Thursday, October 07, 2004
Bombings at an Egyptian Resort, near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, at a religious rally in Multan, Pakistan. Even the previously safe “Green Zone” in Baghdad (U.S. military headquarters) is upping its security.
“President Bush Unveils a new Stump Speech!” Such was the buoyant announcement by the local NPR newsreader. Makes you turn to Air America Radio, 1430AM in Boston. [But, it’s a weak signal that becomes weaker at night.]
Bush’s “speech” was actually the usual stump speech, replete with distortion (again, Kerry has set a deadline for withdrawal) and mockery. As I noted before, will the stations offer equal time to Kerry? Will Kerry demand it?
VP Debate:
*Fascinating in that a few of the t.v. networks called it for Cheney; but ALL of the web sites I went to- national ones and a bunch in swing states gave it to Edwards, usually by at least 2:1. Even the Fox poll had Edwards up.
*Some folks (not ‘terrorists’) are wondering why Cheney would make up his line of ‘I never saw you till tonight’ when there are videotapes of them together. Well, simply, it’s a good line, and most people will not ‘follow up.’
*I still wish Edwards had done to Cheney what Kerry didn’t do to Bush. Chances missed include Cheney’s discussion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi which was deliberately misleading, and he should have underscored the Administration’s choosing to give tax breaks to the extremely wealthy and invading weak Iraq instead of assigning funds to protect chemical and nuclear plants, ports, loose nukes. Another goodie would have been to throw back Cheney’s words from the 2000 debate where he discussed the defeat of Iraq in 1991.
The thing about Iraq, of course, was at the end of the [1991] war we had pretty well decimated their military. We had put them back in the box, so to speak. We had a strong international coalition raid against them, effective economic sanctions, and an inspection regime was in place under the U.N. and it was able to do a good job of stripping out the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, the work he had been doing that had not been destroyed during the war in biological and chemical agents, as well as a nuclear program.
But, at least…
Newsweek Attacks Cheney. Unusual, cover story- “Rewriting History”- on Cheney’s new argument, with lies, as to why the attack on Iraq.
With virtually all of the administration’s original case for war in Iraq in tatters, Vice President Dick Cheney provided shifting and sometimes misleading arguments in last night’s debate with John Edwards about Saddam Hussein’s ties to terrorists and his access to weapons of mass destruction. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6192327/site/newsweek/
And Howard Fineman, no liberal he, intones Bush is Beginning to Sound Desperate, that he no longer controls the news.
Not long ago, Kerry's decision to attack the president as commander-in-chief (remember all those Swift Boat vets in Boston?) was dismissed by analysts (including me) as naïve at best, folly at worst. Well, it may turn out to have been the move that wins this race. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6200854/
E.J. Dionne: He makes a good case as to what the campaign SHOULD be about.
If the Cheney-Edwards debate made nothing else clear, it is that the central issue in this presidential election is becoming the administration's lack of credibility and its tendency to say whatever is convenient to make whatever case it is trying to make…
The political take on the debate will see Cheney as a more skillful, more informed debater than Bush, and Edwards as Cheney's equal. But the substantive point is more important: The administration's story is falling apart. Bush and Cheney mercilessly attack their opponents and promote a climate of fear because they are finding it increasingly difficult to defend the choices they made and the words they have spoken.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13425-2004Oct6.html
Kerry Movie: Much good word on this movie; a reminder that although many of us have had our problems with him over the years, Kerry remains an admirable fellow.
I wanted to pass along one such ‘word’, from Barbara Ackermann, former Cambridge mayor, MASS-CARE stalwart/leader:
"People who are still perplexed about who John Kerry is should go see the movie 'Going up River: the Long War of John Kerry.' (At Harvard Square Theater among others) It gives you an extraordinarily clear picture of a remarkable young man."
