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Hey, Kids. Let's Hold an Election

Shrub's approval rating has slipped to 48 percent, the lowest level since February 2001, according to the Newsweek poll. Fifty percent of registered voters say they would not like to see Bush re-elected to a second term (45% say they would). If the election were held today, John Kerry would win over Bush by 50 percent to 45 percent among registered voters.

posted by Jerry Bowles 5:24 PM

Is Kerry the Mondale of 2004?

The short answer is no. While there is some broad resemblance between 1984 and 2004—i.e., an incumbent president whose policies were not popular and a challenger who led in early polling--two things happened that dramatically changed Reagan’s fortunes and lead to one of the biggest landslide victories in American politics: Mondale was “feminized” and Reagan mastered advertising unlike anyone before him or since him.

The turnaround had little to do with the issues but everything to do with image. Reagan “imaged” himself back to the White House with a positive strategy that Bush will attempt to emulate with his $200 million war chest. Remember Reagan’s “Morning in America” television ads, now a classic in political advertising? Remember Mondale with a woman running mate in his cardigan sweaters coming across as too “feminine” to go up against the tough Soviet Union, while Reagan was portrayed riding horses and chopping wood? (Bush, of course, is also a wood chopper--although he prefers a golf cart to horses.)

Kerry, as a Vietnam vet, helicopter pilot, Harley-rider and pheasant shooter, among other things, does not have, nor will he have Mondale’s image problems. (Dean would have Mondale-like problems.) Score a big one for Kerry on macho points.

Kerry’s possible Achilles’ heal is weak advertising. For some reason, Democrats at the national level always have shitty advertising. Reagan was able to use all forms of advertising to his image advantage. Now considered a classic in print ads, Reagan’s first ads were a tough-looking portrait in black and white with the tagline, “To get ready for peace, you must be prepared for war.” Then after an effective run, the ads went full color with an American flag. Mondale didn’t know what hit him.

While the feel-good “Morning in America” ads were working one side of the street, a fear-mongering ad with the punch of LBJ’s “Girl with a Daisy” ad against Goldwater (images of a cute little girl counting daisy petals give way to those of a nuclear blast countdown), ran only once as well but generated huge PR talk that dominated the closing days of the campaign, with Mondale watching his poll numbers slip into oblivion. Mondale carried only his home state of Minnesota and DC.

The ad is known as “Bear in the Woods.” Like “Daisy” it was a simple ad, a picture of a big brown bear walking through the woods. The voiceover as best I can recall was to this effect: “Some people say there is a bear in the woods [Reagan]. Some people say there isn’t a bear in the woods [Mondale]. Isn’t it better to be prepared in case there is a bear in the woods? Vote for Reagan.” It never said Soviet Union, but everyone knew.

In 2004 there is no Soviet Union, but Kerry’s people must study this campaign, because Rove has it memorized. If Kerry ignores the advertising lessons of 1984 then he may well become Mondale, the Second.

posted by Josh 5:18 PM

What took so long?

We were talking about the use of pork blood and composted chicken poop in feed agribusiness firms use on their beef and dairy cattle a couple of weeks ago. The New York Times must've just found out about it yesterday. Schande! It ain't kosher and there are still plenty of loopholes. Like they say down on Rivington Street... "trafe is trafe."

posted by Groom 2:27 PM

Meeting the Press

The big event of the weekend should be Shrub's interview on Meet the Press tomorrow. Tim Russert's reputation as an attack bull is on the line here, so look for some tough questions about Iraq, the economy and Shrub's National Guard service. Dick Cheney eats Russert for lunch but Shrub may find himself a tad uncomfortable.

posted by Jerry Bowles 11:20 AM

Friday, February 06, 2004

Old Dumb Chuck

Blogger Dan Conley is not impressed with the appointment of Chuck Robb to the WMD commission:

Leave it to George W. Bush to appoint the dumbest Democrat in America as co-chair of his WMD commission, former Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia. Robb, one of the founders of the DLC, has had more "intelligence failures" in his political life than the CIA has had in the past 20 years.

posted by Jerry Bowles 7:57 PM

The right stuff for Shrubby, the wrong stuff for the commish

WMD "truth" commision topper Chuck Robb has a little tailhook in his closet. Did Karl Rove go to the videotapes, the sex or the lies?

posted by Groom 5:38 PM

Would You Believe?

