Despite a massive campaign effort, Bush is headed to defeat on Tuesday. Unfortunately, he still controls the military, so in his political death throes he can try one last trick - storming Falluja and Ramadi. Bush has already killed 100,000 Iraqis and made the country economically worse than it was under Saddam. How many more Iraqis will Bush kill in his futile effort to steal another 4 years? Impeach Bush Now!

Wayne Madsen: "The Bush administration, worried that it could lose the presidential election to John Kerry, has initiated plans to launch a military strike on Iran's top Islamic leadership, its nuclear reactor at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, and key nuclear targets throughout the country, including the main underground research site at Natanz in central Iran and another in Isfahan. Targets of the planned U.S. attack reportedly include mosques in Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan known by the U.S. to headquarter Iran's top mullahs. The Iran attack plan was reportedly drawn up after internal polling indicated that if the Bush administration launched a so-called anti-terrorist attack on Iran some two weeks before the election, Bush would be assured of a landslide win against Kerry. Reports of a pre-emptive strike on Iran come amid concerns by a number of political observers that the Bush administration would concoct an 'October Surprise' to influence the outcome of the presidential election. "

Carol Pogash writes: "Presidential candidates usually strive to be role models. But Karl Rove has another agenda: He wants to convince Americans that Bush, the son of a president and grandson of a senator, a man who "bravely" refuses to scale back tax cuts to the very rich, is an ordinary American. In the [sick, pathetic] Rovian universe, it's Bush who is the regular jock and Kerry who's the sports wimp. The fact that Kerry is a superb athlete who skis, snowboards, plays hockey and wind surfs while Bush, once a high school cheerleader [LOL- we'd love to see him with his pompoms!], clears brush for the TV cameras and tumbles off a mountain bike and a Segway scooter..." and whose greatest "sports" achievement is throwing out a baseball for the cameras without actually hitting anyone for the World Series" We wonder how long Bush would be able to wind surf before he drowned?

The web site Bush Relatives for Kerry is not a satire: they're really Dubya's cousins, and they include their family tree in the site as proof. As they explain on the home page: "As the election approaches, we feel it is our responsibility to speak out about why we are voting for John Kerry, and to do our small part to help America heal from the sickness it has suffered since George Bush was appointed President in 2000." Blood is thinner than oil!

Cox: "An LBJ High School newspaper student pulled off [yeah - simply by being born to Mark McKinnon] something professional journalists across the country would love to do: She landed [i.e., Daddy called and arranged] an exclusive one-on-one interview with President Bush. Not just any student snagged the 10-minute interview at the president's ranch in Crawford. It was Kendall McKinnon, daughter of Bush media adviser Mark McKinnon. Connections aside, the interview represents the level of journalism that staffers at the high school's national award-winning Liberator continue to tackle." We what kind of "awards "awards" an article consisting of pablum-y answers to spoon-fed questions by the daughter of a man whose job it is to make Bush look good will win? The Puff Piece of the Year award?

Bush thought nailing down PA would be a cinch - afterall he had former PA governor Tom Ridge as the head of Homeland Security and all those enthusiastic white supremacists to form loud claques everytime he spoke there (western PA is, alas, one of the nation's white supremacist hubs, annually hosting more radical right group rallies and events than nearly any other state). But Pennsylvania proved it is FAR, FAR more than Tom Ridge and NeoNazis! Kerry is leading in PA, according to most local polls and Bush is fighting tooth and nail for every fraction of a poll point he can get. As a result, Bush is practically "living" in PA these days....leading wags to dub the state 'White House North."

Reuters: "Treasury Secretary John Snow, in Florida for the fifth time this year, rebuffed suggestions on Wednesday he was using taxpayer dollars to fund trips to hotly contested electoral states. Less than two weeks away from the Nov. 2 presidential election, in which Florida could play a make-or-break role for Bush Snow visited a jobs training program at a Tampa high school. Speaking to reporters after the tour, Snow said: "This is clearly not a political event."" Nah, of course not! It's just an amazingly timed coincidence that during the FLA early election, the Treasury of the Sec. (and, we might add, during a week when the dollar dropped to an 8-month low and he should be in DC doing his job) suddenly feels compelled to toot off to a Tampa highschool!

William Milliken, governor of Michigan from 1969 through 1982, is the iconic moderate Republican in the state. He is the epitome of a decent politician, admired by both Republicans and Democrats. And he's just endorsed John Kerry for president: "I felt so strongly about the direction of this country that in the end, it wasn't a difficult decision to make... This president has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing across a wide variety of issues and has exacerbated the polarization and the strident, uncivil tone of much of what passes for political discourse in this country today." Any Republican with a conscience should heed Gov. Milliken's words and follow his example.