Barbara will appreciate the following. She and MASS-CARE activists have long emphasized how our health care system spends almost 40% of health care funds on administration and advertising. Well, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a rather conservative think tank, found that of each dollar spent on aid to Iraq, only 27 cents makes it to projects that benefit Iraqis. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9627-2004Oct5.html
Electoral Fraud Alert: If it’s close…
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating 1,500 voter registration forms received by the Leon County elections office that apparently were altered to register local students as Republicans. http://www.local6.com/news/3786610/detail.html
Again, no Saddam wmd, nukes The Bush-Cheney spin was fitting: every item of contrary news “proves” their points. Up is Down. [The Moonie-owned paper, The Washington Times, chipped in with its take- Saddam worked secretly on WMDs.]
The WaPost story:
Charles Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons investigator in Iraq, told Congress today that Saddam Hussein destroyed his stocks of chemical and biological weapons and agents in 1991 and 1992 and that his nuclear weapons program had decayed to almost nothing by 2003.
Duelfer, a former U.N. inspector and the personal representative of the CIA director, said the former Iraqi dictator had intentions to restart his program, but after weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998, Hussein instead focused his attention on ending the sanctions imposed by Western governments following his incursion into Kuwait and the Persian Gulf war of 1991. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12115-2004Oct6.html
But, I ask, why is this news? I have no access to Iraqi files, haven’t been to Iraq, have no Ellsberg-like figures in the Pentagon to inform me. Yet, I noted in February, 2003 that Saddam’s son-in-law had told the CIA that all weapons had been destroyed after the Gulf War. I even cited Newsweek’s article which headlined this admission.
After the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq destroyed all its chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them, Saddam Hussein's slain son-in-law told intelligence agencies and United Nations inspectors in 1995, Newsweek magazine reported on Monday.
Hussein Kamel, who headed Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs for 10 years, told his story to the CIA, British Military Intelligence and UN inspectors, Newsweek said.
Kamel defected from Iraq, returned and was killed. According to sources not named by the magazine, Kamel had "hoped his revelations would trigger Saddam's overthrow, but when he realized the United States would not support his dream of becoming Iraq's ruler, he decided to return." http://www.rense.com/general35/destr.htm
So, we invaded a sovereign country because it might have produced chemical weapons if it acquired machinery/material it didn’t have and wouldn’t have secured because of the sanctions (and the inspections). Of course a number of other nations had chemical weapons programs fully operative, such as China, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia...
The Hammer Hammered?: DeLay judged. We would be focusing on him much more so if this weren’t an election year. The Ethics Committee of the House keeps targeting him. So, Judicial Watch makes its statement:
Judicial Watch, the conservative public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today called on Rep. Tom DeLay to step down as House Majority Leader in the wake of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee's recent findings that he acted improperly in attempting to win a vote from Rep. Nick Smith in exchange for endorsing Smith's son in a congressional primary. It is the second time that DeLay has been chastised by the ethics panel [...]
"Frankly, the ethics report was too kind to Mr. DeLay and the other House members implicated in the controversy. Mr. DeLay's actions in trying to trade a political endorsement for a vote were inappropriate and unacceptable, and given this grave ethical lapse, he should step down as Majority Leader. The Republican Party should not countenance its leadership violating House rules and standards of ethical behavior," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. http://www.judicialwatch.org/3844.shtml
The informative book on DeLay, by Lou Dubose, is addressed here: http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=09/29/2004
Guantanamo: Update on the Round-up
Most of the alleged al Qaeda and Taliban inmates at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are likely to be freed or sent to their home countries for further investigation because many pose little threat and are not providing much valuable intelligence, the facility's deputy commander has said.
The remarks by Army Brig. Gen. Martin Lucenti in yesterday's edition of London's Financial Times appeared to conflict with past comments by U.S. military commanders who have stressed the value of the information obtained from the detainees and the danger many would pose if released.
"Of the 550 [detainees] that we have, I would say most of them, the majority of them, will either be released or transferred to their own countries," Lucenti was quoted as saying in the British newspaper. "Most of these guys weren't fighting. They were running. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9626-2004Oct5?language=printer
Iran- Israel: October Surprise? Danny Schechter passes on one line of thinking from a BBC report.
In context of talking about how close the election in US is right now, the BBC's main Washington correspondent predicted dramatically . . . this is paraphrased (but very close to a quote):
"I may be putting my neck out, but I think the "October Surprise" is coming very soon and will be in the form of an Israeli preemptive missile strike against Iran."
