You will have 5 minutes for this section. When time is up, put your pencil down and stop working.

The question for this section is to be answered on the basis of this passage:

Dear Mr. Capus,

Thank you for your call yesterday. I wanted to send you this note to convey the depth of my feeling about David Shuster’s comments.

I know that I am a public figure and that my daughter is playing a public role in my campaign. I am accustomed to criticism, certainly from MSNBC. I know that it goes with the territory.

However, I became Chelsea’s mother long before I ran for any office and I will always be a mom first and a public official second.

A new SUSA poll out today has Mitt Romney surging in California.

Q: If the Republican Primary for President of the United States were today, would you vote for ...(names rotated) Mike Huckabee? John McCain? Mitt Romney? Ron Paul? Or some other Republican?
A: Huckabee 9% McCain 39% Romney 36% Paul 7% Other 6% Undecided 2%

Update [2008-2-5 2:27:38 by andgarden]: not that anyone will see this, but SUSA took another poll today, and found an even closer race:

Q: If the Republican Primary for President of the United States were today, would you vote for ...(names rotated) Mike Huckabee? John McCain? Mitt Romney? Ron Paul? Or some other Republican?
A: Huckabee 11% McCain 39% Romney 38% Paul 5% Other 5% Undecided 2%

Since We're all not in Florida, I thought I'd give a everyone a sample of how the Republicans are running there.

First, John McCain attacks Mitt Romney's MA Healthcare plan. He seems to be out of cash, since he's got a bunch of web  ads, and this is the only one that's fit for broadcast:

Mitt puts himself on Display in Florida (Miami?):

more

There's no question that things have gotten nasty on  our side of the fence in the last few weeks, but if we take the New York Times seriously, it's even worse on the Republican side. Apparently, everyone hates Mitt Romney, and some are being pretty vocal about it.

A head-to-head diary, so there isn't much to say, but I think what we see in this new SUSA poll, especially if McCain is not the Republican nominee, bodes very well for Democrats in November:

[What if it was] Republican Rudy Giuliani and  Democrat Hillary Clinton?
42% Giuliani
48% Clinton
10% Undecided

What if it was Republican Mitt Romney against Hillary Clinton?

44% Romney
47% Clinton
9% Undecided

What if it was Republican Mike Huckabee against Hillary Clinton?

46% Huckabee
47% Clinton
7% Undecided

What if it was Republican John McCain against Hillary Clinton?

53% McCain
40% Clinton
7% Undecided

What if it was Rudy Giuliani against Democrat Barack Obama?

45% Giuliani
43% Obama
12% Undecided

What if it was Mitt Romney against Barack Obama?

43% Romney
45% Obama
12% Undecided

What if it was Mike Huckabee against Barack Obama?

46% Huckabee
44% Obama
10% Undecided

What if it was John McCain against Barack Obama?

53% McCain
39% Obama
8% Undecided

I'm sure there will be an article in the next few minutes, but Reid just announced on the floor that the Senate will not complete its consideration of FISA until after the New Year.

Dodd appears to have been successful.

It's no secret that primary season has us on edge. In the past day, at least two members have TTFNed. In the last few months, it's been even worse.

Litigatormom wrote her "¡Adios, Mundo Cruel!" in October, lamenting,

I am too busy worrying about what will happen to this country in the next fifteen months before George W. Bush finally leaves office.  I am too busy worrying about what will happen to this country, if his successor should not be a Democrat.  ANY DEMOCRAT. EVEN MIKE FUCKING GRAVEL.

There is broad agreement here that we will all get behind the nominee. There's good reason for that, and I agree with the sentiment and the philosophy that stands behind the commitment. So the reality is that we can only fight for the values we think are important during the primary season. And that's where our cracks become exposed.

More.

If you have somehow gotten the impression that I'd be giving up on defunding, you've obviously been reading the wrong newspaper. Today I suggest you take a look at the  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's editorial page:

What the Congress must do now, if Mr. Bush continues to refuse the $50 billion with conditions, is simply to pass no bill, leaving the Pentagon to finance its activities with the $482 billion it has already been authorized. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and the contractors behind the scenes will undoubtedly squawk, and the Republicans will posture politically, but the Democrats in the Congress, whom the electorate has counted on since November 2006 to bring the war to an end, will just have to take the heat. [Emphasis mine]

More.

After a back-and-forth with the lying David Brooks and a smattering of lesser "conservatives" over the question of whether or not Ronald Reagan employed racist dog whistles in his 1980 Presidential campaign, Paul Krugman today aims his rifle at the larger question of race and politics. The conclusion is not surprising:

The point is that we have become a more diverse and less racist country over time. The “macaca” incident, in which Senator George Allen’s use of a racial insult led to his election defeat, epitomized the way in which America has changed for the better.