Wall Street loves John Kerry.

posted by Jerry Bowles 4:42 PM

Where Is Brett Favre When Dean Needs Him?

Dean’s unconventional end around play call for Wisconsin this late in the game will not work. Hail-Mary passes are not the stuff of which winning games are made. This is Vince Lombardi country where “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” And the Green Bay Packers win on the road as well as at home—that’s the stuff championships are made of. Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin, is one of the top three most liberal cities in the US, so is Ann Arbor, where Dean has abandoned his game book. So is Seattle where Dean has abandoned his game book. So is Berkeley, in play next month. True Wisconsin has a maverick and liberal reputation, but what will a win here do for Dean’s image and strategy? Wisconsin is not representative of the rest of the country like Missouri, where Dean got trounced. Liberals, Dean’s Special Team, do not constitute the mainstream of the Democratic party or of Independents. Kerry is not the liberal in the race, Dean is. If he wins, what has he won?

Dean is well on his way to winning the money plays in Wisconsin and reach his $700,000 goal next week. Raising and spending money has not been this fiscal conservative’s problem. The big problem is if Dean wins in Wisconsin he only encourages other one-state winners to slug it out? Edwards is a lightweight; Clark is a joke. This is not a winning strategy for the party. He will have no legitimate claim on making it a two-man race after his further loses this weekend—Edwards, if anyone will have that claim.

Dean needs an endorsement from two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brett Favre to stand any chance of getting his first points on the board. It worked for Edwards who did better than expected in Oklahoma when Barry Switzer, the popular coach of the Sooners and Dallas Cowboys, endorsed him two weeks before the primary and sent out a state-wide email-play for everyone to follow. Edwards attributes his good showing to this single endorsement. In states where football is taken seriously, Dean needs to find Brett and let him carry the ball.

Best play to call? Quit now. Cut a deal with Kerry. Win one for the Gipper. Go out a “winner” rather than a loser. Quit at the top of your game. If he loses, he loses everything he has fought for. If he wins, he loses because one primary win is a desperate strategy designed to make him more strident and bellicose on Super (Bowl) Tuesday. If he quits, he wins. If he quits, we all win. Deaniacs didn’t sign up to be on a losing team, and Dean owes them that.

posted by Josh 3:23 PM

The Best Defense is a Good Offense or Teflon

On the ropes, but not on his knees, Bush took the highroad in naming the members of his intelligence commission. With Chuck Robb, John McCain and Lloyd Cutler on board, this will not be a whitewash, maybe a greywash, but not what we thought it would be. It doesn’t get much more "presidential" than that. Watch his poll numbers climb back up again. A couple more of these kind of moves and it will not matter who the Democrats send into the arena.

In one deft move, he has removed himself from the crossfire and neutralized the debate. We can't pile on now while the jury is out.

posted by Josh 3:20 PM

Honey Fritz

Even with the backing of Kingmaker Kennedy, John Kerry is starting to remind me of Fritz Mondale. Will the next Geraldine Ferraro get aced out by another round of electoral fraud?

Why Mondale? In spite of his early "Democrat-Farmer Labor" image, Mondale came from "on high" and was unable to connect with the "average Americans" (alleged Democratic "base") like Ronald Reagan did. Even in an "anybody but Bush" world, Kerry's JFK-style "PT-109" image can't hide the fact that he is an inside player, a secret deal maker, in bed with special interests, a candidate who says "where's the pork" in private the way Fritz Mondale used to say "where's the beef in public." With that said... do you really need to put peanuts in your Coca-Cola to be "plain folks?"

It’s been noted in many biographies that president Franklin Roosevelt rarely spoke to vice president Harry Truman. In yesterday’s world of lo-fi old media that sort of quaint exclusion went overlooked. But today we live in a world of a closet “co-presidency” high velocity information flow and propaganda masquerading as news. John Kerry’s Brahmin bravado and John Edwards’ grass-roots tenacity mix like oil on water and the old media and oppo researchers will stick to the story like white on rice.