She then went on to reference Israel's (US-financed) mega-missile purchase of last week. The BBC World News' anchor didn't bat a verbal eyelash at this ominous prediction." http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm
Tax Cut: This made the business pages; the renewal of the “middle class tax cut” was a major item reported dutifully by NPR et al, as Bush signed it in Iowa. Excellent politics, subservient “journalism.”
In an act of pre-election largess, House and Senate negotiators approved a sprawling corporate tax bill on Wednesday that would shower corporations and farmers in politically sensitive states with about $145 billion worth of new tax cuts.
In an attempt to get backing from Southern Democrats, Republican leaders included a $10 billion buyout for tobacco farmers, but they rejected a Senate provision to link that buyout with a requirement that cigarette companies be subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.
Without the F.D.A. link, the bill could be jeopardized on the Senate floor, where opponents have threatened to stretch the debate to run down the clock as Congress tries to adjourn on Friday.
But Republican leaders said they had more than enough votes to stop a filibuster, contending that the overall tax bill has provisions sought by so many different lawmakers that it was almost assured of final passage by the end of this week. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/business/07corptax.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
More on a Bush 2nd Term: More Disempowerment, of course, of those who tend to support Democrats. From George Will:
Bush is pressing to put hundreds of thousands of federal jobs up for competition with the private sector. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform says: "The people who cut the Pentagon lawn are government employees. Why?" People listed in the phone book will do it cheaper. How many of the 15 million state and local government jobs could be privatized, with how many billions of dollars in savings? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13427-2004Oct6.html
Polls: Momentum Continues/Resumes for Kerry: It’s Even
Democracy Corps survey: Kerry 49% to 48%.
Economist: Kerry with a one point lead, 47% to 46%.
Arguably the most reliable is Zogby, which has Kerry recapturing the lead in the battleground states:
The presidential debate has lifted John Kerry back to where he was in our battleground analysis before the Republican convention energized the Bush campaign.
The latest Zogby Interactive poll puts Mr. Kerry ahead of President Bush in 13 of the 16 closely contested states -- two more states than the Massachusetts senator led before the debate and the most since August. The latest survey was conducted between last Thursday, after the debate ended, and Tuesday afternoon, before vice-presidential contenders Dick Cheney and John Edwards debated.
Mr. Kerry moved ahead in two states (Ohio and Nevada) and increased his lead in seven others -- though Mr. Kerry's margin over Mr. Bush in Ohio, Arkansas and Florida was negligible -- less than one percentage point. Mr. Bush's lead narrowed in the three states (Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia) that he remains ahead of Mr. Kerry. Overall, seven of Mr. Kerry’s leads are within the margins of error, while all of Mr. Bush’s leads are. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-battleground04-an1006.html?mod=home_interactive_features
State polls: Even.
New Mexico: Kerry 46, Bush 43 (Albuquerque Journal)
California: Kerry 49, Bush 40 (Field Poll)
Iowa: Kerry 47, Bush 46 (University of Minnesota)
Missouri: Bush 49, Kerry 47 (Survey USA)
Washington: Kerry 54, Bush 43 (Survey USA)
North Carolina: Bush 52, Kerry 45 (Survey USA)
Ohio: Kerry 49, Bush 48 (Survey USA)
Florida: Kerry 47, Bush 45 (ARG)
New Hampshire: Kerry 47, Bush 47 (ARG)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 50, Bush 43 (West Chester University
New Jersey: Kerry 49, Bush 46 (Quinnipiac)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 48, Bush 41 (Franklin and Marshall)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 48, Bush 46 (American Rsearch Group)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 49, Bush 47 (Survey USA)
Missouri: Bush 51, Kerry 45 (Rasmussen)
Maine: Kerry 49, Bush 47 (Survey USA)
Florida: Bush 48, Kerry 44 (Mason-Dixon)
Ohio: Kerry 48, Bush 47 (American Research Group)
Florida: Bush 46, Kerry 42 (Quinnipiac)
New Jersey: Kerry 49, Bush 41 (Fairleigh Dickinson)
Electoral: Too many; to summarize, no one’s got it!
