PrairiePundit

Excellent analysis of polls Horserace Blog

Kerry puts finger in the wind on bin Laden tape AP: Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Sen. John Kerry's first response to Osama bin Laden's new videotape was to take a poll to find out what he should say about it. A spokesman for Kerry's campaign did not deny polling on the bin Laden videotape, but suggested President Bush has done so. Bush's campaign strategist denied asking any poll questions about the al-Qaida terrorist. "The thing that I find amazing about it is that John Kerry's first response was to go conduct a poll," Cheney told supporters in Fort Dodge, Iowa. "He went into the field ... to find out what he should say about this tape of Osama bin Laden." "It's as though he doesn't know what he believes until he has to go and check the polls, his finger in the air, to see which way the wind is blowing and then he'll make a decision," said the vice president, who

In full tape bin Laden admits his organization has been hurt by Bushes war on terror NY Post: Osama bin Laden doesn't seem nearly so cocky in the unedited version of a videotape aired on al-Jazeera, complaining that the manhunt against him has hampered al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden's newest tape may have thrust him to the forefront of the presidential election, but what was not seen was the cave-dwelling terror lord talking about the setbacks al Qaeda has faced in recent months. Officials said that in the 18-minute long tape — of which only six minutes were aired on the al-Jazeera Arab television network in the Middle East on Friday — bin Laden bemoans the recent democratic elections in Afghanistan and the lack of violence involved with it. On the tape, bin Laden also says his terror organization has been hurt by the U.S. military's unrelenting manhunt for him and his cohorts on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

The aborted ambush Jack Kelly: The ambush was supposed to have been sprung by CBS, on "60 Minutes" the Sunday before the election. There wouldn't have been time before Election Day for the truth to catch up. But The New York Times ran with the story it concocted with CBS about explosives missing from the Al-Qaqaa munitions storage facility on Oct. 25, eight days before the election. The truth has overtaken it, and this "October Surprise" is blowing back on its intended beneficiary, John Kerry. Nearly 380 tons of the high explosives RDX and HMX, once under seal from the International Atomic Energy Agency, were taken from Al-Qaqaa, the Times said. "White House and Pentagon officials acknowledge that the explosives vanished sometime after the American-led invasion last year," the Times said in its initial story. That wasn't the truth, as the Times admitted the next day: "White House officials reasserted yesterday that 3

The intellecctual emptiness of the Dems and their candidate Mark Steyn: ... ... What happened and when in Saddam's al-Qaqaa facility is somewhat murky. Had the shameless gang at "60 Minutes" had their way, the missing explosives story would have aired 36 hours before the polls opened, with no time for anybody to put the alternative to the Bush incompetence scenario -- i.e., that the stuff was moved to Syria before the war began. But never mind that. And never mind that the source for this story is a discredited U.N. official, Mohammed el-Baradei, on whose watch the IAEA not only missed entirely Libya's WMD program but has proved remarkably accommodating of Iran's. Forget all that. The main problem with this story is that it makes no sense in terms of the Democrats' own narrative. For a year and a half, they've told us there were no WMD, Saddam wasn't a threat, and "BUSH LIED!!!!!!!!!" about it all. I happen to disagree w

Brownstein shows liberal blindness when it comes to Bush Ron Brownstein: More Americans than ever may participate in Tuesday's presidential election — as volunteers and, on Tuesday, voters. But in its tone, its agenda and its fervor, the marathon race for the White House bears the unmistakable imprint of one man: President Bush. As much through his unflinching style as his aggressive policies, Bush has powered a campaign that has engaged, motivated and divided Americans — and much of the world — like none in recent times. The Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry, has his admirers and his critics. But the unprecedented sums of money raised by both parties, the long lines of early voters already crowding polling places in many states and the anticipation of a sharply higher turnout Tuesday are all primarily reflections of the passions Bush has stirred in four turbulent years, especially by invading Iraq, analysts agree. "This is about Bush

Question for Jewish Kerry voters--Are you nuts? Adam Brodsky: O n Tuesday, my tribe — the Jews — may blunder big- time, voting maybe 3-1 or more for John Kerry and perhaps giving him the edge. Which raises a simple question: ARE YOU ALL NUTS? Jews, the old stereotype suggests, earn like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans — that is, for Democrats. Al Gore beat George Bush 4-1 among Jews in 2000. But this election, Jews have more to lose than ever. Sorry, but I need to be shrill: As Ed Koch (a Jewish Democrat backing Bush) said about Jesse Jackson, Jews would be crazy to pull the lever for John Kerry. Let's face it: A vote for Kerry is a vote for European anti-Semitism. And terrorists. In Iraq . . . and Israel. It's a vote for Hamas and Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. Al Qaeda. And Arafat, if he's alive. ... To them, Zionists are blaspheming dogs who had the nerv

