Politics

The most terrifying sentence in this Washington Post article about Kerry’s cabinet choices is this: “John Sasso, who was recently put on the Kerry plane to restore order and discipline, is making a move for chief of staff, too, campaign sources say.” In case anyone was under any false impressions, John Sasso is not a nicer person than Karl Rove. He just happens to be on Kerry’s side. It’s a pretty pro-Kerry article, by the by. The first few paragraphs are particularly beneficial — the article starts out with a joke about Kerry having a tough time making decisions, but then defuses the negative implications by pointing out that Kerry may well make the tough bi-partisan decision to put a Republican in as Secretary of State. That speculation also helps shore up Kerry’s image as a uniter who can fix the problems Bush has created. ...

Air America has arrived in Boston (1200 AM and 1430 AM), so like the liberal sheep I am I’ve been listening to it for the last few days. Conclusions: it’s exactly the same as right-wing talk radio, except the bias leans differently. This is probably what the Democratic Party needs; it’s not really what I want, but c’est la vie. When I say exactly, by the by, I mean exactly — down to the ads, which are the same mix of adverts for herbal nostrums, local merchants, and political paraphernalia you get on right-wing talk radio. I suspect Air America will prove to be completely financially viable.

Quick follow-up on how independent voters reacted to Bush last night: Gallup says independent voters preferred Kerry (original) by a margin of 53% to 37%. Hear me now and believe me later! Bush is going to spend the next month firing up his base and relying on voter turnout to win this election. But Kerry still has a better get out the vote operation.

An interesting observation about the Duelfer Report: it lists a bunch of people from France, Germany, and Russia who profited illegally from the food-for-oil program. However, the Houston Chronicle notes that (original) “No U.S. companies or individuals were named, but that does not mean they were not involved. A CIA spokesperson cited U.S. privacy laws to explain why no U.S. companies or individuals were listed.” Well, shucks. I suppose that’s fair, as long as all we bloggers remember that the corruption wasn’t limited to Europe. ...

I’ve heard already twice, listening to the post-debate spin, that Republicans were relieved by Bush’s performance during this debate. That’s telling. It’s not the Republicans Bush needed to relieve; he needed to relieve the undecided voters. I think Bush did a great job of making his base happy, but he simply can’t win unless he can get the same moderate voters who liked compassionate conservatism four yeas ago.

For Matthew (original): Kerry 52%, Bush 48%, Nader 0%. Electoral College: 300 Kerry, 237 Bush.

If you’re curious about Going Upriver, the documentary about Kerry’s time in Vietnam and his protests afterwards, you can now download it for free. Figure at the least you’ll get more footage of his testimony to Congress than either party will show you in soundbites.

Judicial Watch is now identifying itself as a “ conservative public interest group (original).” This is a change from their previous branding as a “ nonpartisan public interest group.” This change comes as they call on Republican Tom DeLay to step down. I don’t know if they’ve decided to generally admit that they’re conservative and partisan (which is not a dirty word), or if they just think they’ll have more weight in this instance because they’re calling on someone who’s theoretically a fellow traveller to step down. Either way, good for them.

Josh Marshall reports that House Republicans are trying to bring Charlie Rangel’s draft bill to a vote. Well, uh, good for them. Using the bill to fuel the draft rumor is dirty politics. (Pointing out that Bush’s policies may well require a draft is legitimate; it’s the fear tactics I abhor.)

Jim Lehrer: “And if any of you audience people yak during the debate, I am going to come down there and whip your ass.” Or something like that. {{ double-space-with-newline }}