraq as an unavoidable step to defeat global terrorism.
Pointing toward a Friday night encounter against the Massachusetts senator, the president used his speech here to try to reframe the campaign debate and regain the momentum by putting the onus back on Kerry's record on national security and domestic issues and shifting attention away from questions about why he launched the war against Iraq in the spring of 2003. "