Bin Laden's message Amir Taheri: ... ... Bin Laden appears to have abandoned his messianic pretensions. He no longer wants to save humanity from kufr (unbelief) and plant the banner of the Only True Faith on top of every capital in all continents. He is, in fact, reading an op-ed piece written in the style of Michael Moore. ... Finally, and here is the most surprising theme of the message, bin Laden is offering the Americans a deal. To cast himself as an honest deal-maker, he takes up some of Michael Moore's themes, especially about President Bush not reacting to the 9/11 attacks fast enough. The deal is simple, and bin Laden hammers it in more specifically: "Do not play with our security, and spontaneously you will secure yourself." What does this mean? Translated into practical terms, it means that bin Laden would call off his hounds, if he has any left, provided the United States and its allies stop hunting him down. Compare this with bin

The Kerry stumbles Captain's Quarters: ... ...that these stumbles are not the harmless spoonerisms that simply cause a chuckle. They reveal the real John Kerry, the man behind the antiwar war hero facade that Kerry carefully built for this campaign. They reveal Kerry to be a man who blames others for his mistakes (remember the Secret Service "son of a bitch" who tripped him on the ski slopes?), a narcissist who cannot resist exaggerating his exploits to impress others (meeting with the "entire UN Security Council for hours") and to score political points (Christmas in Cambodia being "seared -- seared " into his memory to argue for abandoning the Nicaraguan contras), and a conspiracy theorist bordering on the paranoid ("most lying, corrupt group of people"). Given this, it's no wonder that Kerry the political opportunist weighed in last night to push his wild notions that the military allowed OBL to escape Tora Bora in some

Bring in the lawyers Powerline: The Washington Post reports on how Tom Daschle is responding to finding himself behind in the polls: Is Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) getting panicky in his reelection bid against former representative John Thune? Republicans gleefully note that after a newspaper poll showed Thune in the lead this week, Daschle's long-standing ban on third-party ads abruptly ended, and a chartered planeload of Democratic lawyers, lobbyists and loyalists is scheduled to fly from Washington to Sioux Falls today. "There's almost a panic [among Democrats] around the nation about Daschle being able to cling to his seat," Thune campaign manager Dick Wadhams said. Bringing in the planeload of lawyers and other volunteers from Washington is simply prudent in the post-2000 election world, Daschle spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said. Translation: in the "post-2000 election world," if a powerful and well-financed Democ

Usama and Michael compete for Oscar Scrappleface parody: ... Meanwhile, in Hollywood, pundits mused about how the new Bin Laden video will affect Michael Moore's chances for the Best Picture Oscar. One unnamed industry insider summarized the issue this way: "You've got two big stars going head to head--or ballcap to turban, as it were--with films that basically make the same point. America loves Michael Moore, but the Academy loves to see positive portrayals of religion. The Oscar could go either way."

The Michael Moore fan John Podhoretz: CONGRATULATIONS, Michael Moore — America's worst enemy and one of the world's most evil men is a big fan of yours. The most startling moment on the Osama bin Laden videotape shown yesterday was his description of the morning of 9/11, which is certainly derived — albeit in garbled form — from a viewing of Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." "It never occurred to us that he, the commander in chief of the country, would leave 50,000 citizens in the two towers to face those horrors alone, because he thought listening to a child discussing her goats was more important," bin Laden said. Just think. If the reprehensible Moore wins an Oscar for his disgusting piece of propaganda, Hollywood will be seconding the favorable opinion of Osama bin Laden. ... But something does jump out at you when you consider the message bin Laden was delivering to the United States. It was remarkably defensive, with bin Laden

Following the communist script in war protest Linda Chavez: The media are too busy repackaging old Iraq news in an October offensive against President Bush's re-election to investigate truly startling evidence unearthed this week that the Communist Party may have been directing John Kerry's anti-war activities in the early 1970s. The evidence, contained in captured communist records on file at the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University, shows a well-coordinated effort by the Communist Party to recruit U.S. servicemen to become part of the American anti-war movement. The objective was to organize high-profile activities to undermine support for the Vietnam War, including holding hearings on alleged war crimes, lobbying Congress to oppose the war, exploiting the families of American POWs and urging servicemen to return their service medals. Not only did John Kerry and his group Vietnam Veterans Against the War follow this game plan, but Mr. Kerry went to Paris