Two senators. A stilted Yankee patrician and a common man from the South. Kerry needs what Edwards represents more than Edwards needs to be Kerry’s vice president. And Edwards wants to be president. He has the mojo and reaches out to younger voters. But it’s not his time. I suspect that the only way he will be Kerry’s running mate is if Franklin Graham tells him it’s a good idea... For god and country that is.

Assuming the above, and that John Kerry is anointed as Ted Kennedy’s nominee in a brokered convention the selection of a vice president becomes more problematic. Democratic machers and pollsters and “consultants” will be beating their chests and breasts over whether to go find someone they can morph into a veep candidate from a big state or one who can play in the South.

Since federal and state governments have been slow to correct the mechanical and electronic vote tabulation problems we saw in the jacking of the 2000 presidential election we’re faced with the very real possibility that, once again, the popular vote won’t matter.

Add to that the partisan ownership of the electronic vote tabulation companies, the outsourcing of US overseas and military vote counting to a Saudi-owned firm and the recently revealed security flaws in the electronic voting tabulation software and the election could be decided in the electoral college and bumped up to the Supreme Court. Not even Howard Dean is raising this question

posted by Groom 1:51 PM

Open Book Quiz

Is Edwards the right choice for vice president? Discuss.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:29 AM

Why We Are in Iraq

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public, as the great P.T. Barnum once observed, but let's hope that the lying scoundrels who are running things in Washington have finally taken us for suckers one time too often.

The administration's spent months telling us that Saddam Hussein had weapons so terrible that he had to be forcibly removed from office immediately. Visions of mushroom clouds gathering over American cities were graphically painted to illustrate the urgency of this mission. David Kay tells us there were no such weapons. George Tenet now says the CIA never said the threat from Iraq was "imminent." So, who provided the information to Dick and Condi and Don that made them so certain that Saddam was the most important threat in the world and had to be confronted immediately?

Now, our president--hardly an inquiring mind--wants to know and he's handpicking a commission to look into this matter. Of course, this will take time; the investigation couldn't possibly be completed before the election and, of course, the president wouldn't want to compromise the investigation by talking about it before the work is completed.

Let me suggest a shortcut. Unhappy with the equivocation of the CIA on Iraq, the Pentagon set up its own intelligence group called the Office of Special Plans, headed by Douglas Feith, to cherrypick the most promising raw intelligence from the regular intelligence agencies, inflate the value of testimony of Iraq "defectors" pimped by the international bank robber and fugitive Ahmed Chalabi, and to create worst-case interpretations to support the administration's foreign policymakers who--everyone know--are Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. As usual, clueless Shrub bought it and sold it to the American people. As Ross Perot liked to say, case closed.

posted by Jerry Bowles 9:09 AM

Thursday, February 05, 2004

We're With You, Scooter. All the Way to the Big House

Looks like Cheney's little Scooter is about to take a fall for the Valerie Plame affair. Maybe there is some justice in world after all.

posted by Jerry Bowles 5:04 PM

The Year of the Monkey

In Chinese astrology 2004 is the year of the Monkey, and that’s good news for Kerry, the Goat; not good news for Dean, the Rat; mixed news for Bush, the Dog. (Whatever you read here, be sure to read the two paragraphs about Bush. You won’t believe it!)

A recent New York Times op-ed, “The Stars Have Voted,” based on Western astrology provides a horoscope picture of the candidates. It’s a fun piece, even it you don’t believe in this stuff the teensiest bit. (I believe that astrology, along with a lot of other Eastern practices, is another mirror for us to see ourselves—not the whole picture, but part of it.)

Kerry, was born in 1943 under the sign of Sagittarius, the last of the fire signs. “Over the last 18 months the planets have empowered him with core strength” and “the long-term picture depicts him achieving his highest goals.” Dean is a Scorpio, a water sign, and as you can guess, water and fire don’t mix well. The stars don’t paint such a positive picture for Dean showing his “erratic energy and emotional volatility.” Dean is also in a “time of the mythic ‘brother battle’ in which his confrontations with others really reflect his own inner conflict.” Bush was not covered in the piece, but Bush is a Gemini, an air sign, not to be confused with airhead.

How does Dean fair as a Rat? Well the good news is Rats, born in 1948 as Dean was (and in subsequent 12 year cycles, 1960, 1972, 1984, etc.) are clever, quick witted, sharp, and “keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agenda.” Rats love being on the outside, looking in, and they love to joust verbally, something you either love or hate about Rats.

