Volume 3 Issue 27
March 25, 2004
Back in the Fray
Notes from the Sunshine State, Kerry reaching for the ring, and West Virginia has some family values problems
So you go away for a week, and all hell breaks loose. I'm not going to much comment on the Dick Clarke situation, as almost everyone else has said everything that can be said, except simply to note that now 2 major members of the Bush administration have now said that the administration is totally ideologically driven, both in foreign and domestic policy, and that facts and the truth are of little consequence to them, unless it helps them politically. I'm just beginning to wonder how many more former Bushies must come out of the woodwork to make most of the nation realize this...
So I spent the last week in lovely warm Florida. It was my first trip down to the land of the Butterfly ballot in some time...some brief observations.
- The official state slogan is "The Sunshine State". It should be "Road Work Ahead."
- The Tampa Bay area's traffic may in fact be worse than the Washington, DC area's.
- When you're in a supermarket in Central Florida at 1pm on a Saturday, it's still shocking to realize that 95% of the people in the store are over 85. And scary.
- Florida has a major suburban sprawl problem. Really major. I'm amazed there hasn't been an uprising about it yet. It's much worse than anyplace I've seen, even Northern Virginia.
- For a state that is such a big prize in the Presidential contest, there aren't as many ads on TV as their are in Pennsylvania.
- Kerry should really consider Bill Nelson as his VP. If Nelson was on the ticket, there would be no doubt that Kerry would win Florida.
- The state would be good to remember that while the old folk may go to bed by 8...the rest of us are still around. There's no excuse for the fact that in Orlando International Airport at 7:30pm you can't find a cup of coffee.
- Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, FL is by far the best stadium in Professional Baseball.
- You have to love a state where you have to watch out for alligators everywhere you go.
There you go. Onto some site details...Some have asked why most media outlets report Kerry as having stitched up the Democratic nomination, while I still show him just short of his goal. The answer is that most other media sources are projecting superdelegates, while I am just showing the totals of elected delegates from the primaries and caucuses. This is not to say that Kerry won't be the nominee, just that if he were to do something really stupid, the elected office holders could still steer the nomination to someone else. However, by the end of April, Kerry likely will have the pledged delegates necessary to sweep him to the nomination. Look for some general election features showing up here on the Swamp soon.
Clarke Vs. The Bushies: No doubt the biggest story while I was away was Richard Clarke's book, interviews, and the White House counterattack. Of course, the 9/11 commission is having public hearings this week, adding to the fun. Clark testified before the 9/11 commission yesterday, starting with an astonishing apology to the victims and families, and continuing his attack against the Bush administration -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22231-2004Mar24?language=printer
The GOP has tried to destroy Clarke's reputation in any way possible, and yesterday's attacks from the Republican members of the commission was no exception. Except that once again, Clarke was able to beat his attackers. Truth kind of does that sometimes -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22218-2004Mar24.html
Maureen Dowd looks at Clarke and the sliming attempt by the White House -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/opinion/25DOWD.html?hp
Fred Kaplan says that Clarke's performance was simply outstanding -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2097750/
Even GOP columnists think the White House is going too far in fighting Clarke, and that it could backfire -
http://nj.com/columns/ledger/mulshine/index.ssf?/base/column s-0/1080206462216910.xml
Bob Kerrey has become a favorite of the 9/11 families -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22302-2004Mar24?language=printer
Another Bush Cover-up: The Medicare actuary who was ordered to hide cost estimates from Congress confirmed his account in Congressional testimony yesterday. And if he's an executive civil servant without Senate Confirmation, why can he testify and Condi Rice can't?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22178-2004Mar24.html
The Pledge Battle: In what is described as an extraordinary day, a doctor from California (who also has a law degree) argued before the Supreme Court yesterday that the words "under God" should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance. Many thought that Michael Newdow was nuts to argue the case himself, but many observers though it was the best oral argument they'd heard in years -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22415-2004Mar24?language=printer
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/politics/25SCOT.html?hp=&a mp;pagewanted=all&position=
http://slate.msn.com/id/2097737/
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day: 
Um...there's a gator down there...why do I have to go first?
The Air Wars: US Airways CEO says that Southwest is out to kill them, and that the Philadelphia market is their last stand. Southwest agrees, which is why tomorrow it will announce that it's May start-up in the City of Brotherly Love will be larger than previously thought -
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/8273201.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22520-2004Mar24?language=printer
Will the World Please buy a Coke? Coca-Cola, perhaps the most known brand in the world, is having problems trying to increase profits...seems that everyone already drinks it, so there is little room for growth -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2097747/
The Mexican Invasion? 6 members of the British military are currently trapped in a cave in Mexico, infuriating Mexican President Fox, who didn't know they were conducting exercises in his country in the first place -
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/24/trapped.cavers/ index.html
The End of WWII? Almost 60 years later, the US may finally begin to pull it's troops out of Germany -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22217-2004Mar24?language=printer
Blowin' in the Wind: Planners in NYC are trying to make sure that the new development at the World Trade Center site does not result in the hurricane-force winds that the old plaza produced -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/nyregion/25blocks.html
Bud Selig's Boys: So will MLB ever move the Expos?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2004/columns/story?colum nist=stark_jayson&id=1767192
The Web...Permantly: Network Solutions will now offer 100-year domain registrations, to help avoid the nasty surprises like the ones the Washington Post had to deal with earlier this year when it's registration expired -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22519-2004Mar24.html
I Suppose it can be Considered Exercise: Fitness guru Richard Simmons was arrested for slapping a critic in the Phoenix Airport -
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/25/simmons.cite.ap/index.html
But He Didn't Say it Wasn't True: The Governor of West Virginia is up in arms over a Abercrombie t-shirt that makes fun of the stereotype of incest in the rural state -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/national/23WVA.html
