P U

I hate getting so angry first thing in the morning. Apparently it's "Catholics hate Kerry" day in the media, including news stories which dance around the poll numbers without actually giving them to us.

But, one poll which has gotten some attention is a recent Pew poll. Click on this .pdf link. Turn to page 2. Scroll down to religious affiliation. Tell me what's wrong with the poll and then wonder what the hell Pew is doing.

Hoeffel Closing

Poor Arlen. Everybody hates him.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is slipping in the new Keystone Poll, but his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, remains unknown to half the state, poll director G. Terry Madonna says.

"I always thought this was going to be a competitive race, and if Hoeffel can raise the money to get known, it will be a competitive race," said Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Center for Public Opinion Research in Lancaster.

Among likely voters, Specter, the four-term Republican senator, had 44 percent of the vote. Hoeffel, a Democratic congressman from suburban Philadelphia, had 35 percent. Constitution Party nominee Jim Clymer, a Lancaster County attorney, was at 7 percent. Libertarian nominee Betsy Summers of Wilkes-Barre was not included in the poll.

Hoeffel's not there yet, but getting closer. That 7% for Clymer will probably hold or even grow. Big anti-choice segment of the population who will not vote for Specter.

Morning Thread

Chat away.

Endgame

It's pretty apparent that the Bush-Cheney endgame, borne of desperation, involves 28 more days of an expensive lie campaign. I just watched an ad, approved by Jr., which was implying that John Kerry was trying to tax married people.

This election is going to come down to whether truth or fiction prevails. In the last election, fiction did. Let's hope we, and our media, do better this time.

A Little Help

If there's anyone at blogger/google who reads this and might be able to successfully republish my entire archive I'd really appreciate it...

Traffic

This was my second post. And, no, I wasn't kidding. I never imagined I'd get 100...then 1000...then 5000...then 10000...then 50000...then 100000... then 200000... visits per day. At each level of traffic, I assumed it would plateau, which it often did for awhile, but then it always cranks back up again.

Anyway, I hate these metablogging posts, and I hate most "blog triumphalist" posts, but every now and then I have to step back and realize how astounding it all is -- otherwise I'd have to be way more cynical than I actuallly am.

Chumps

What the Poor Man says:

Again. Imagine what it must be like to be in a position like that, realizing that Cheney and Hannity and Wing Commander Reynolds and all their little patsies are just lying to your face, and playing you for a total chump, again. There's only so much cognitive dissonance that the human mind can take before it rebels. There's got to be point which it just becomes too much - too much humiliation, too much hypocrisy, too much dishonesty. And when that point is reached, they are all going to take a step back, and look with new eyes on themselves, and on the world, and really, really, really start trying to figure out how this is all Clinton's fault.

Oh Jeebus

Nightline:

Giess was finally diagnosed with TBI — traumatic brain injury. It is sometimes called "the invisible handicap." Symptoms include irritability, poor memory, lack of inhibition, anxiety, confusion, unusual fatigue, and persistent headaches. These problems are often dismissed as postwar stress reactions.

While an estimated 20 percent of injured veterans in past wars suffered from TBI, doctors say more than 60 percent of injured troops returning from Iraq may be afflicted. The reason: Troops have new body armor that saves lives by protecting the torso, but not the brain.


...

"The majority of them, they're incontinent, both bowel and bladder, so we have to retrain them when to use the toilet, how to use the toilet," said Alvarez.

In all TBI patients, the frontal lobe — an area of the brain that governs impulse control — is affected. These patients often have trouble focusing if there are any distractions in the room.

I've been wondering about the numbers of amputees. I had no idea there were so many brain injuries. My God.

Ladies Against Women

oy.

oy.

Soros and Fact Check

George Soros responds to all the fun.

Russert - in the Tank

Media Matters notes that Russert knew Cheney had met Edwards, but didn't bother to mention it.

Radio Fun

I'll be on the Majority Report tonight at about 8:30ish, chatting with Sam, Janeane, and Robert Reich. I may have to pull out the increasingly dusty economist hat.

What is Andrea Mitchell's Job?

I recognize that increasingly there are grey areas in our dysfunctional media. Media people move back and forth between "journalist," "analyst," and "pundit," often with most viewers being unaware of either the difference between those things or about which particular hat the person is wearing at any given time.

