Despite the ‘grain of salt’ news that Lincoln Chafee’s internals show him doing very well against Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse, most Republican pundits I am talking to tonight at CNN’s blog party are pretty glum about their prospects.
One has to be careful with the numbers floating around — whether they are exit polls, internal poll numbers, and the like — but an insider in the Chafee machine just conveyed to me that Senator Lincoln Chafee has been polling 6 points higher than Sheldon Whitehouse in their internal numbers.
I just listened to Rick Santorum‘s commentary on MSNBC, which CNN is graciously airing along with FOX, C-Span and other networks at their increasingly crowded CNN BlogStock today. This is in remarkable contrast to the big Republican Election party held two years ago in D.C.
National Review editor Rich Lowry shares a “cheat sheet” from GOP insiders: Eight in the most likely gone category: PA-7, Weldon, OH-18, Ney open, IN-8, Hostettler, CO-7 Beauprez open, AZ-8, Kolbe open, NY-24, Boehlert open, PA-10, Sherwood, CT-4, Shays.
Democrats need to decide tomorrow whether they collaborate with George Bush in co-owning the tremendous mess in America’s national security portfolio — or whether they cut a new course.
I’ve just arrived up at Tryst Coffee Shop in Adams Morgan/Washington, DC where some of the biggest bloggers in the business are doing a sleep-over with CNN’s blog mistresses, Jacki Schechner and Abby Tatton. I’ve dubbed this “BlogStock”, and the CNN folks seem to like the moniker.
If you see shenanigans being pulled at polling stations, here’s a clearinghouse of sites on how to report what you have seen — as well as guidance on what other actions you can take to preserve your voting rights.
US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad is tired of being undermined by opponents in the White House and by elements of Iraq’s unstable regime end-running him to influence rivals of his in the administration. He is reportedly on the verge of quitting. Khalilzad’s abrupt departure from the diplomatic scene will worsen the mess in Iraq….
My colleague Michael Lind — author of the recently released The American Way of Strategy — has an interesting Financial Times piece on the “Powell Doctrine” outflanking the “Bush Doctrine” today and in the years ahead. I once wrote about the pre-9/11 factions in Bush administration foreign policy.
America has slipped to 20th position out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Index. We may not have seen him around for a while but Tom DeLay was one of the chief architects of the deepening structural corruption of American politics.