Minnesota's Repuglican governor Tim Pawlenty (see http://www.mepartnership.org/protectourwater/pow_whatsnew.asp?new_id=313) is a conservationist who has had to fight his own party over every environmentally responsible action he has taken - and he has taken many: Called for restrictions on all-terrain vehicle use on state lands, promoted renewable energy, advocated for improved air quality and smart growth AND officially threw his support in early May behind the creation of the 32,000-acre Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota. But guess who is this week taking phony credit for the refuge? Bush! - just in time to claim he's suddenly "environmental" at debate #3! Note in this press release how Pawlenty is mentioned as an afterthought 2/3 through the article, in a list with other "secondary" figures!

"Bush's campaign announced Sunday... a new commercial [using] a quote from an 8,000-word New York Times Magazine article about Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. The parsing prompted the Kerry camp to retort that the soon-to-be-released Bush ad was another example of the president's campaign taking words out of context to create a misleading impression." Here are Kerry's actual words. "We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance. As a former law enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life." But the Bush 'Nuisance' Ad will distort this quote to mean that Kerry doesn't understand the terrorism threat.

AP: "The Bush administration has promoted its education law with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter involved was paid with taxpayer money. The government used a similar approach this year in promoting the new Medicare law and drew a rebuke from the investigative arm of Congress, which found the videos amounted to propaganda in violation of federal law... The video and documents emerged through a Freedom of Information Act request by People for the American Way... The group sought details on a $700,000 contract Ketchum received in 2003 from the Education Department. One service the company provided was a video news release geared for television stations. The video... ends with the voice of a woman saying, 'In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting.' It does not identify the government as the source of the report. It also fails to make clear the person purporting to be a reporter was someone hired for the promotional video."

Bush is getting more pathetic by the day! He now only feels secure in front of completely hand-picked crowds, like the invitation-only bunch in Wilkes-Barre, PA on Wed. Some of the people were apparently "trucked in" from as far away as Wyoming. Is this sad or what? The latest scripted "candid audience member" statement being made at these staged events (we have spotted the identical nausea-inducing, highly unbelievable line quoted at two different events) is: "He's our greatest president we ever had!" Gag us with a silver spoon!

John Nichols writes, "George W. Bush is tired of being president. His weariness and frustration with the job was evident throughout last night's first presidential debate of the 2004 campaign. Whenever the discussion turned to questions about his management of the occupation of Iraq, Bush said, 'It's hard work.' Why didn't he anticipate the disaster? 'It's hard work.' Considering the mounting death toll, was the Iraq invasion worth it? 'It's hard work.' By the end of the night, the sullen president had repeated the 'hard work' line at least nine times, using it as frequently as he did those stock talking points about 'progress' in Iraq and Democrat John Kerry's 'mixed messages.' And, in contrast to his rote recitation of the talking points, Bush's grumbling about how difficult it is to do his job did not seem at all insincere. At least on this point, Bush was speaking the truth. For George W. Bush, serving as president at this time in history is very hard work."

Mail Tribune: "A local librarian checking on a company's request to set up a voter registration booth in the library discovered the company was not affiliated with a non-partisan national group as it claimed. Sproul & Associates, Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., phoned and mailed the library in September, saying it had been hired by America Votes. That came as news to America Votes. 'This organization (Sproul) absolutely has nothing to do with America Votes,' said Kevin Looper, the state organizing director for America Votes. America Votes is a non-partisan political organization formed in July 2003 to increase voter registration, education and participation in electoral politics. Libraries in Oregon and other states have been contacted by Sproul." A little digging by librarian Megan O'Flaherty revealed that Sproul & Associates, Inc. is a political consulting firm headed up by former Arizona state Republican Party executive director Nathan Sproul.

Having failed to get the FEC to "fix" the laws for him, Bush is now resorting to a new, just as despicably dishonest tactic. He is exploiting a loophole that will allow him to channel millions more in corporate cash into his campaign than is strictly legal under campaign laws. AP: "Ken Mehlman, Bush's campaign manager, said in an interview that federal election law allows the campaign access to party money 'provided that your message is broader than the individual candidate and includes a discussion of the overall agenda and the message of the party.' " So simply by adding the words "and our leaders in Congress," Bush will be able to dump an obscene $93 million into ads from the corporate cash in the RNC's coffers. And, with the "nightly news" working for his campaign under the guise of "news," never before in US history has a presidential campaign been more rigged!

