Tom Daschle’s in a horserace with Republican John Thune in South Dakota.

I know, I know. Don’t believe the polls, at least not this far out. But there are a few caveats that I’ve mentioned before, and one of them is taking a general look at the polls (not citing specific percentages as if they’re rock solid). Generally speaking Thune has been running close with Daschle… amazing when you think Daschle’s poured nine million dollars into this race already.

I know both parties have enough money to go around, but with Martinez winning in Florida, and thus presumably boosting the Cuban-American vote for Bush, and Daschle having a tough time in South Dakota… you can’t help but wonder how this is going to effect the Carson/Coburn race in Oklahoma. Will the outside money still be there for Brad Carson?

My no-brainer prediction of the evening: the Senate race in Florida’s going to get real ugly real quick.

Mel Martinez is going to be labeled a bigoted homophobe and Betty Castor’s going to be labeled as being soft on terror.

If McCollum decides to support and endorse Martinez, that particular scandal loses a lot of energy. I’m not sure what could make Castor’s problem disappear, but I bet we hear the phrase “they’re attacking my patriotism” sometime between now and November.

So what do we know about Kerry’s new advisor on National Security, Dr. Susan Rice?

Here’s a piece she wrote about possible military intervention in Sudan, which is interesting. Even more interesting is that last U.S. ambassador to Sudan accuses Rice of leading the disengagement in Sudan back in the 1990’s.

Apparently Dr. Rice was named to her new post back in July, although why she (and others) are mentioned in this press release today is unknown. Perhaps they wanted to take some of the heat off of Joe Lockhart being added to Team Kerry.

Team Kerry’s doing some September callups.

With just over two months to go before Election Day, the Kerry-Edwards campaign announced Tuesday that it has brought on board key new staff to help lead the campaign to victory on November 2nd. The new additions strengthen an already impressive campaign team and bolster the campaign’s efforts to put John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House.
“It says a lot about the strength of the Democratic Party that we are able to bring in such experienced individuals to help us cross the finish line first in November,” said Kerry-Edwards campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill. “We welcome each of our new additions and look forward to putting their talents and experience to work in this campaign to build a stronger America.”

Translated:

It says a lot about the weakness of the Kerry/Edwards campaign that we need to bring in new talent to help us cross the finish line first in November.

More here, and here.

I think this is amazing.

No, it’s not a “babyblog” fundraising drive. It’s the closing argument in a medical malpractice case.

Please, please, nurses,” Fieger said in his closing arguments, “I’m a little baby, I want to play baseball, I want to hug my mother, I want to tell her that I love her. Help me. Please help me to be born.”

Wow. That’s even worse that what John Edwards said.

I’m all for boisterous exercise of our 1st Amendment rights.

I’m also all for throwing the book at people who break the law, includingthe dirtbag that did this.

The harassment of delegates came as organized protests continued to draw thousands of people. The Still We Rise march by advocates for social issues was peaceful, and a Poor People’s March, a column several blocks long, proceeded from the United Nations to the Madison Square Garden yesterday after the police decided to let it go ahead without a permit.

When marchers approached the Garden, a police detective was knocked off his scooter. He was then repeatedly kicked and punched in the head by at least one male demonstrator, the police said.

Bravo. I’m sure the “poor people” are so proud to have you representing them.

hat tip to Dean Esmay.

John Kerry’s addressing the American Legion in Nashville tomorrow (George Bush addresses the vets today). In an interesting twist, Kerry’s campaign says the candidate is a member of that group.

When did he flip-flop on this one?

“We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans’ Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the ‘greater glory of the United States.’ We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars…We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans and Vietnamese. We will not uphold traditions which decorously memorialize that which was base and grim.”

Actually I think that’s an incomplete quote. The next line is “we will not do these things… unless it’s an election year.”

And I wonder how many members of the American Legion have seen this?

Two hours in the DMV to get my license. Guess I’m no longer an Oklahoma resident.

I haven’t forgotten about you. It’s just turning out much longer than I thought. Couple that with my short attention span and I’m having to work on it in spurts.

Was hoping to get an early start to blogging tonight, but it was not to be. After dinner, Elaine was craving truffles (chocolate, not mushroom). Being the good husband that I am, I dashed off to the (not so near) Barnes and Noble. 40 minutes later, I’m back and she’s eating.

Hey, it’s the least I can do considering she’s having my baby.

