Month: January 2008

Will We Even Bother to Tune In to Bush’s Final SOTU Address?

Buck Banks

miserable-failure.jpgI doubt it, and here’s why:

  • Less than 20 percent of us think the country is headed in the right direction.
  • President Bush’s approval rating is 31 percent, down three points from last month.
  • Four in 10 of us have “very negative” feelings toward the commander in chief, and about 70 percent predict that Bush will go down in history as a worse president than his most recent predecessors.
  • Only 29 percent of us approve of Bush’s handling of the economy, an all-time low for the president on that issue.
  • Only 27 percent give him a passing grade on foreign policy and only 28 percent gave him a passing grade on the Iraq war.

miserable1.jpg

Florida Dems Go to Polls in a Campaign-Less Vacuum – But Over 300,000 Early Votes Have Been Cast So Far

Jon Ponder

The Florida Democratic primary, which wraps up tomorrow, has been a mess from the get-go. The decision to move the primary date up from March, which was apparently proposed by a Democrat and then heavily promoted by the Republicans who control the state, put the Florida Democratic party into a nasty conflict with the national party, which resulted in sanctions against Florida Dems.

“Had Florida sat back and had its primary in March or even in February after Super Tuesday, Florida voters would have been in the catbird seat to determine the nominee.”
– Daniel Smith

The national party has forbidden candidates to campaign in Florida (but fundraising is okay, of course) and the delegates from tomorrow’s winner-take-all election will not be seated at the convention. (The nominee can, and doubtless will, rescind this order, however, if it is to his or her advantage.)

And yet, early voting is well underway among Florida’s 4 million Democrats, and is said to be brisk. Our colleague Trish voted early for John Edwards. She is part of a trend that is a strong indicator of a lot of energy on the left in the state, despite the shenanigans with the calendar:

State party officials are buoyed by the nearly 300,000 ballots cast by early and absentee voters. As of late Wednesday, 170,806 Democrats had cast their ballots at early voting locations, and 125,126 had sent in absentee ballots, according to the Florida Democratic Party.

The American Research Group’s poll yesterday, showed Hillary Clinton leading by 33 percentage points:

Candidate Jan. 26 Jan. 21
Clinton 60 percent 59 percent
Obama 27 percent 21 percent
Edwards 9 percent 14 percent
Undecided 4 percent 5 percent

(Kucinich and Gravel shared a little over 1 percent.)

Here are ARG’s GOP numbers:

[…]

What You’re Not Hearing About Crist’s Endorsment of McCain

Trish

Jeb and Charlie in happier days

There have been a buttload of stories in Florida about Republican Gov. Charlie Crist endorsing Sen. John McCain in the primary. Most are like this.

The backing from the governor, who has an approval rating that hovers near 70 percent, could prove to be a crucial factor in persuading Republicans who have yet to make up their minds to vote for McCain…

”He’s a great American patriot. He’s a true American hero,” Crist said of McCain as the two appeared together on stage at a Republican dinner in St. Petersburg. “He’s a great friend and will do a great job for the United States.”

Yada yada. But the really big news here is not that Crist is paying McCain back for campaigning on the governor’s behalf in the 2006 Republican primary (even though he is). No, the whopper is the way Crist just keeps distancing himself from Jeb Bush.

The fact that Charlie Crist’s name is not among the supporters of Romney speaks volumes about Jeb Bush’s current influence and his prospects for future public office.

Back in that 2006 race, Charlie made it look like he and Jeb were the best of pals, and that voting for Crist would be like voting for Jeb all over again. That worked, but from day one in office Charile has taken every opportunity to not only not do it Jeb’s way but to ignore the former governor’s bequest altogether.

Which brings us to endorsing McCain. As early as a year ago, Jeb let it be known the Mormon from Massachusetts was his guy.

Jeb Bush, who hasn’t publicly picked a favorite in the Republican presidential race, privately is talking up the candidacy of Mitt Romney and steering some of his closest advisers to the campaign.

The former Florida governor has said repeatedly he won’t be a candidate in 2008 despite encouragement from his father, the former president, and his brother, the current one. But Jeb Bush’s support, even tacit, would be critical in the state that decided the 2000 presidential election.

“Governor Bush said, ‘Before you commit, I want you to meet Mitt Romney. He is the kind of guy you will like no matter what,'” said former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings. “The governor was very candid about the fact that he really liked this guy.”

It turns out Jeb’s support is, in fact, less than critical. Thanks to Charlie’s intense popularity and his big brother’s disgrace, Jeb’s support grows less important with each passing day.

Buck updated the list of former Jebbies who are now Mitties. The fact that Charlie Crist’s name is not among them speaks volumes about Jeb’s current influence and his prospects for future public office. Jeb who?

It’s Time to Protect the Constitution

Trish

Sometimes you can’t say it better so you just have to quote the original.

[To the editor of the Florida TCPalm, the newspaper of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches]

The list of impeachable offenses that long ago should have summoned Congress to uphold its responsibilities and bring charges in the House continues to grow.

Some suggest the answer to the insults to the Constitution is silence — because the end is near. They may get their wish when the last nail is driven into a Bill of Rights that no longer protects any American.

Is it inconvenient that this particular hot potato would drop in their timorous laps?

Is it inconvenient that this particular hot potato would drop in their timorous laps? We must ask, when is the best time to begin to correct the course of the ship of state and bring to trial the outlaws currently hiding out in an undisclosed location in the executive office.

