05-27-2004 

QUOTABLES:

"Al Gore's attacks on the president today demonstrate that he either does not understand the threat of global terror, or he has amnesia," said RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke.

“John Kerry's advisers were surprised and annoyed to hear that Mr. Gore hollered so much, he made Howard Dean look like George Pataki. They don't want voters to be reminded of the wackadoo wing of the Democratic Party.” – writes Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

“They would like Mr. Gore, who brought bad karma to Mr. Dean with his primary endorsement, to zip it and go away. But more and more Democrats think it is Mr. Kerry who should zip it and go away.” – writes Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

“Sen. John F. Kerry faces a stark new challenge in the campaign skirmishing over Iraq: As President Bush has moved toward his position, the Democratic Party is moving away from it.” -- writes Ron Brownsein.

"Kerry should not tie his own hands by offering overly specific, detailed proposals concerning a situation that is rapidly changing … but rather should preserve his, and our country's, options," Al Gore said.

Bush is "the most dishonest president since Richard Nixon" said Al Gore.

"The more people know about him, the more they find a Kerry presidency troubling," said Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman. "Poll after poll after poll after poll shows that."

"I'm a big admirer of John McCain's," Hillary Clinton said. "I've spoken with Senator McCain and he assures me he's not interested -- but you know, we'll see what happens."

"In this world anything's possible," said Larry Sabato, a political analyst. But he concluded that a Kerry-McCain ticket "is not a match made in heaven. It's more of a spring fling."

"The days of there being three networks that provided people all their information that they needed to know are gone," said Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman. "Today, they get information from cable; they get information from original newspapers; they get information from blogs; they get information from talk radio."

"No greater thing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion — a revival that would sweep through the homes of the nation and stir the hearts of men and women of all faiths to a reassertion of their belief in God and their dedication to His will for themselves and for their world," said Franklin D. Roosevelt.

"If we ignore the spiritual foundations of our birth as a nation, we do so at our peril. It took a faith in God to win our freedoms," said Harry S. Truman.

BUSH BEAT

More Gore

Al Gore continued his vitriolic rhetoric against President Bush during an hour-long speech at New York University... a speech sponsored by MoveOn.org PAC. During his speech, Gore called for the resignations of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and CIA Director George Tenet. Also targeted by Gore for resignation were three of Mr. Rumsfeld's top civilian deputies - the deputy defense secretary, Paul D. Wolfowitz; Douglas J. Feith, the under secretary for policy; and Stephen A. Cambone, the under secretary for intelligence.

By many news accounts, Gore was at his screaming and hollering best – or worst, depending upon your point of view. Here’s what New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd had to say:

“John Kerry's advisers were surprised and annoyed to hear that Mr. Gore hollered so much, he made Howard Dean look like George Pataki. They don't want voters to be reminded of the wackadoo wing of the Democratic Party.”

“They would like Mr. Gore, who brought bad karma to Mr. Dean with his primary endorsement, to zip it and go away. But more and more Democrats think it is Mr. Kerry who should zip it and go away.”

The Republican National Committee issued statement saying that Gore's association with MoveOn.org "cast serious doubt on his credibility." The GOP noted that two ads -- out of more than 1,000 -- submitted to MoveOn's anti-Bush advertising contest last year compared the president to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. At least one of those ads was temporarily posted on the Web site MoveOn.org, but the group took it down and disassociated itself from the ad.

The GOP statement also noted that the group's executive director called for a non-military response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

And in a second written statement, RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke highlighted terrorist attacks, including the first bombing of the World Trade Center, that occurred during the Clinton administration.

"Al Gore's attacks on the president today demonstrate that he either does not understand the threat of global terror, or he has amnesia," Dyke said.

Just POlitics

The King speaks

It was widely reported that the King of the Democrats, Ted (Chappaquiddick) Kennedy, was more than upset with Sen. John Kerry over the waffling on whether Kerry would accept the nomination at Boston’s Democrat National Convention. Subsequently, Kerry has caved to the wishes of the King.

"I know it puts us at a disadvantage financially," Kerry said. But he said it could be offset if supporters who had already helped him exceed his previous goal of raising than $80 million for his cause helped with additional contributions.

"The decision I made today raises the bar. But he added: "We have a few things going for us that they don't. We have people and ideas, and we have passion about how we are going to change our country," Kerry said.

Kerry’s internationalization

Sen. John Kerry continues to press for the selling off of our national interests to other foreign countries, like France and Germany, who have stated openly that it is their goal to weaken America’s position in the world.

"At stake is a vision of an America truly stronger and truly respected in the world. This is not a partisan cause. Patriotism doesn't belong to any one party or president," Sen. John Kerry quotes in prepared remarks as he begins an 11-day campaign to gain credibility on the War on Terrorism.

"No force on earth is more able than the United States and its allies," Kerry said. "We must build that force — and we can. We can be strong without being stubborn. Indeed, that is ultimately the only way we can succeed."

Kerry's national security tour extends through Memorial Day and will end on the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6.

"If President Bush doesn't change course and doesn't secure new support from our allies, we will, once again feel the consequences of a foreign policy that has divided the world instead of uniting it," Kerry said. "Our troops will be in greater peril, the mission in Iraq will be harder to accomplish and our country will be less secure."

To show how the internationalist community hopes for a weaker America one only has to go to the recent comment by Hans Blix:

"I place my trust in the multilateralism of Democratic candidate John Kerry," Mr. Blix told the Italian newspaper La Stampa. "And in any event, I think that the whole world should vote on 2 November because so much depends on the outcome of that vote."

Poll watching 5/27/02

Quinnipiac University Poll reports that Kerry has pulled ahead in Pennsylvania due to growing opposition to the war:

Kerry 44%

Bush 41%

Nader 6%

clinton comedies

Bill’s Book out June 22

The Bill Clinton memoirs will hit the shelves a bit earlier than thought – June 22, to be precise. Publishing house Alfred A. Knopf describes the book, titled “My Life,” as follows:

The "candid portrait of the great national and international leader, from his youth in Arkansas through the White House years, told in his own completely recognizable voice" will be 957 pages long and contain 32 pages of photographs, Knopf said.

Clinton reportedly received $10-$12 million for his penned recollections. First printing of the book is said to be 1.5 million copies, probably selling at $35 a piece. And not to be outdone by wife, Hillary, Bill will tour the world hyping his book, once it’s released.

Hillary goes southwestern

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Arizona today, headlining a big bucks fundraising event for the Arizona Democratic Party – the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner. Arizona is one of the key 18 state battlegrounds for the presidential election. President Bush took Arizona in 2000 by six percentage points.

The event is expected to raise $850,000 for the Arizona Democratic Party.

So far this year, Hillary has been the headliner for fundraisers in Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and Houston.