How does Bush fair as a Dog? Well Gemini Dogs, like Bush, who was born in 1946, have “trouble trusting others.” Dogs are dogmatic (no pun intended, I’m sure). Dogs are generally quite trustworthy—now get this—“except for the occasional little white lies.”

“They quickly learn to use their outward attractiveness to gain their own ends, and when striving for these they will use any weapon in their armory—unscrupulous lying, and cunning evasiveness; escaping blame by contriving to put it on other people, wrapped up in all the charm they can turn on. In their better moments they may strive to be honest and straightforward, but self-interest is almost always the victor.”

Does this sound like anyone we know?

In the year of the Monkey, Rats should avoid “breaking friendships or partnerships at this time to avoid future repercussions” as Dean has done already done with Trippi. For Kerry the year of the Monkey is very good because “opposition is negligible” and “a promotion at work” gives him his highest sense of fulfillment.

posted by Josh 12:27 PM

Lee Atwater, Call Home

So the Republican strategy for November is clear. They're going to focus squarely on the issues: John Kerry is a commie, faggot-loving, gun-hating baby killer. Not only that, he was the really driving the car the night that Mary Jo and Teddy went off the Chappaquiddick bridge. That was a "dike" bridge, wasn't it?

When in trouble, always reach for the classy stuff. Paging Willie Horton.

I'm not so sure that "Dukakizing" is going to work this time around. For one thing, Kerry is tall and looks good in a tank. For another, he has been a presence--granted a rather boring one--on the national scene for a long time. He doesn't scare people. His voting record is varied enough that he is hard to pin down.

On the other hand, this is not the best year to hold the convention in Boston. Whoever the Democratic candidate ends up being (and no one with as many victories as Kerry so far has lost in modern times), the Massachusetts Supreme Court has handed the reckless media a wedge issue to run with during the convention. Is it too late to switch to Miami?

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:16 AM

Where things really stand

Beyond all the hype, spin and misinformation, the race shapes up like this going into next week, according to the Associated Press and USA Today. However, like the ads say... results may vary:

Total delegates: 4322. Total need to nominate: 2162. Total delegates chosen to date: 559. Individual candidate totals through Tuesday: John Kerry, 228; Howard Dean 118; John Edwards 100; Wes Clark 75. All others 38 (source, Associated Press, USAToday Wed. Feb 6th).

Delegates supporting candidates other than John Kerry: 331 or 59%.

Delegates backing John Kerry: 228 or 41%.

The corporate media is pimping John Kerry and treating the rest of the candidates as second-class citizens. They’ve literally put out a “media fatwa” on Howard Dean because his internet-based campaign connected with the people and stole their “mojo.”

The bottom line is, with only 13% of the delegates selected, John Kerry currently only has 10% of the delegates required to win the nomination of the Democratic party for president. Could this be the reason Terry "the top" McAuliffe is trying to give everybody the bums rush and make it seem like the Kerry candidacy is a done deal?

Josh has commented that I might be hoping for a brokered convention. I don't rule it out one bit considering the data provided by the AP above. I'm more worried about who the brokers might be, notably, special interests... the folks who can turn the Terry McAuliffe of 2004 into the Larry O'Brien of 1972 in a heartbeat.

posted by Groom 5:35 AM

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Coming Attractions: August 6, 2001

Speaking of August, 6. 2001 (and I never miss an opportunity to do so), Richard Clarke's insider book Against All Enemies : Inside the White House's War on Terror--What Really Happened will be released on March 30 so look out for some explosive leaks the week before. Clarke is a longtime spook and was the briefer on that fateful August day in Crawford, Texas and knows exactly what he told Shrub and Condi about the possibility of Osama bin Laden having airplanes flown into buildings. That's before Shrub decided he was late for fishing. The White House is said to be sweating bullets.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:10 PM

Kerry vs. Shrub: The Debate

William Safire does another of his channeling exercises in today’s New York Times –bringing from “purgatory” the views on the Democratic primary from his former boss, Richard Nixon.

