Kerry pulls ahead of Bush in Florida - internals

As Michael mentioned earlier, Kerry has pulled ahead of Bush in Florida. According to Quinnipiac's Polling Institute, "Democratic challenger John Kerry leads President George W. Bush 47 – 41 percent among Florida voters, with 4 percent for independent candidate Ralph Nader, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. With Nader out of the race, Sen. Kerry leads President Bush 49 – 42 percent.

Bush and Kerry were locked in a 43 – 43 percent dead heat, with 5 percent for Nader, in a June 29 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University."

You can review the full poll here.

Looking at the "internals" of the poll, here are some of the trends that pop out. Bush's job approval dropped 2 points to 44%, disapproval is up to 54%. Here's where it gets interesting. If you look at independent voters in a Bush/Kerry one on one match up, right now they are breaking for Kerry 51% to Bush's 34%. If you bring Nader into the mix, independent voters go Kerry 46%, Bush 32% and 10% to Nader. For all of you out there who think that Nader can't cost Kerry the election, get over it, he can. Why else do you think that the Republican Citizens for a Sound Economy is helping Nader get on the ballot?

There is also some interesting commentary on Florida's voters' confidence in the new polling machines. "Only 21 percent of voters are “very confident” in the new touch screen voting machines. Sixteen percent of voters plan to cast absentee ballots, with 43 percent of this group using a paper ballot because they distrust the voting system." Read the rest of this post...

CA Supreme Court Decision

Here's the story on the California decision. As it reads, this is NOT a decision on same sex marriage. "As promised, the Supreme Court in Thursday's ruling steered clear of the constitutional issue. The justices will probably have to deal with that issue in a year or two when the Superior Court cases work their way up to them on appeal." It's certainly not what I would call a pleasant development, but they did not reach beyond the basic legal question in front of them. The PDF of the Court's decision is here.
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View the resignation statement

If you'd like to see his resignation statement, it's here. Read the rest of this post...

More on McGreevey from AP

Here's the AP story on McGreevey with more background information.
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NJ Governor McGreevey Is Gay... And Steps Down

Well folks, my first post while John is on vacation and this is it. It will develop over time and I believe that we really need to think about the implications of this for the gay community. You have to step down to come out of the closet? That's my first take and I don't quite like the idea. Read the rest of this post...

Michael Moore Scores A Hit on Goss

Here's an amusing Reuters story detailing Michael Moore's release of an interview with Porter Goss done for "Fahrenheit 9/11."

"'I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified,'' the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie ``Fahrenheit 9/11.''

"A day after Bush picked Goss for the top U.S. spy job, Moore Wednesday released an excerpt from a March 3 interview in which the 65-year-old former House of Representatives intelligence chief recounts his lack of qualifications for employment as a modern CIA staffer.

"'I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably,'' Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.
"'And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have.''

Moore's parting jab is that Goss granted the interview with Moore's producers without bothering to check who they were working for.

"'You'd think the person who was the head of the intelligence committee would ask a few more questions,'' said Moore.
"'The reality is that Porter Goss was in charge of the oversight of the CIA during a time when the CIA didn't do its job, which in part resulted in the loss of lives of 3,000 people,' he said via telephone from New York.

But nothing tops the Bush response: it's all hearsay, they claim. Here's hoping the interview tape is sent out pronto by Moore to the news media or at least posted online.

Thanks to blogger Michael for alerting us to this story in his comments.
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Nuclear Fallout

Kerry and Bush are in a tight race in Nevada, where Bush's flip-flopping on a nuclear waste site may cost him the state. (He pledged in the 2000 race to veto the proposed site in the Yucca mountains but went back on his word as soon as he got into office. Kerry has always been consistently opposed.)

But what's annoying is this article about that race and how it mildly offers up in the middle that Bush is flat-out lying about Kerry's record on the issue. Here's one example.

"'The Kerry-Edwards ticket was for Yucca Mountain before they were against it, and Nevadans should not be fooled by election-year pandering,' Nevada's Republican senator, John Ensign, said in a statement circulated by the Bush campaign.
"But Mr. Ensign himself, when pressed on a cable television program last week, said of Mr. Kerry that 'on this one issue he's been better than George Bush, but that's on one issue.'"

Why isn't this article about Bush distorting and lying about his opponent's record? Isn't that worthy of mention any more? Or is it just a given? There's a big difference between saying your way is for the good of the country and their way leads to disaster and flat-out lying.


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Bush Sets Record Deficit

"The Bush administration is projecting that the deficit for all of the 2004 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, will be $445 billion. This year will mark the third consecutive budget deficit after four straight years of surpluses that reflected the economic boom of the 1990s," per AP.

That's the biggest annual deficit ever. Way to go, Bush! He counters that as a percentage of GDP, it's still not as big as the record deficit Ronald Reagan set during the Eighties. True, but we believe in you and know you can do it, Georgie! By the way, why isn't THIS a lead item on the New York Times website? It was prominent for a few minutes but now you have to search for it. Boy, the liberal media ain't all it's cracked up to be.
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Democrats Wimp Out on CIA Nominee

Bush's political hardball wins again. He floats a nominee -- Porter Goss -- who in the past year has earned Bush's trust by engaging in partisan attacks on Kerry, including distorting the Bush administration's own intelligence on North Korea to score political points. Democrats and even some top Republicans express widespread concern that Goss is too partisan. Bush nominates him anyway and the Dems cave.

What does this mean for our national security? Bush has chosen a CIA head who has belittled Kerry and would certainly have to be replaced in January. How does this help the war on terror? The head of the CIA is rarely a politician and usually non-partisan. One big complaint is how politicized the intelligence coming from them might have been. Goss was a major player in trying to block the 9/11 commission even coming into existence and has defended the CIA's hidebound ways for years. Sound like the man to fix those problems, however decent he might be?

Bush has purposefully chosen someone without broad bipartisan support, which means the CIA -- which has been working with an interim head -- will be raked over the coals and then get a head who might very well become a lame duck and need to be replaced just weeks after getting the job. That means if Bush loses, there will be a good seven months with the CIA without a boss it knows is there for the long haul. Is that making us safer? Is it too much to ask when the CIA needs a major overhaul and we're in a tight election race that Bush look to the future and choose someone in consultation with the Dems that could get to work on the CIA's major problems TODAY? Instead of playing politics? Bush is the one weak on intelligence here and the Dems are letting him get away with it.
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Kerry Leads in Florida!

Yep, John Kerry pulls ahead of Bush in the latest Florida poll. But why does this AP story characterize a swing from a dead-heat at 43% each to 47% for Kerry and 41% for Bush as a "slight" lead? That looks like a significant change to me. Another thing, why isn't this more prominent on the NYT website? I'd call this breaking news more important than a piece on Giuliani being Bush's attack dog, an update on the Kobe Bryant case and other stuff placed higher.
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Unsmart At Any Speed

Ralph Nader is a fool. More info on Bush supporters gathering signatures at Bush/Cheney rallies to get Nader on state ballots around the country. When will he come to his senses? In the Florida poll posted above, Nader gets 4%. Imagine if he dropped out what Kerry's lead would be. Run away, Nader, run away!
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