The nuisance is back David Brooks: ... Here was this deranged killer spreading absurd theories about the American monarchy and threatening to murder more of us unless we do what he says. One felt all the old emotions. Who does he think he is, and who does he think we are? One of the crucial issues of this election is, Which candidate fundamentally gets the evil represented by this man? Which of these two guys understands it deep in his gut - not just in his brain or in his policy statements, but who feels it so deep in his soul that it consumes him? It's quite clear from the polls that most Americans fundamentally think Bush does get this. Last March, Americans preferred Bush over Kerry in fighting terrorism by 60 percent to 33 percent, according to the Gallup Poll. Now, after a furious campaign and months of criticism, that number is unchanged. Bush is untouched on this issue. Bush's response yesterday to the video was exactly right. He said we w

Bin Laden looks like a beaten man The video of bin Laden with his incoherent speech on freedom gives forth the body language and the facial expressions of a guy who is saying "no mas." There is still some bluster left but the message that comes through is one where he is seeking a truce. The US response should be that his future speeches will have to be delivered from hell.

Texas House races Powerline: The Hill , a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, provides poll results for the five House races in Texas that have been considered competitive. Recall that redistricting placed seven incumbent Democrats in jeopardy. One retired and one switched parties. The Hill shows Republicans ahead in four of the five races. Louis Gohmert leads Max Sandlin 48-39; Ted Poe leads Nick Lampson 41-37; Randy Neugebauer leads Charles Stenholm 53-23; and Pete Sessions leads Martin Frost 50-44. The only Democrat who leads is Chet Edwards. He's ahead of Arlene Wolhgemuth 50-40. Frost's is the scalp that Tom DeLay seems most to covet, and his race is probably the most interesting. The poll showing him six points behind included hispanic voters as only four percent of the sample. Hispanics make up 36 percent of the district, but (according to the Sessions campaign) only 14 percent of registered voters. Moreover, their turnout has been extremely low in

Bin Laden ask for a time out Belmont Club: ... It is important to notice what he has stopped saying in this speech. He has stopped talking about the restoration of the Global Caliphate. There is no more mention of the return of Andalusia. There is no more anticipation that Islam will sweep the world. He is no longer boasting that Americans run at the slightest wounds; that they are more cowardly than the Russians. He is not talking about future operations to swathe the world in fire but dwelling on past glories. He is basically saying if you leave us alone we will leave you alone . Though it is couched in his customary orbicular phraseology he is basically asking for time out. The American answer to Osama's proposal will be given on Election Day. One response is to agree that the United States of America will henceforth act like Sweden, which is on track to become majority Islamic sometime after the middle of this century. The electorate best knows which candidate

Bin Laden confesses guilt for 9-11 murders NY Times: Osama bin Laden said for the first time that he ordered the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a videotape made public today, and he accused President Bush of "misleading the American people" about the attacks. ... Reading from papers before him in a nondescript setting, Mr. bin Laden mentions both Mr. Bush and Senator Kerry, and in a reference to the election on Tuesday, says, according to an translation by Al Jazeera: "Your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or Al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands." I guess this is suppose to mean if we join his death cult all will be right. Bin Laden went on to make nonsensical statements about freedom, something he knows little about. He is almost as incoherent as John Kerry. He still is afraid to hold a news conference and merely postures infront of a video tape camera. His lack of courage to face the media tells you who is win

Someone else agrees Sullivan's reason for backing Kerry is silly David Hogberg: Among the more dangerous ideas floating around this election is that sending John Kerry to the White House will force Kerry and the Democratic Party to take seriously the war in Iraq and, by extension, the broader War on Terror. ... Indeed, it amazes me that people aren't taking the arguments of Sullivan and Hitchens with a big grain of salt. One is clearly alienated by Bush on the issue of gay marriage, and the other has long been a man of the left. Ultimately, it comes down to this: Does it make any sense to choose a candidate who you hope will be forced by events to take the War on Terror seriously over a president who has already shown that he does? Hope is not a strategy. (Emphasis added)

Army destroyed explosives at al Qaqaa Fox News: A U.S. Army officer came forward Friday and said a team from the 3rd Infantry Division took about 200 tons of explosives from the Al-Qaqaa ( search ) munitions base soon after Saddam Hussein's regime fell last year. Major Austin Pearson appeared at a Pentagon news conference to say it was his mission to go the facility and clear explosives from the base. He said he did not discover that the International Atomic Energy Agency ( search ) had reported 377 tons of explosives were missing until Tuesday night and he said he promptly contacted military officials.