-R
“President Bush Unveils a new Stump Speech!” Such was the buoyant announcement by the local NPR newsreader. Makes you turn to Air America Radio, 1430AM in Boston. [But, it’s a weak signal that becomes weaker at night.]
Bush’s “speech” was actually the usual stump speech, replete with distortion (again, Kerry has set a deadline for withdrawal) and mockery. As I noted before, will the stations offer equal time to Kerry? Will Kerry demand it?
VP Debate:
*Fascinating in that a few of the t.v. networks called it for Cheney; but ALL of the web sites I went to- national ones and a bunch in swing states gave it to Edwards, usually by at least 2:1. Even the Fox poll had Edwards up.
*Some folks (not ‘terrorists’) are wondering why Cheney would make up his line of ‘I never saw you till tonight’ when there are videotapes of them together. Well, simply, it’s a good line, and most people will not ‘follow up.’
*I still wish Edwards had done to Cheney what Kerry didn’t do to Bush. Chances missed include Cheney’s discussion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi which was deliberately misleading, and he should have underscored the Administration’s choosing to give tax breaks to the extremely wealthy and invading weak Iraq instead of assigning funds to protect chemical and nuclear plants, ports, loose nukes. Another goodie would have been to throw back Cheney’s words from the 2000 debate where he discussed the defeat of Iraq in 1991.
The thing about Iraq, of course, was at the end of the [1991] war we had pretty well decimated their military. We had put them back in the box, so to speak. We had a strong international coalition raid against them, effective economic sanctions, and an inspection regime was in place under the U.N. and it was able to do a good job of stripping out the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, the work he had been doing that had not been destroyed during the war in biological and chemical agents, as well as a nuclear program.
But, at least…
Newsweek Attacks Cheney. Unusual, cover story- “Rewriting History”- on Cheney’s new argument, with lies, as to why the attack on Iraq.
With virtually all of the administration’s original case for war in Iraq in tatters, Vice President Dick Cheney provided shifting and sometimes misleading arguments in last night’s debate with John Edwards about Saddam Hussein’s ties to terrorists and his access to weapons of mass destruction. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6192327/site/newsweek/
And Howard Fineman, no liberal he, intones Bush is Beginning to Sound Desperate, that he no longer controls the news.
Not long ago, Kerry's decision to attack the president as commander-in-chief (remember all those Swift Boat vets in Boston?) was dismissed by analysts (including me) as naïve at best, folly at worst. Well, it may turn out to have been the move that wins this race. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6200854/
E.J. Dionne: He makes a good case as to what the campaign SHOULD be about.
If the Cheney-Edwards debate made nothing else clear, it is that the central issue in this presidential election is becoming the administration's lack of credibility and its tendency to say whatever is convenient to make whatever case it is trying to make…
The political take on the debate will see Cheney as a more skillful, more informed debater than Bush, and Edwards as Cheney's equal. But the substantive point is more important: The administration's story is falling apart. Bush and Cheney mercilessly attack their opponents and promote a climate of fear because they are finding it increasingly difficult to defend the choices they made and the words they have spoken.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13425-2004Oct6.html
Kerry Movie: Much good word on this movie; a reminder that although many of us have had our problems with him over the years, Kerry remains an admirable fellow.
I wanted to pass along one such ‘word’, from Barbara Ackermann, former Cambridge mayor, MASS-CARE stalwart/leader:
"People who are still perplexed about who John Kerry is should go see the movie 'Going up River: the Long War of John Kerry.' (At Harvard Square Theater among others) It gives you an extraordinarily clear picture of a remarkable young man."
Barbara will appreciate the following. She and MASS-CARE activists have long emphasized how our health care system spends almost 40% of health care funds on administration and advertising. Well, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a rather conservative think tank, found that of each dollar spent on aid to Iraq, only 27 cents makes it to projects that benefit Iraqis. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9627-2004Oct5.html
Electoral Fraud Alert: If it’s close…
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating 1,500 voter registration forms received by the Leon County elections office that apparently were altered to register local students as Republicans. http://www.local6.com/news/3786610/detail.html
Again, no Saddam wmd, nukes The Bush-Cheney spin was fitting: every item of contrary news “proves” their points. Up is Down. [The Moonie-owned paper, The Washington Times, chipped in with its take- Saddam worked secretly on WMDs.]
