I guess now with the major Iraq decisions now out of the way (yes, we're going to war; no, we don't care about the United Nations), ABC's The Note is back up and running. On March 10, the reputable news site announced their decision to cease publication in light of the impending war with Iraq. Today, without much fanfare, The Note is back sifting through the political wreckage that is Washington post-Saddam ultimatum. And the war hasn't even started yet...
posted by Scott |
3/19/2003 |
| Monday, March 17, 2003
"Dean Too Far Left?"
That's the question being asked at MSNBC.com in an article titled, "Democrats seek another Clinton." Citing his support of civil unions and universal health insurance, Tom Curry posits that Howard Dean "might not be able to win the general election." The biggest figure lending weight to this theory of late is Garry South, Gray Davis's former political advisor.
It appears to be a legitimate concern from a party heavyweight until one looks a bit closer. South is on record as having the goal of "beating the bejesus out of George W. Bush" in 2004. He's also on record as subscribing to the theory that "antiwar" always translates to "soft on national defense" in the minds of everyday voters. (Many would argue that's changed greatly in light of the recent foreign policy moves of George W. Bush.)
While Garry South has made his intention clear to work for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, he's also made it clear that he hopes to help choose who that nominee is. The smart money says he's leaning towards Davis friend Kerry. One gets the impression though, that Clark, Graham, Edwards, Lieberman, or Gephardt would do just fine...
(Fans of deja vu should check out my almost identical post at the Dean Blog.)
posted by Scott |
3/17/2003 |
| Sunday, March 16, 2003
Hoffa seems to tilt toward Gephardt for 2004
A recent New York Times article shows Teamsters Union leader James P. Hoffa backing away from earlier flirtations with the Bush administration. Hoffa's criticism of Bush was clear:
The great mass of people in this country are struggling right now. We've lost two million jobs since 9/11. We had 308,000 more people out of work in February. We have to urge this administration to understand the plight of the average American, who is having a real hard time right now.
Buried a little deeper than the headline, however, was Hoffa's tentative support of a Gephardt candidacy:
He speaks out on the issues that confront the average American ... He's one of the few candidates who speaks that way. He talks about the issue of trade, which has taken millions of jobs out of this country. Obviously we're going to be looking at him.
Well, at least Graham is the favorite of likely Democratic primary voters in his home state of Florida. His lead is absurdly large, however. With 45% supporting Graham, the second place candidate was Joe Lieberman, barely eking out a double-digit score with 10%. Everyone else was left behind in the single-digits. Not really earth-shattering news, considering that Florida's primary is not even among the first fifteen in the nation.
This led me to ask myself, do I know where other Democrats stand on their hometown candidates? Al Sharpton somewhat famously came up first in New York City in a Zogby poll of likely New York voters. He even managed a respectable third place showing, statewide, after Lieberman and Gephardt. Another Zogby poll in Missouri puts Dick Gephardt at the top of the heap. Dennis Kucinich, not doing so well in most major polls, pulls up in third place in a University of Cincinnati poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Ohio, behind Lieberman and Gephardt, but before primary powerhouse John Kerry. Joe Lieberman (not surprisingly) topped a recent poll in Connecticut with 37%. The slightly more surprising part is that the poll was taken before fellow CT Sen. Chris Dodd announced he would not be running.
Any other state polls I'm missing? Drop me an e-mail.
posted by Scott |
3/16/2003 |
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