Kerry cannot be honest about the central issue of the campaign Jonah Goldberg: Let's make this simple. John Kerry is the candidate for those who wish we hadn't gone to war in Iraq. But John Kerry can't admit that, even though everyone knows it is true. Kerry has been at such pains to keep this basic point as fuzzy as possible because an honestly antiwar candidate couldn't win the presidency in 2004. Sometimes he offers arcane explanations containing paragraphs like Rube Goldberg contraptions. Sometimes he speaks in a unique Kerry grammar one could call the future-past perfect. When asked if we were right to invade Iraq, he has responded that it depends on what happens in the future. And other times he's said we were right. And other times he's said we were wrong. But my favorite response was when he was asked if we'd have gone to war with Iraq if he'd been president, and he shot back confidently, "You bet we might have."

Kerry making Bush's case John Podhoretz: HERE'S a question for which only Tuesday will provide an answer: Did John Kerry make a colossal blunder by deciding to spend the last week of the campaign highlighting the fact that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was one giant ammunition dump? Ignore for a moment the conflicting details of the incredibly confusing story about the 380 tons of high explosives that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility south of Baghdad. Accept, for now, John Kerry's contention that the explosives went missing after the fall of Baghdad and that President Bush's negligence in the planning and execution of the war and its aftermath are responsible. The other day, Kerry said: "After being warned about the danger of major stockpiles of explosives in Iraq, this administration failed to guard those stockpiles — where nearly 380 tons of highly explosive weapons were kept. Today we learned that these explosives are missing, unaccounted for and c

Why Bush is favored Dick Morris: HERE'S a two-part test to determine who will win on Tuesday: a) Ask yourself: What is the issue we are talking about these days? Are we focused on terrorism and Iraq, or on health care and jobs? The answer is obvious: terrorism and Iraq. b) Now look at the polls. Not the page that shows who they're voting for. That changes every hour. Look at the page that asks, "Which candidate do you think would do the best job of handling the war in Iraq?" The answer is always President Bush, usually by 10 points. And right below that, on "Which candidate do you think would do the best job of handling the War on Terror?" Bush leads again, usually by 20 points. If the issue is terrorism and Iraq, and Bush wins those issues by double digits, then the winner will be . . . voila, Bush! John Kerry was on the verge of moving out to a victory after the third debate. Taking advantage of its pre-ordained focus on domesti

Munition questions dwarfed by rality--IED's not using missing explosives Washington Post: The 377 tons of Iraqi explosives whose reported disappearance has dominated the past few days of presidential campaigning represent only a tiny fraction of the vast quantities of other munitions unaccounted for since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government 18 months ago. U.S. military commanders estimated last fall that Iraqi military sites contained 650,000 to 1 million tons of explosives, artillery shells, aviation bombs and other ammunition. The Bush administration cited official figures this week showing about 400,000 tons destroyed or in the process of being eliminated. That leaves the whereabouts of more than 250,000 tons unknown. Against that background, this week's assertions by Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign about the few hundred tons said to have vanished from Iraq's Qaqaa facility have struck some defense experts as exaggera

IRS looks at NAALCP tax exemption NY Times: The Internal Revenue Service has begun reviewing the tax-exempt status of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, citing concerns over a speech given by its chairman, Julian Bond, at its annual convention last July in Philadelphia. In a letter dated Oct. 8 and released Thursday, the I.R.S. told the association it had received information that Mr. Bond conveyed "statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the office of presidency" and specifically that he had "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush in education, the economy and the war in Iraq." The letter reminded the association that tax-exempt organizations are legally barred from supporting or opposing any candidate for elective office. Mr. Bond's speech on July 11 included a long section that sharply criticized the Republican Party, Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their positions on

Photos show Saddam troops removing explosives Bill Gertz: U.S. intelligence agencies have obtained satellite photographs of truck convoys that were at several weapons sites in Iraq in the weeks before U.S. military operations were launched, defense officials said yesterday. The photographs indicate that Iraq was moving arms and equipment from its known weapons sites, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to one official, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, known as NGA, "documented the movement of long convoys of trucks from various areas around Baghdad to the Syrian border." The official said the convoys are believed to include shipments of sensitive armaments, including equipment used in making plastic explosives and nuclear weapons. About 380 tons of RDX and HMX, used in making such arms, were reported missing from the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility, though the Pentagon and an embedded NBC News correspondent said