The WaPost story:
Charles Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons investigator in Iraq, told Congress today that Saddam Hussein destroyed his stocks of chemical and biological weapons and agents in 1991 and 1992 and that his nuclear weapons program had decayed to almost nothing by 2003.
Duelfer, a former U.N. inspector and the personal representative of the CIA director, said the former Iraqi dictator had intentions to restart his program, but after weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998, Hussein instead focused his attention on ending the sanctions imposed by Western governments following his incursion into Kuwait and the Persian Gulf war of 1991. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12115-2004Oct6.html
But, I ask, why is this news? I have no access to Iraqi files, haven’t been to Iraq, have no Ellsberg-like figures in the Pentagon to inform me. Yet, I noted in February, 2003 that Saddam’s son-in-law had told the CIA that all weapons had been destroyed after the Gulf War. I even cited Newsweek’s article which headlined this admission.
After the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq destroyed all its chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them, Saddam Hussein's slain son-in-law told intelligence agencies and United Nations inspectors in 1995, Newsweek magazine reported on Monday.
Hussein Kamel, who headed Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs for 10 years, told his story to the CIA, British Military Intelligence and UN inspectors, Newsweek said.
Kamel defected from Iraq, returned and was killed. According to sources not named by the magazine, Kamel had "hoped his revelations would trigger Saddam's overthrow, but when he realized the United States would not support his dream of becoming Iraq's ruler, he decided to return." http://www.rense.com/general35/destr.htm
So, we invaded a sovereign country because it might have produced chemical weapons if it acquired machinery/material it didn’t have and wouldn’t have secured because of the sanctions (and the inspections). Of course a number of other nations had chemical weapons programs fully operative, such as China, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia...
The Hammer Hammered?: DeLay judged. We would be focusing on him much more so if this weren’t an election year. The Ethics Committee of the House keeps targeting him. So, Judicial Watch makes its statement:
Judicial Watch, the conservative public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today called on Rep. Tom DeLay to step down as House Majority Leader in the wake of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee's recent findings that he acted improperly in attempting to win a vote from Rep. Nick Smith in exchange for endorsing Smith's son in a congressional primary. It is the second time that DeLay has been chastised by the ethics panel [...]
"Frankly, the ethics report was too kind to Mr. DeLay and the other House members implicated in the controversy. Mr. DeLay's actions in trying to trade a political endorsement for a vote were inappropriate and unacceptable, and given this grave ethical lapse, he should step down as Majority Leader. The Republican Party should not countenance its leadership violating House rules and standards of ethical behavior," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. http://www.judicialwatch.org/3844.shtml
The informative book on DeLay, by Lou Dubose, is addressed here: http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=09/29/2004
Guantanamo: Update on the Round-up
Most of the alleged al Qaeda and Taliban inmates at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are likely to be freed or sent to their home countries for further investigation because many pose little threat and are not providing much valuable intelligence, the facility's deputy commander has said.
The remarks by Army Brig. Gen. Martin Lucenti in yesterday's edition of London's Financial Times appeared to conflict with past comments by U.S. military commanders who have stressed the value of the information obtained from the detainees and the danger many would pose if released.
"Of the 550 [detainees] that we have, I would say most of them, the majority of them, will either be released or transferred to their own countries," Lucenti was quoted as saying in the British newspaper. "Most of these guys weren't fighting. They were running. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9626-2004Oct5?language=printer
Iran- Israel: October Surprise? Danny Schechter passes on one line of thinking from a BBC report.
In context of talking about how close the election in US is right now, the BBC's main Washington correspondent predicted dramatically . . . this is paraphrased (but very close to a quote):
"I may be putting my neck out, but I think the "October Surprise" is coming very soon and will be in the form of an Israeli preemptive missile strike against Iran."