Pretty much what you’d expect from this quarter, but it raises a couple of interesting issues: the debates to come and the “October” surprise. Since this blog has already hashed the issue of at what point the Administration will tear the shroud off Bin Laden’s corpse, perhaps we should look at the debate issue. Herewith, some recommendations to Kerry:

Don’t compete on the “likeability” issue. Sure, everyone knows that Shrub is a back-slapper, but make the point early and often that the Presidency is not a popularity contest – otherwise you’d have Tom Hanks for President.

Try to position Shrub as not in charge. Keep the American audience looking beyond Shrub to the real powers. It may be offensive, it may scare people to realize this, but use terms like “those in this Administration who….” And “others who set policy that….” In other words, it’s not about Shrub, it’s about the people who put him in charge.

Today's Times has a couple of good nuggets to support this argument. For example, Richard Stevenson writes: "Mr. Powell has told associates that he has never before seen a vice president with so large a voice and so powerful a staff, and that it has created enormous problems for an administration that has never been able to speak with one voice on foreign policy." A review of Ron Suskind's The Price of Loyalty describes Cheney as "the power behind the throne of a disengaged and clueless president."

Shrub, the sock puppet, has a nice ring. Go with it.

Don’t pull punches like Gore did. Make him mad. Shrub is not so pretty when he’s pissed. He was the enforcer in his fathers’ Administration and he has a petty, mean side that only the fortunate get to see.

Don't negotiate the podium placement. And don't let Rove sneak a stool on stage for Bush to stand on.

Here’s a thought: skip the debates entirely. Make the point that these are not true debates and that given the very serious issues this country is facing this is what is required, not some opportunity for making unchallenged and unfounded comments.

posted by Evelyn 3:24 PM

USA TODAY outs flawed e-vote systems

"Excuses don’t mask the broken promise to avert a repeat of 2000. Democracy depends on voter confidence that every vote counts- correctly. Ensuring that outcome is already long overdue…" USA Today editorial

posted by Groom 3:02 PM

Kerry’s sins of ego… the latest one

As Josh points out, the doctor isn't listening to any second opinions at this time. But John Kerry's personality structure presents a different and perhaps more challenging set of "front runner problems."

At least Lyndon Johnson waited until he was president to have a telephone installed in his private bathroom bearing a brass plate “POTUS” (president of the United States) so he could take calls while astride the throne. According to the New York Times, front runner John Kerry’s chartered Boeing-737 is now fitted with headrests that say “John Kerry president.” Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, John. This is the kind of stuff that turns off “average Americans” and rightly so. Have your people talked to Cigar Afficionado about when your face will be on their cover?

posted by Groom 11:52 AM

Dean, The Energizer Bunny

Hey, I wouldn’t insult Dean by calling him that—he chose the analogy himself! As I see it, he is now going to keep going until his batteries give out, taking the low road to Boston, and trampling on the cornerstone values of participative democracy on the way. The race is no longer about changing the party or taking America back, it’s about who gets the most marbles or poker chips to play in Boston. And on that score he didn’t even make the 15 percent threshold to get delegates in 6 out of the 7 primary states yesterday. The only reason—the only reason—he got 19 percent of the caucus votes in New Mexico is because of the high volume of absentee ballots that were cast before he lost so badly in Iowa.

Losing is one thing, but the way he is losing is another thing altogether. He’s become the Doctor of Spin, ignoring second opinions. Based on his interview with CNN last night and a report in the NYT, he claims “to have faith in voters” but acknowledges that people are resistant to his core message of change—those stupid people, my words, not his. He acknowledges that Gore’s endorsement was the beginning of his undoing, but not because Gore’s endorsement was counter intuitive and ran counter to his anti-Washington change message, but because the Beltway Republican-Democrats were running scared and needed to stop him. His take on the voters who participated in the process so far is to dismiss them by saying “I don’t think there will be any significance to these votes,” only the voters on Super Tuesday count?! So what does that mean, only a lot of voters in big states count? Whatever happened to the principle of “one man, one vote”?

So far, his claim to be broadening the participation in the process is limited to “very liberals”—a dying breed in politics—and those with higher levels of education—a small minority to say the least. He does draw heavily from the small group of voters who want someone to stand on principles, but he loses by 3:1, even 4:1 on voters who want someone who can beat Bush! And he did not draw well among ethnic voters, although I have not seen the breakdown in New Mexico. Kerry by contrast has now won 7 of 9 primaries and three of them by 50 percent of the voters or more.