Again and again, they lie, obstruct, break the law (national and international), and violate the United Nations’ human rights and Geneva Conventions, as well as the bedrock principle of western civilization, habeas corpus. Refusing to answer lawful subpoenas, politicizing the Justice Department, spying on Americans and violating the limited constraints of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Then there is torture and secret prisons — no charges filed, and no attorneys for Americans or foreign nationals.

Timing and scheduling are not the issue; the Constitution is at risk. If President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have forgotten that they have sworn to protect the Constitution, then it is up to Congress and the courts — the other coequal branches of the American government — to remind them this is a nation of laws, not of men.

While some might argue the timing is not ideal, what’s the ideal time to protect the Constitution? Simply, when it needs protecting. We cannot let ourselves off the hook with arguments that this isn’t the best time to protect our civil liberties.

Was frostbitten Valley Forge an appropriate time to defend American rights? Why isn’t today the right time? 

Richard W. Spisak Jr.

Hobe Sound, Fla.

Rumor: Obama Would Nominate John Edwards for Attorney General

Jon Ponder

This could just be Robert Novak making mischief:

Illinois Democrats close to Sen. Barack Obama are quietly passing the word that John Edwards would be named attorney general in an Obama administration.

Installation at the Justice Department of multimillionaire trial lawyer Edwards would please not only the union leaders supporting him for president, but organized labor in general. The unions relish the prospect of an unequivocal labor partisan as the nation’s top legal officer.

It’s considered bad luck, or maybe hubristic, for primary candidates to start naming cabinet officials so the Obama campaign has been mum about Novak’s story.

Funny thing about this is, my friend and fellow political junkie, M. Tuttle, an Obama supporter, mentioned this possibility to me over lunch more than a month ago.

Meet Rush Limbaugh’s New Trophy Girlfriend

Jon Ponder


I don’t know. She seems a bit old for him:

Limbaugh, a vocal advocate of “family values,” has been divorced three times, and is currently unmarried.

Conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh’s got a new sweetheart – and she’s nearly half his age.

Limbaugh, who turned 57 Jan. 12, told Page Two he’s been dating West Palm Beach resident Kathryn Rogers [who is 31] for the past six months.

Limbaugh, a radio entertainer known for his extreme rightwing views, is a vocal advocate of “family values” who has been divorced three times, and is currently unmarried. He said he met Rogers at a celebrity golf tournament near his home in Florida:

“We met four years ago when Kathryn worked for (golf great) Gary Player. There was a charity tournament. She was rounding up the celebrities to participate in the event. She called me and I played. It was at The Floridian (Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga’s private course near Stuart).

“We’ve stayed in touch since and started dating in the summer.”

Limbaugh introduced the blue-eyed blonde to the world Saturday night with a red carpet walk before dozens of paparazzi at [a charity event held at] Miami Beach’s Ritz-Carlton.

Rogers has the quintessential trophy girlfriend job:

[…]

Seeking to Win Florida Mitt Sucks Up to Jeb

Buck Banks

romney_bush.jpgFormer Massachusetts governor, Mormon cultist and dog abuser Mitt Romney is a master of two essential campaign skills — pandering and fawning. Indeed, in recent comments around the peninsula, he’s combined both in characterizing former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush as the next best thing to a big ol’ sack of political capital.

By fawning all over the president’s little bro, Mitt is pandering to Florida Republicans who long for the good old Jeb days when state government was run like a well-lubricated political machine with a single goal — consolidating and wielding Republican political clout. Nowadays, Tallahassee seems less like a neo-conservative stronghold and more like a moderate beach resort with Charlie Crist as its affable, always-tanned activities director.

So Mitt’s pulling out all the fawning stops for maximum pandering productivity:

“I love him,” said Romney in South Carolina last March. “If his name weren’t Bush, he’d be running for president, I’m convinced.” He went on to call Bush “quite a guy.”

Ew!

For his part, Bush is playing coy, refusing to endorse a Republican candidate prior to Florida’s primary Jan. 29.

But when his attempts to get the big guy to put out some endorsement endearments were rebuffed, Romney did the next best thing — he surrounded himself with at least nine former Jeb staffers:

Sally Bradshaw, a Bush confidant and longtime player in Florida politics, now works as Romney’s senior policy adviser.

State Director Mandy Fletcher worked as executive director of Bush’s advocacy group, Foundation for Florida’s Future, Florida political director of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign and a Northeast Florida field director for Bush’s 2002 reelection campaign.

Romney national finance co-chairman Mark Guzzetta is a close personal and business associate of Bush, having worked on both of his gubernatorial bids and served as finance co-chairman of Bush’s second campaign.

Bush, who was best man in Guzzetta’s wedding, appointed him to the Florida Transportation Commission in 1999.

Bush’s press secretary, general counsel, statehouse policy director and some of his field staff all also signed up with Romney.

Still, Bush keeps leading Romney on, and Republicans who like Jeb (he left office with a 65 percent approval rating), seem to be picking up on the budding romance and transferring some of the love to the Mittster:

Christine Bozarth, a Republican from Daytona Beach, became a devoted Romney supporter last year after she saw him speak with Bush.

“They are both such feet-on-the-ground, down-to-earth people,” said Bozarth. “Bush was going around and introducing him, kind of like a buddy.”

Double-ew!