She then went on to reference Israel's (US-financed) mega-missile purchase of last week. The BBC World News' anchor didn't bat a verbal eyelash at this ominous prediction." http://64.224.42.246/weblog/dannylog.cfm
Tax Cut: This made the business pages; the renewal of the “middle class tax cut” was a major item reported dutifully by NPR et al, as Bush signed it in Iowa. Excellent politics, subservient “journalism.”
In an act of pre-election largess, House and Senate negotiators approved a sprawling corporate tax bill on Wednesday that would shower corporations and farmers in politically sensitive states with about $145 billion worth of new tax cuts.
In an attempt to get backing from Southern Democrats, Republican leaders included a $10 billion buyout for tobacco farmers, but they rejected a Senate provision to link that buyout with a requirement that cigarette companies be subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.
Without the F.D.A. link, the bill could be jeopardized on the Senate floor, where opponents have threatened to stretch the debate to run down the clock as Congress tries to adjourn on Friday.
But Republican leaders said they had more than enough votes to stop a filibuster, contending that the overall tax bill has provisions sought by so many different lawmakers that it was almost assured of final passage by the end of this week. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/business/07corptax.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
More on a Bush 2nd Term: More Disempowerment, of course, of those who tend to support Democrats. From George Will:
Bush is pressing to put hundreds of thousands of federal jobs up for competition with the private sector. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform says: "The people who cut the Pentagon lawn are government employees. Why?" People listed in the phone book will do it cheaper. How many of the 15 million state and local government jobs could be privatized, with how many billions of dollars in savings? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13427-2004Oct6.html
Polls: Momentum Continues/Resumes for Kerry: It’s Even
Democracy Corps survey: Kerry 49% to 48%.
Economist: Kerry with a one point lead, 47% to 46%.
Arguably the most reliable is Zogby, which has Kerry recapturing the lead in the battleground states:
The presidential debate has lifted John Kerry back to where he was in our battleground analysis before the Republican convention energized the Bush campaign.
The latest Zogby Interactive poll puts Mr. Kerry ahead of President Bush in 13 of the 16 closely contested states -- two more states than the Massachusetts senator led before the debate and the most since August. The latest survey was conducted between last Thursday, after the debate ended, and Tuesday afternoon, before vice-presidential contenders Dick Cheney and John Edwards debated.
Mr. Kerry moved ahead in two states (Ohio and Nevada) and increased his lead in seven others -- though Mr. Kerry's margin over Mr. Bush in Ohio, Arkansas and Florida was negligible -- less than one percentage point. Mr. Bush's lead narrowed in the three states (Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia) that he remains ahead of Mr. Kerry. Overall, seven of Mr. Kerry’s leads are within the margins of error, while all of Mr. Bush’s leads are. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-battleground04-an1006.html?mod=home_interactive_features
State polls: Even.
New Mexico: Kerry 46, Bush 43 (Albuquerque Journal)
California: Kerry 49, Bush 40 (Field Poll)
Iowa: Kerry 47, Bush 46 (University of Minnesota)
Missouri: Bush 49, Kerry 47 (Survey USA)
Washington: Kerry 54, Bush 43 (Survey USA)
North Carolina: Bush 52, Kerry 45 (Survey USA)
Ohio: Kerry 49, Bush 48 (Survey USA)
Florida: Kerry 47, Bush 45 (ARG)
New Hampshire: Kerry 47, Bush 47 (ARG)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 50, Bush 43 (West Chester University
New Jersey: Kerry 49, Bush 46 (Quinnipiac)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 48, Bush 41 (Franklin and Marshall)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 48, Bush 46 (American Rsearch Group)
Pennsylvania: Kerry 49, Bush 47 (Survey USA)
Missouri: Bush 51, Kerry 45 (Rasmussen)
Maine: Kerry 49, Bush 47 (Survey USA)
Florida: Bush 48, Kerry 44 (Mason-Dixon)
Ohio: Kerry 48, Bush 47 (American Research Group)
Florida: Bush 46, Kerry 42 (Quinnipiac)
New Jersey: Kerry 49, Bush 41 (Fairleigh Dickinson)
Electoral: Too many; to summarize, no one’s got it!
-R