Yep. She’s having my baby. Almost five years after I started “The Daddy Diaries” for KTOK… I’m getting ready to “babyblog”!

Drudge is all atwitter at the booing of John Kerry’s daughters during last night’s VMA’s on MTV. You can see the video for yourself right here. (hat tip to Michelle Malkin).

Drudge says “From the moment Alexandra and Vanessa started speaking, the boos outweighed anything close to cheers, and the reaction turned worse when the daughters asked the VIACOM youth to vote for their father. So shocked by the reaction, the taller of the two daughters tried to ’shhhhhh’ her peers to no avail.”

From what I saw, that didn’t appear to be the case. I counted two instances where the boos were louder than the cheers, but overall I think the reaction would best be described as “mixed”.

To me the funniest thing was the comment by the Alexandra Kerry (at least I think it was Alexandra) at the very end of the clip. “We appreciate in our democracy people are free to feel differently about who they vote for.” You just need to see the body language and tone of voice while she’s saying it. It’s priceless.

I expect many conservatives will be gloating about the latest Rasmussen poll showing Bush leading Kerry 48-45, and moving ahead in the Electoral College projections for the first time.

Hold your horses. As I’ve said many times before, one poll means nothing. I’m more inclined to look at all the polls to see if any trends can be spotted. Clearly, the only trend you can find is that the Swift Boat ad seems to have effected Kerry’s numbers negatively. How much effect the ads have had is up for debate.

This will still be a close election. By close, I mean I believe the two candidates will end up with less than a million popular votes separating them.

I’m not going to go out on a limb and predict a victory for either candidate. But with that in mind, let me offer a few thoughts on what the next two months hold.

- Bush will most likely end up with the same post-convention bounce as Kerry: little to none. There will be no double digit bounce here… some polls may show as much as a three or four point bounce, a few may show Kerry gaining back a point or two.

- September will be static, with one or two point variations in individual polls.

- The next chance for either candidate to make a run in the polls comes in early October with the presidential debates. I believe the debates will have the biggest impact on the election.

Of course, there’s always the “X factor”. Will the Swift Boat Vets disappear from the radar? Has their impact already been felt? Will there be a backlash against the Swifties that allows Kerry to make up lost ground? Will Osama bin Laden be captured in late October? Will there be another terrorist strike on American soil? Any combination of those events could have a huge impact on the election, but for now I believe that heading into the debates, Bush will have the slight (and I do stress slight) lead when all polls are considered.

That’s my analysis… now pick it apart.

John McCain says Kerry’s anti-war activities are suitable subjects for debate.

Not that we needed his permission or anything…

Actually, now that I think about it, before long we MIGHT need his permission!

And despite slathering myself with bug spray, I received no less than five mosquito bites in the ten minutes I was outside.

Bring on the fall!

A couple of weeks ago we bought a wireless router for the house. That was followed by a couple of weeks where I didn’t bring my laptop home from work.

This weekend I brought it home, and as you can tell, blogging’s increased a great deal. I blogged while watching USC/VT last night, blogged while hanging out with Andrew this morning, and now I’m on the front porch watching him play “soccer” (or the four year old variation thereof).

Ain’t technology grand.

-One other note: a heartfelt and sincere round of applause to the more than 100,000 protestors who took to the streets of New York City today. You exercised your 1st Amendment rights, and it seems only an insignificant handful of people chose to act in an unlawful manner. Bravo, but be sure to encourage other protestors to be just as peaceful as yourself this week. After all, the world is watching.*

*This doesn’t mean I agree with what the protestors said. Nor does it mean that I think they helped their cause by protesting. These slogans probably won’t do much to inspire the swing voters. Anyway, let’s hope that all the protestors are as peaceful (and misguided) as these were.

Had a very interesting exchange with Steve over at his blog.

Steve’s decided to help “out” a Virginia Congressman who voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Of course more than a week’s gone by and there’s been no release of any documents to confirm the allegations. Steve assumes that because the Congressman hasn’t answered any of the questions being raised, he’s guilty.

It’s very interesting to note that Kerry has done much the same thing, yet Steve uses Kerry’s actions as a sign of innocence.

Anyway, I asked Steve a question:

Do you see no need or reason to behave more admirably than your adversary?

After accusing me of being the type of person who would “out” Democratic politicians (something I’ve never done, and will never do, btw), he finally addressed my question.

