2004 Presidential election

[skanks]

Ok Mr. Atlanta,

Who the fuck is this "Zell Miller" asshole and why has he made it his mission to repeat RNC talking points?

[Jonathan]

Zell was governor of Georgia before getting appointed to the Senate. He is one of these extremely centrist Democrats we have down South, much like Bill Clinton. Zell is generally credited with pushing the HOPE Scholarship program using lottery money. A similar idea, based on Georgia's HOPE Scholarship, took the national stage during Clinton's presidency, if you'll recall. Zell used his wildly popular terms as governor as a launching pad to the Senate when Paul Coverdell died. Zell Miller, and conservative Democrats like him, is basically the reason why Democrats held such a stranglehold over much of the South for much of the 20th century.

Mo' info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zell_Miller

[Jonathan]

http://www.gallup.com/content/?ci=11749

Some hard numbers on Bush's approval ratings and chances for reelection. Republicans overwhelmingly approve of Bush, which is surprising. I would have thought the "cut government" crowd would be against his spending increases, but evidently not.

The real story, though, is that this election is currently too close to call. The past 6 incumbents seeking reelection were pretty easy to guess the outcome.

[Peijen]

well, I think a lot of people are in denial, much like with Dem and Clinton's sex issue (although that was nothing compare to Bush's action).

But at least they cut off funding for Chalabi I will give them credit for that, and if they actually put him in jail I might even consider not talk the woman into voting against him (I am at the point where she will not vote for him, but not quite where she will vote for kerry).

[skanks]

I love how they put the phrase "clear strategy" in quotes.

http://salon.com/news/wire/2004/05/24/b ... index.html

[Jonathan]

Here's random slogans for the Bush campaign!

President Bush: Don’t Change Horsemen Mid-Apocalypse
President Bush: It’s Not My Fault
President Bush: I’ll keep fighting terrorism…forever!
President Bush: Why Can’t He Stop Lying?

[Peijen]

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/issues/index.html

I only agree with Bush on one issue, privatize some social security. That's pretty sad, out of 40 topics I only agree with 1.

the rest is split about 45/55 between Kerry/Nader. Maybe we can have Kerry/Nader ticket.

[Jonathan]

I don't think a Kerry/Nader ticket would be a good idea, and not just for political reasons. Nader is an activist, not a politician, and he would suck as a VP. If Kerry really wanted to get Nader involved, he could appoint Nader to be in charge of health care reform or something once Kerry was president.

On another note:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/05/27/politics2123EDT0779.DTL

I still don't want McCain to be charge, though I will cede he is a better candidate than a lot of other people.

[Alan]

Nader as VP would never work. He isn't running to be elected, he's running to debate the issues. While I agree with him on a lot of issues apparently, I still hope he drops out before the election or else tells his supporters to vote for Kerry or something.

I like McCain as a person a lot, but don't really agree with him on a lot of key issues. I think having McCain on the ticket might alienate the core Democratic support and not necessarily win over voters from the Republican camp either. However I think McCain has earned himself a lot of respect recently.

I'd like to see Kerry/Dean, though whether Dean would be willing to be #2 is kind of unclear. Plus he could end up upstaging Kerry. Edwards just seems very...unextraordinary. Kerry's not an extraordinary candidate himself, unlike say, Clinton. Yet Kerry's still 100x better than Mr. Cowboy Evangelist Bush.

[skanks]

Ronald Regan died. Estimated time until his death is kitchified and exploited for political purposes: 0 seconds.

[Jonathan]

http://salon.com/books/int/2004/06/28/tomfranks/index.html

I may have to read this book, because I have long wondered why the nation suddenly veered off into cultural conservatism.

[Jonathan]

http://pollingreport.com/iraq.htm

The tide of public opinion is moving against the "war president." Many of the poll questions are above 50% against President George Bush for only the first or second time.

Confusingly, an enormous number of people still think Iraq and Al Queda are linked.

[Jonathan]

The next few weeks will be the Kerry campaign's last opportunity to
accept and spend individual donations. After he accepts the nomination
at the Democratic Convention on July 29th, he is legally obligated to
begin the Presidential Public Funding period, and will have
approximately $75 million to spend to run his campaign between August
and November. After July 29th, his campaign will no longer be allowed to
accept or spend individual contributions from the public.

Because the Republican Convention begins nearly a full month after the
Democratic Convention, George Bush and the Republicans will have an
extra month to raise and spend money attacking Kerry. While Kerry will
be at a distinct disadvantage in August, contributing today -- and
inviting others to join us -- will help minimize the effect.

That's why the Kerry campaign needs your help today. If you can, please
consider giving $25, $50, $100 or more today at:

https://contribute.johnkerry.com/contri ... ?team=2566

Buy your election results now or never. I'm going to go buy me some democracy.

[Dave]

I am gonna register to vote down here when I need to get a new driver's license! maybe they will even count my vote

[Jonathan]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18019-2004Jun30.html

An online interview about interest rates, not the election. But there are some choice lines about the election in there:

High productivity growth ought to benefit wages (and did in the 1990s), but so far this recovery has benefited profits more than wages.

Washington, D.C.: Will the high deficits, tax cuts and war spending eventually lead to an inflationary cycle as we had in the late 70s?

Alice Rivlin: That's a big risk in my opinion -- one that the Administration and the Congress are not taking seriously enough.

[Jonathan]

Kerry-Edwards 2004.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/ ... click=true

Seems like a good idea to me.

[Peijen]

I wonder if Bush will pick McCain. With the recent events between Bush and McCain I am kind of suspecting this will happen.

[Jonathan]

Local TV news had a segment this morning talking about Bush's new ad campaign. Apparently they've got more footage of McCain in it than Cheney.

[Jonathan]

July 29 is the deadline for making a campaign donation to John Kerry. After he accepts the nomination, the donations are legally required to stop. I went ahead and made my donation today just to be safe.

[Jonathan]

You can donate to a PAC or the Democratic party still, if you missed the boat before.

Also, polls show Kerry/Edwards with a respectable lead.

http://www.pollingreport.com/wh04gen.htm

What's more, breaking the polls down by state yields an electoral college victory for Kerry/Edwards, though many states are too close to call.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

The real test will be the Republican national convention. If Kerry can hang onto the lead after that, I predict fairly smooth cruising.