IRS looks at NAALCP's tax exemption NY Times: The Internal Revenue Service has begun reviewing the tax-exempt status of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, citing concerns over a speech given by its chairman, Julian Bond, at its annual convention last July in Philadelphia. In a letter dated Oct. 8 and released Thursday, the I.R.S. told the association it had received information that Mr. Bond conveyed "statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the office of presidency" and specifically that he had "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush in education, the economy and the war in Iraq." The letter reminded the association that tax-exempt organizations are legally barred from supporting or opposing any candidate for elective office. Mr. Bond's speech on July 11 included a long section that sharply criticized the Republican Party, Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their positions on

Kerry snatches defeat from jaws of victory in Afghanistan too Charles Krauthammer: In the 1990s, Afghanistan was allowed to fall to the Taliban and become the global center for the training, indoctrination and seeding of jihadists around the world — including the mass murderers of 9/11. This week, just three years after a two-month war that destroyed the Taliban, Afghanistan completed its first free election, choosing as president a pro-American democrat enjoying legitimacy and wide popular support. This represents the single most astonishing geopolitical transformation of the last four years. (Deposing Saddam Hussein ranks second. The global jihad against America was no transformation at all: It existed long before the Bush administration. We'd simply ignored al-Qaida's declaration of war.) But perhaps even more astonishing is how this singular American victory has disappeared from public consciousness. Americans have a deserved reputation for historical amne

Kerry renews attacks on military Hugh Hewitt: JOHN KERRY now closes his presidential campaign exactly as he opened his political life: Attacking the United States military. Thirty-three years ago, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he indicted the soldiers of Vietnam as war criminals, the heirs of Genghis Khan. This week he embraced an already discredited account of missing munitions to attack the reputation of the 3rd Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne. Make no mistake, that is exactly what Kerry is doing when he asserts that deadly weapons went unsecured and unreported as these two divisions rushed to liberate Baghdad. And not just these divisions, but every officer and soldier who had a hand in drawing up the war plan. If the negligence that Kerry charges the military with was real, additional troops would not have made a difference. The initial search would still have been conducted by the 3rd I.D. and the site pronounced clear. The 101st woul

Arafat's good bye to all that Belmont Club: Twenty years of European and UN Middle Eastern policy may be lying on the deathbed with Arafat. That they had to fly in doctors to treat him in a makeshift clinic underscores how, after 50 years of UN relief and billions in European investment, there are no Palestinian institutions. Not even decent hospitals for its supreme leader. The downside of the Arab Way of War -- the Intifada in this case -- is that the concept of victory through denial is inherently pyrrhic. 'We burned our village in order to keep it from falling into enemy hands' is like lighting a match to examine the gas tank; it works but misses the point. Palestine was cursed by the example of Algeria, which after evicting the French, could spend the next three decades cleansing itself of the poisons of terrorism. Arafat forgot that the Jews, unlike the French in Algeria, were as much a part of region as themselves. In place of protracted wa

Inside the news room

Dem positions on gay marriage Ann Coulter: ... Gay marriage is a tricky issue for the Democrats due to the fact that – like taxes, defense and education – they are forced to lie about their position when running for office. In other words, Democrats are gay marriage supporters trapped in the bodies of candidates who oppose gay marriage. And no issue-reassignment surgery can help them. By contrast, blacks – like Republicans and most Americans in general – not only believe gay marriage is wrong, but are willing to publicly state this belief. Bush opposes gay marriage. Kerry is for it – and he has always been consistent on that by taking every position imaginable on gay marriage. Kerry's got more gay marriage positions than the Kama-sutra, including the "yawning dog," the "courtesan's dilemma" and the "flip-flopping weasel." Campaigning in Missouri about a month ago, Kerry began the day saying he was opposed to Missouri's co

IAEA says site only had 3 tons of explosive ABC News: Iraqi officials may be overstating the amount of explosives reported to have disappeared from a weapons depot, documents obtained by ABC News show. The Iraqi interim government has told the United States and international weapons inspectors that 377 tons of conventional explosives are missing from the Al-Qaqaa installation, which was supposed to be under U.S. military control. But International Atomic Energy Agency documents obtained by ABC News and first reported on "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" indicate the amount of missing explosives may be substantially less than the Iraqis reported. The information on which the Iraqi Science Ministry based an Oct. 10 memo in which it reported that 377 tons of RDX explosives were missing — presumably stolen due to a lack of security — was based on "declaration" from July 15, 2002. At that time, the Iraqis said there were 141 tons of RDX

Kerry denigrates US troops again Ralph Peters: Sen. Kerry knows this is a bogus issue. And he doesn't care. He's willing to accuse our troops of negligence and incompetence to further his political career. Of course, he did that once before.