The political environment has been reduced to one of sniping vitriole and personal destruction. I make no apologies for using the tactic of those I oppose if it benefits my political position. To sit back and take it while still playing nice would be moronic and weak.

To which I say let you speak no more of honor, sir. To excuse your own monstrousness dishonor by casting original blame on the actions of others is no different than a certain four-year-old I know, who when confronted about hitting his brother, says “he started it.”

I think I’ve already linked to this story aboutJohn Kerry’s records, but I didn’t pick up on this tidbit earlier.

B.G. Burkett, a Vietnam veteran himself, received the highest award the Army gives to a civilian, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, for his book Stolen Valor. Burkett pored through thousands of military service records, uncovering phony claims of awards and fake claims of military service. “I’ve run across several claims for Silver Stars with combat V’s, but they were all in fake records,” he said.

Burkett recently filed a complaint that led last month to the sentencing of Navy Capt. Roger D. Edwards to 115 days in the brig for falsification of his records.

How dare Burkett question the veracity of Captain Edwards’s medals. Doesn’t he know that doing so only puts the medals of every other veteran in question?

Right, Steve?

Steve?

Heh. Anyway, the latest is that former Navy Secretary John Lehman (you might recognize his name from the 9/11 Commission) says he never signed a citation for John Kerry.

Also, Douglas Brinkley says he’s not stopping John Kerry from releasing his Vietnam journal.

And the Washington Post is going back and taking a closer look at John Kerry’s inconsistencies when it comes to his anti-war activities.

Of course the left is saying that this is all evidence of a conservative bias in the establishment media… but that’s a load of hooey. It took more than two months for the establishment media to start covering what the Swift Boat guys had to say. The early coverage of this story was incredibly slanted towards Kerry’s side of the story. What’s happened is that Kerry himself hasn’t talked to the press about this, he’s making himself unavailable, and hell hath no fury like a reporter scorned. Add in the fact that “Unfit for Command” is the number one book in the country right now, and you’ve got the one thing even a reporter rooting for Kerry can’t ignore: scandal.

The good news for Kerry is that the Republican National Convention should take some of the attention off the Swift Boat guys, at least among the establishment media.

Retired Rear Admiral William Schachte (another Republican shill!) is speaking out against John Kerry’s version of the events leading to his first Purple Heart. Find his testimony here.

A few more Republican shills have come forward to bash John Kerry.

Former POW Jim Warner today told HUMAN EVENTS that he first learned about Lt. John Kerry in a North Vietnamese prison camp. When his captors brought him out of solitary confinement in the infamous Skid Row punishment camp for an interrogation, they made him read the typewritten transcript of a statement by Kerry, speaking in the United States. His interrogator kept pointing at Kerry’s words, saying, ‘See? This officer from your Navy says you deserve to be punished.’”

“All I could think of was that this must be a really contemptible human being,” said Warner, although We can’t expect the rest of the country to share our disgust at Kerry for turning on us. A lot of people are too young to remember that.”

Tom Collins, another Vietnam POW whose plane was shot down in 1965, was made to listen to Kerry’s testimony on tape during his captivity. He explained that the North Vietnamese were constantly trying to elicit confessions of war crimes from Americans, promising them better treatment.

“What they wanted to do was get us to make statements that they could use for propaganda, no matter what it took to get it” he said. “They would torture us, some were even killed for it…For over seven years, their goal was to get propaganda out of me. And then I see somebody like John Kerry and the Vietnam Veterans [Against the War] giving them the same propaganda they want me to give them, free of charge, on American television.”

“He knew he was putting us at risk,” Warner went on. “And he was demanding unilateral withdrawal, which means our value as bargaining chips would be gone. And what do you think would have happened to us then?”

Bah. These guys are probably Bush supporters. They’re probably Republican, and probably have been for years. Heck, they might have even donated money to the Bush campaign.

And I don’t blame them a bit. Think about it: you get released from a North Vietnamese prison camp, come home, and find that the guy who gave “them the same propaganda they want me to give them, free of charge, on American television” is a rising star in the Democratic Party.

What party do you sign up with?

I’m just surprised none of them moved to Massachusetts to run against Kerry in every election since then.

Someone asked me today if anybody had asked Vietnamese-Americans what they think of John Kerry. It strikes me as a wonderfully appropriate question to ask, and I’m glad that Pete Peterson is on it.