Dean's core strategy is unsettling. He says, “It’s been an unconventional campaign from the beginning, and it’s going to be that way from here on out.” Too bad. His message is getting trampled in his methods, and his patient is dying while he insists that his prescription, and only his prescription, is the only right and proper medication for what ails the country.

posted by Josh 11:21 AM

Calling All Bloggers

Terry McAuliffe wants to play nice with bloggers. If you haven't read his ten great reasons we shouldn't regard the DNC as a pimple on the ass of American politics or think of him personally as a rich, spineless and useless tool of Bill Clinton, you should do so now over at Daily Kos. Boy, I'm convinced. How about you?

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:03 AM

Is Colin Powell too honest?

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post thinks so. Interviewed yesterday on NPR in connection with the new White House commission to investigate intelligence failures in the run up to the Iraq war, Milbank said “Colin Powell came off a bit too honest talking about Iraq and WMD and then he got back on message.” Did Obersturmbannfuehrer Rove jerk his chain?

It’s ironic for an esteemed member of the old media like Milbank to chide Powell for his honesty. In doing so, Milbank raises an interesting question, namely, whether it's the expectation among the media that the administration is always lying. The more Shrubby squirms and makes those nebulous vocalized pauses while pretending to want to get to the truth, the more the bought-and-paid for's will characterize him as not living up to expectation and his popularity will continue to dive like a Stuka.

posted by Groom 5:36 AM

The Dean Bubble

The comparisons between Howard Dean and the Internet Bubble are irresistable. A hot new company comes along, assembles a talented staff, uses a novel approach to raise a lot of money, creates enormous buzz in the trade press with its fresh and innovative product with features that no one else is selling at the time, is soon picked up by the mainstream press, spends lavishly on advertising to create "mind" share, and produces pro formas that show it blowing all of its competitors out of the water. Beta testers are crazy about it. All of the pundits agree unamimously--this product cannot fail.

But, it does. Somebody forgot to ask real customers if they would buy this untested product if suddenly an older and more mature competitor were to add all of the neat new features of the new one--with fewer of the bugs.

Think Apple. Sure Wozniak and Jobs got there first, and with a better machine, too. But when IBM got into the game (with a little help from Bill Gates), Macs were forever consigned to second place. Dean may be the better product; but Kerry has the market share.

posted by Jerry Bowles 12:07 AM

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

1.5 A Day. And For What?

Remember the business about how capturing Saddam would cut down on the number of American casualities? It hasn't. A total of 47 soldiers died in Iraq in January. That is the second highest death rate since last April when daily combat from the U.S.-led invasion was under way.

posted by Jerry Bowles 9:22 PM

What Makes Al Run?

Wayne Barrett, the always reliable Village Voice investigative reporter, wonders what GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone is doing in Rev. Sharpton's woodpile?

posted by Jerry Bowles 3:05 PM

Flea market

Cost for 30-second Super Bowl spot: $2.3 million

Annual salary of Shaquille O’Neal: $24.75 million

Amount Howard Dean spent on his
“front runner” campaign: $30 million

Estimated size of Bush warchest: $200 million +

Reward to rat “Doom Virus” hackers $275,000
Offered by world’s “richest man”:

Electoral votes up for grabs today as
a percentage of total needed to win: less than 14%

Cost of bringing jobs back to America... priceless

For everything else VOTE!

posted by Groom 11:55 AM

Fortunate Son Redux

It is, how you say, to laugh. Drudge and the crazy little vixens over at Fox News thought they had a good one when Wesley Clark declined to censure Michael Moore for his "Shrub is a deserter" remark. How dare someone say that about our trusty, reverent, brave and clean commander-in-chief? Alas, the pears are not seen as the observer wills.

Their clumsy little attempt to smear the General have backfired, big time, as Dick "him before he dicks you" Cheney might say. Now everybody in the mainstream press is talking about the 2000 Boston Globe story about Shrub's National Guard service. Largely ignored three years ago (because Al was afraid to bring up anything that smacked of "character," thanks to his Clinton problem), the AWOL/deserter has been old news among bloggers for a couple of years now.

Kudos to Matt and Brett for letting this nasty little snake get out of the box.

posted by Jerry Bowles 11:39 AM