The Russian-Saddam coverup Bill Gertz: Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad. "The Russians brought in, just before the war got started, a whole series of military units," Mr. Shaw said. "Their main job was to shred all evidence of any of the contractual arrangements they had with the Iraqis. The others were transportation units." Mr. Shaw, who was in charge of cataloging the tons of conventional arms provided to Iraq by foreign suppliers, said he recently obtained

Russian Special Forces help Saddam remove explosives Drudge is reporting on a Bill Gertz Washington Times story in Thursday's paper. The Washington Times link is apparently overwhelmed at this point. Drudge's description of the article: Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, “almost certainly” removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad. This has the makings of an explosive story blowing up in Kerry's face.

Voters prefer Bush over Kerry for picking judges Washington Post: Likely voters narrowly prefer President Bush over Democratic nominee John F. Kerry to make appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the latest Washington Post tracking poll. The survey found that 49 percent of all likely voters surveyed said they had more confidence in the president to choose future Supreme Court justices while 42 percent favor Kerry -- preferences that were sharply shaped by party identification. Three in four Democrats -- 76 percent -- believe Kerry would do a better job filling future vacancies while 89 percent of Republicans chose Bush. Political independents split equally between the two candidates.

What is the dumbest thing Andrew Sullivan said in supporting Kerry? Besides, the Democratic Party needs to be forced to take responsibility for the security of the country that is as much theirs as anyone's. Awarding power to the irresponsible in hopes that they will act responsible is about as bad a reason to elect so one that I can imagine. In fact, the Democrats have been so irresponsible that they should be denied any power until they get a grip and come to their senses. What the Democrats badly need is a humiliating defeat so they can throw out the childish leadership they now have, who think reasoned argument for their position is calling their opponent a liar for saying the same thing they have said. What we are seeing is what many liberals too often do. They know the Democrat leadership is wrong but their partisan bias will not permit them to vote for someone who is a Republican. In the 1998 election you could see the NY Times editorial page that had been hammer

Another UN Scandal Cliff May: T he United Nations is already embroiled in the largest economic scam in world history: the multibillion dollar Oil-for-Food scandal. Now there is reason to ask whether a senior U.N., official also has attempted to influence an American election by spreading misleading information. ... At this point, Times editors ought to be asking who got their story rolling and to what end? Here's one theory: It was Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Why would he do that? "The U.S. is trying to deny ElBaradei a second term," a high U.S. government official told me. "We have been on his case for missing the Libyan nuclear weapons program and for weakness on the Iranian nuclear weapons program." ElBaradei also opposed the liberation of Iraq. And he would like nothing better than to see President Bush be defeated next week. If all this is true it would amount to a major scandal:

The WMD case does not look so weak now James Robbins: ... The missing explosives from al Qaqaa also raise the possibility that other WMD-related materials met the same fate. The IAEA had seen the al Qaqaa material in January 2003, but by the time U.S. troops showed up on April 10, they had disappeared. The dual-use technologies mentioned in the other IAEA report also had been moved or looted. This suggests that still other WMDs and related technologies might have been given or taken away in the days leading up to the war, or shortly after the Coalition attacks began. It is widely believed, though not conclusively proved, that much of this went to Syria. The Iraq Survey Group interviewed Iraqi agents who claimed to have helped moved the WMD materials. This charge was repeated by David Kay when he left the ISG earlier this year. The Blix Report found 1,000 tons of chemical weapons missing from Iraq, and last May this column discussed a planned al Qaeda attack in Jordan

Terrorist for Kerry Washington Times: Leaders and supporters of the anti-U.S. insurgency say their attacks in recent weeks have a clear objective: The greater the violence, the greater the chances that President Bush will be defeated on Tuesday and the Americans will go home. "If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John] Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people," said Mohammad Amin Bashar, a leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line clerical group that vocally supports the resistance.