For more information on the Vietnam Human Rights Act that Kerry shut out of a vote, despite a 410-1 vote in the House of Representatives, just click the link above.

Maybe one of those twenty questions could be: what piece of legislation are you most proud of stopping?

**Update**

More on the Vietnam Human Rights Act here and here. After reading those stories, it’s no wonder the Vietnamese community hasn’t been asked what they think about Kerry.

But on the bright side for the Kerry campaign: this would make a great commercial; John Kerry and John McCain working side by side to ensure that a communist country still gets over a billion dollars in nonhumanitarian aid!

mmmm… maybe not such a good idea after all.

***Update #3***

Found a poll. The good news for Kerry? He polls in the double digits. The bad news? If this poll’s anywhere close to correct (and that’d be one messed up poll to be off by 90%), a vast majority of Vietnamese-Americans don’t support John Kerry.

Are they allowed to criticize him, or not? After all… none of them served on the same boat as Kerry.

Two pieces from National Review Online (and why haven’t I added them to the permalinks yet?)

First, a media crib sheet from Peter Kirsanow. Everything from “The Bush campaign maintains that you spent 20 years in the Senate with no signature legislative achievements. What do you consider to be the five most important pieces of legislation that you’ve authored?” to “You’ve stated that you believe that life begins at conception yet you voted against the ban on partial-birth abortions. At precisely what point is a life worth protecting?” to “You acknowledge meeting with representatives of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong in Paris in 1970. Afterward you urged Congress to accept the North Vietnamese proposals. Please explain how this wasn’t a violation of the Logan Act and, if you were still in the Naval Reserves at that time, how it wasn’t a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting unauthorized communications with the enemy.”

I also particularly like this question: Do you dispute the National Journal’s assessment that you’re the nation’s most liberal senator? If you do, which senators do you consider to be more liberal and why?

Heh.

The second piece is a very interesting look at one of Kerry’s medals, specifically his Silver Star. Jim Geraghty points out a few things the vast majority of the media seem to have missed.

1- Kerry’s record for his silver star is incorrect, according to Navy officials. There is no “V” for valor given with a Silver Star. (Is it Kerry’s fault that his record is incorrect? Depends on if you’re a victim or a believer in personal responsibility. If you’re a victim, then it’s the Navy’s fault. If you believe in personal responsibility, then you didn’t correct the record when you reviewed your DD214.)

2- Kerry had some harsh words for an admiral who wore a Bronze Star with combat “V” when it wasn’t deserved.

“Is it wrong? Yes, it is very wrong. Sufficient to question his leadership position? The answer is yes, which he clearly understood,” said Sen. John Kerry, a Navy combat veteran who served in Vietnam.

and…

“The military is a rigorous culture that places a high premium on battlefield accomplishment,” said Sen. John F. Kerry, who received numerous decorations, including a Bronze Star with a “V” pin, as a Navy lieutenant in Vietnam.

“In a sense, there’s nothing that says more about your career than when you fought, where you fought and how you fought,” Kerry said.

And here’s my question: Was it okay for people to question the validity of Admiral Boorda’s medals? Kerry apparently thought so. So… what’s changed? Or is this just another “nuance” I don’t understand?

I confess: I listen to more liberal than conservative talk radio. I do… can’t help it. I know what the conservative guys are going to be talking about, but I’m always curious as to what Air America or Sirius’s Talk Left will be discussing.

Tonight, as I’m waiting to pick up my daughter from her job, I quickly scanned the dial. On Talk Left, the host was saying he’d like to start a whisper campaign about Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter being a lesbian couple.

Classy!

On Air America, Janeane Garafolo was asked if there is violence in NYC during the Republican convention, is it likely it will be the work of Republican infiltrators egging on protestors. “Yes!”, she cried.

Classy!

I’m sure there are conservative talk show hosts who are as bad or worse. Heck, you might even consider me to be one of them. But I gotta tell you, I felt pretty darn good about myself after listening to that drivel.

Now, to be fair and balanced, I actually enjoy listening to Alan Colmes during his talk show. Don’t agree with him, to be sure, but I find myself actually listening with interest, not disgust.

Senator John Kerry has so far refused to sign a Standard Form 180, which would make all of his military records available to the public. His campaign has released certain military records on his website, but according to Thomas Lipscomb of the Chicago Sun-Times… those also have some oddities.

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