Bizarrely, NBC currently has her listed as their "Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent." But, in case, for someone who is mostly presented as a straight journalist she's sure been engaging in a lot of partisan Republican hackery lately. Her gushing over Cheney last night was utterly ridiculous.

But, her most hacktackular moment was this one in August:

MS. MITCHELL: Well, let's take a look also at the American support for this. When we looked at our NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, again, as to whether or not all this was worth it, a majority, 51 percent, feel that removing Saddam Hussein was not worth the casualties and the billions that we spent.

So, Joe Lieberman, have we lost the American people?

Manage Jeff Seemann's Campaign

We all get to play campaign manager for a day.

Kudos

There were a lot of complaints about the people running the Kerry campaign/DNC during the month of August when they appeared to be blindsided by the Swift Boat nonsense. But, I think they should be complimented on how they've been doing things. They've managed to completely own the post-debate spin for both of these debates, highlighting what a nitwit Bush was and highlighting what a liar Dick Cheney was. They've managed to get the information out there, and fast. At least after the first debate (I didn't notice this time), they bought up the banner ads a bunch of major newspapers touting Kerry's performance.

It's rare that our side owns even an entire news cycle. And, of course, given our in the tank media it's never quite perfect. But, we've pretty much owned it since Kerry's debate - the thing which came closest to dislodging us was Drudge's magic pen. Nice try, but no luck.

Ezra comments too.

Cry Foul

Eric Boehlert makes the point which was obivous 4 seconds into Bush's speech today -- he told the cable nets he was giving a major presidential policy address, and instead he gave the millionth repetition of his stump speech. If they had any integrity, they would have pulled the plug 10 minutes in, once they'd realized they'd been had. As Yglesias says, "is the press really going to stand for it?"

Well, they already did. Now, of course, they owe Kerry a full commercial free airing of one of his campaign speeches. I won't be holding my breath.

"I Know How the World Works"

This is just wacky. A member of Chalabi's INC was indicted by an Iraqi court for going to the "enemy state" of Israel.

B-School Profs to Bush -- You Stink

Max has their letter.

Republican Race Baiting

Every election.

Corzine, Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) Condemn NRSC

“Race Baiting” Ad in Oklahoma



Corzine Calls on NRSC to Take Down Ad, Says

“Black Hands” Ad Reminiscent Jesse Helms Race Baiting Ads of the Past



http://www.dscc.org/ads/ok_nrsc



Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM), joined together today in condemning an ad being run by the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) in Oklahoma on immigration which Corzine referred to as race baiting and "appealing to the worst" in people. Corzine called on the NRSC to take the ad down immediately. Corzine said the ad, which shows haunting images of Hispanic farm workers and black hands receiving welfare dollars in attacking Congressman Brad Carson's immigration record, "is counter to a productive political discourse."

"Unfortunately, negative attack ads have become a regular occurrence in political campaigns. However, the 'black hands' ad the NRSC is running in Oklahoma crosses the line and runs counter to any kind of productive political discourse," Corzine said. "What happened to leadership that unites, not divides? This ad is a clear example of race baiting and attempting to appeal to the public's worst instincts. The NRSC should take this ad down now and apologize to our nations Hispanic and African American populations. This as is as wrong today as the Jesse Helms 'white hands' ad of a previous era."

“At a time when the Republican Party claims to be reaching out to Hispanic voters, once again their actions speak louder than their words. Stereotypical images that increase racial tensions and play against our fears contribute nothing to the political debate and represent a step backward to the divisive politics of the past," Governor Bill Richardson said.

Is Cheney Delusional?

First he claims he never met Edwards when he has at least 3 times. Then he bragged about being the presiding officer of the Senate, and being there most Tuesdays, even though he's only acted as the presiding officer on two Tuesdays. He's been going on and on about links between Saddam and the 9/11 hijackers and between Saddam and al Qaeda, even though no such links exist. He so misrepresents things that Kerry says that he must have a serious mental illness. He simultaneously claims that Kerry is "inconsistent" and then says he's the most consistently liberal senator. We really can only conclude that Cheney needs some serious psychiatric help.

[/Krauthammer]