And because conservative ascendancy has depended so crucially on the racial backlash — a close look at voting data shows that religion and “values” issues have been far less important — I believe that the declining power of that backlash changes everything.

Krugman doesn't have much space, but I think he gets to the important issues.

more

As Kagro X often explains, there is a split between those who believe that motions to recommit are purely procedural and those who believe that they carry all of the meaning of a proper amendment. In this Congress, they have mostly been given the latter meaning.

In that context, the vote on the motion to recommit on tonight's Iraq supplemental funding appropriation seems especially important to me. 223 Democrats voted no on that motion, which would have given the President $50B, no questions asked. They were joined by 8 Republicans.

To me it seems obvious that the Presidednt could be in dangerous territory: the House could actually have the votes to defeat ANY clean funding bill. We might, against all odds and predictions, actually be able to end the war during this Congress.

For me, the concept of a strike has always been associated with industrial factor workers and other traditional union types. The very word "labor" implies physical action to me. Of course, that's not true: many union members are actually white collar workers. The WGA strike this week is an excellent example of that.

Among the striking members this week are writers for the Daily Show. One writer, Rachel Axler, writes about her day on the picket line in the New York Times Style Section. Ms. Axler demonstrates why she is obviously so qualified to write for the show that she does.

Read the article and/or follow me after the flip for an introduction.

more

This will be a short diary: Harry Reid just read out a unanimous consent agreement for the consideration of the nomination. It was agreed to without objection.  There is a 5 hour time limit for debate and then there will be a vote. There was no discussion of a 60 vote requirement.

Turn on C-SPAN 2 to to watch the "debate."

Update [2007-11-8 18:58:48 by andgarden]: Durbin has the audacity to speak against Mukasey now, as if a speech matters.

Update [2007-11-8 19:8:32 by andgarden]: to clarify, this means that Mukasey will get an "upperdown" vote.

Update [2007-11-8 19:18:42 by andgarden]: Arlen Specter seems to think that these 5 hours of debate will be shared with the Defense Appropriations bill. ugh.

Update [2007-11-8 20:2:43 by andgarden]: Leahy: "I'm not going to  support the conformation contortions of this administration" HAH

On the occasion of the publication of a new book (that I have no intention to read, personally), John Bolton allows himself to be interviewed by Deborah Solomon for the New York Times Magazine. Pain ensues.

Among the gems:

[Q]You say you were just joking when you famously remarked: “If the U.N. Secretariat building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”

[A]It was an offhand comment, and it was a metaphor about the excesses of government. And I still think it’s true. It had nothing to do with 9/11.

[Q]No one thought it was about 9/11. They thought you were bashing the U.N.

[A]Well, you could take several stories off the buildings of most U.S. government agencies and we’d all probably be better for it too.

more

One argument that I've heard repeated ad nauseam for the past few days is that Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin is nothing more than one of Senator Obama's supporters.

Inland says it here:

Last I knew, a president needed half the country. (1+ / 0-)
Anyone that thinks that they are going to love all the supporters of the democratic candidate.....well, it's not that small a country.

[. . .]

by Inland on Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 07:38:25 PM EDT
[ Parent | Reply to This |Recommend  Troll ]

more

No, not a question for us, but Conservatives for themselves, at least, according to Paul Krugman.

Krugman's provocative conclusion:

Mr. Bush is movement conservatism’s true, loyal heir.

This has been my opinion for some time, and today's column gives every indication that Krugman's next book will be a must read.

more

Following up on the news that Larry Craig will not be allowed to withdraw his guity plea, the good Senator from Idaho issues a statement:

Craig Reaction to Court Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senator Larry Craig issued the following statement in reaction to today's ruling by the State of Minnesota District Court Fourth Judicial District allowing the guilty plea to stand:

"I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today. I am innocent of the charges against me. I continue to work with my legal team to explore my additional legal options.

"I will continue to serve Idaho in the United States Senate, and there are several reasons for that. As I continued to work for Idaho over the past three weeks here in the Senate, I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively. [more]

From Real Time with Bill Maher 9/28 (full transcript here)

Update [2007-9-30 22:44:10 by andgarden]: here is the video. Scroll to 5:37 for the exchange

Update [2007-9-30 22:44:10 by andgarden]: Sorry, the embed is a little screwy. You'll just have to search a little bit for the beginning.

Update [2007-9-30 23:10:33 by andgarden]: Video to the top. A belated h/t to taylormattd for the link.

I had hoped that I would not have to write this diary, but it has been argued here both in a diary by a respected member and in the comments section of two diaries (here's the other) that Holocaust denial by the Iranian President just doesn't make a difference or that we should not acknowledge Ahmadinejad's use of it because doing so might help justify an attack on Iran. to that I can only say: shame on anyone who would make such an argument. You dishonor the memory of the murdered.