Volume 3 Issue 8
February 12, 2004
Wait A Minute
Hold up on that Kerry Train, here comes the press...and Comcast traps itself a mouse
Well then. The Democratic Nomination contest may be about to take an ugly turn, as the long rumored Kerry stumble appears to have occurred. Matt Drudge is now reporting on his site that various media outlets are near the end of investigations involving a woman that used to work for the AP, who know apparently lives outside the United States.
It's too early to tell exactly what these allegations are, other than they obviously involved some sort of marital infidelity. Until the story breaks in the mainstream press (either tonight/tomorrow or Sunday most likely), it will be tough to know what this means for Kerry. Recent drop-out Wesley Clark apparently told reporters this week that Kerry "will implode over an intern issue." If this is true, there could be bad times ahead for the front-runner. But other folks say that this is a story former Gore/Kerry/Clark adviser (and center of Democratic evil) Chris Lehane has been shopping around for a while. Apparently this story was also the one that kept Kerry from being chosen as Gore's running mate in 2000. So if it's 4 years old, the damage potential decreases.
Also, if the main news sources can't get confirmation and on-the-record quotes, then it could end up being like the Bush cocaine story. A good story that opponents will believe, but will likely not effect the outcome of the election. Kerry's reaction is also an issue. He has to know this was going to come up...so is he prepared?
Finally of course, how will this effect the nomination battle? At last count, Kerry's pledged delegates were about 18% of what he needs to get the nomination. This means that likely Dean (and is this why Dean is saying he'll stay in the race?) and Edwards have at least until Super Tuesday (3/2) to stop him, but to do it they'll have to start winning races this weekend and Tuesday in Wisconsin.
So overall, we don't know enough to yet say what effect it will have on this race, other than to say that Kerry is potentially in big trouble. How he reacts to this story will be something to watch to see if he can survive a Bush billion-dollar attack ad blitz and a nasty fall campaign. It's long been rumored that the press doesn't want Kerry as their candidate, so they might end up being particularly brutal on Kerry here. Stay tuned...
Oh, and if this story breaks today, it will break tonight on ABC's World News Tonight at 6:30. If you don't see it then...it's likely you won't see anything until the Sunday papers.
Delegate counts on the site have been updated, only Maine is outstanding...I don't think we're going to get firm numbers from them until their State Convention in May.
Kerry...The Non-Sex Stories: Kerry continues to be criticized for his connections to former NJ Senator Bob Torricelli -
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/107656995295190.xml
Everyone thinks Kerry is electable, but do the stats bear that out? A good analysis -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095311/
The GOP is also attempting to paint Kerry's anti-war role in Vietnam as un-patriotic, distributing a photo of Kerry and Jane Fonda at a rally -
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-hanoijane12feb12,1,416543.story?coll=la-news-a_section
The General Departs: Clark dropped out of the race yesterday (apparently knowing the Kerry story was about to break), conceding that Edwards had beaten him as the "Southern" candidate. But he may be back in politics soon, he seems to have caught the bug -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34458-2004Feb11.html
Where Clark's delegates go depends mostly on him -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095335/
Full Speed Ahead, Mr. Neel! Dean: Nothing really about Dean today, but his former Campaign Manager, Joe Trippi has turned up -
http://www.changeforamerica.com/blog/
Last Southerner Standing - John Edwards: David Broder says that Edwards needs to decide if he wants to go for broke in his Presidential run, or settle for #2 -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35187-2004Feb12.html
One of Edwards' home state papers says he is not a strong #2 candidate though, since he can't bring any swing states along. Oh, and it notes that he's finished as far as the nomination goes...unless there's a Kerry gaffe. -
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/7933855.htm
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day:
In the event of a sudden change in cabin pressure, masks will drop down form the bulkhead...
Where Was George? Bush finally has some proof he was in the Guard in Alabama at least one one day, but it's tempered with accusations that the Guard destroyed alot of records at Bush's behest -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34505-2004Feb11?language=printer
And why did Bush not have a hearing on his loss of flying status? They don't just let you miss physicals -
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/ 2004/02/12/bushs_loss_of_flying_status_should_have_spurred_probe/
And Republican's are getting worried about Bush's venerability -
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak12.html
The Veep Contest: With Kerry all but having sewn the nomination up, the VP contest begins. My pick? Robert Rubin. The likely one? Gephardt. -
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200402120825.asp
Someone Is Having a Bad Week: Colin Powell, showing the strains of being an honest man in the Bush administration, today lashed out at a House Committee aide during a hearing -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34636-2004Feb11.html
The Mouse Gets It: Though I think Comcast isn't the greatest cable company in the world, anything that attacks Disney is fine by me -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34690-2004Feb11.html