Reuters: " [Bush and Kerry] have tentatively agreed to three face-to-face debates, according to source familiar with the negotiations. The debates, beginning September 30, could prove pivotal in the closely fought November 2 election, and in an effort to lower voters' expectations, each side in recent weeks has already begun to portray the other as having the stronger debater. The source familiar with the negotiations said the Bush campaign had tentatively agreed to the full complement of debates recommended by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates." But Rove is leaving worming out room, because as soon as they "tentatively agreed" just to make the Commission deadline, the Bush campaign issued a statement that "No agreement has been reached."

St. Pete Times: "The latest effort to disqualify Ralph Nader as a presidential candidate in Florida has led to renewed scrutiny of papers filed by other candidates - including Bush. State law sets a Sept. 1 deadline for the governor to certify a list of presidential electors for each party's candidates. But Sept. 1 was also the day Bush and Cheney were being nominated at their party' convention in NYC. Consequently, some of their paperwork did not arrive at state elections headquarters until Sept. 2, a day after Gov. Jeb Bush certified the candidates for president. Paperwork problem? No, says Secretary of State Glenda Hood's office." Anyone remember an issue of DEADLINES being a factor in Cruella Harris' mishandling of the Stolen Election in 2000? Like, maybe, DISALLOWING a recount because of missing an arbitrary deadline, one not mandated by the "RULE of LAW."

International News: "Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, in an interview published on Sunday, slammed George W Bush's campaign tactics, saying he 'will say anything and do anything to get elected and hold on to power.' With respect to a barrage of television ads aimed at discrediting Kerry's Vietnam War service and which are widely credited with the downward slide in his polling numbers, Kerry was particularly adamant. 'I think the pResident's unwillingness to walk away from those comments makes it clear that he and the vice president will say anything and do anything to get elected and to hold on to power. It was a shameful and outrageous effort.' Kerry said that despite the setback caused by the ads, his campaign would rebound. 'You know, I've been in worse situations in my life. The attacks don't attack me as much as they attack Americans and America.' "

First Cheney tries to blackmail Americans into voting for Bush by what the NY times called "disgraceful" fearmongering. Now Bush supporter and 9/11 exploiter Rudy Guiliani has gone to Russia and met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an effort to squeeze even more "blood" out of 9/11 for Bush by tying it to the Russian school tragedy - even the tho; the situations are like apples and oranges (9/11 was perpetrated by band of terrorists representing only themselves, while the Russian tragedy was the work of guerillas representing a nation embroiled in a decades-old war in which tens of thousands have died) As even AP points out: "Lavrov's meeting with Giuliani also appeared aimed to press Moscow's assertion that Russia is a victim of international terrorism -- not just of violence spawned by the Chechen conflict, which critics say Kremlin policy has aggravated.

NYT editorial: "There are some things a presidential campaign should steer clear of, through innate good taste, prudence or just a sensible fear of a voter backlash... But Dick Cheney seemed to breach that unspoken barrier this week in Des Moines. If John Kerry was elected president, Mr. Cheney warned the crowd, 'the danger is that we'll get hit again.' In a long, rather rambling statement, he said the United States might then fall back into a 'pre-9/11 mind-set' that 'these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts.' At the very best, Mr. Cheney was speaking loosely and carelessly about the area in this campaign that deserves the most careful and serious discussion. It sounds to us more likely that he stepped across a line that the Bush campaign team had flirted with throughout its convention."

Rove and his fellow thugs did everything they could to make sure the media unquestioningly dish up a train load of dirt from the Swift Boat frauds. But now when Kitty Kelly, famed for her devastating tell-alls, dishes up the dirt on Bush, Rove is trying to strong-arm the media to suppress the story and discredit everyone involved.

A.merican P.ropaganda reports - and in a grossly slanted way that all but hits the reader over the head, "Two devastating hurricanes have given Bush something his political advisers couldn't dream up: the chance to play comforter in chief in a battleground state he is determined to win again. Both Bush and Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry deny any attempt to play politics with the devastating storms that struck Florida. But if there's any advantage to be had, it probably goes to the president." But Floridians BEWARE: Bush promised the 9/11 survivors and NYC lavish amounts of help - help that ended up being little more than a sound byte, most of which never showed up in reality. And the aid that did come took months -some of it YEARS - to finally get there. If there's a tragedy, count on Bush to help ... himself! Bush still denies global warming. A vote for Bush is a vote for more disaster.

Maureen Dowd writes, "Anne O'Hare McCormick, who died in 1954, was The Times's pioneering foreign affairs correspondent who covered the real Axis of Evil, interviewing Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Patton. She was hardly a left-wing radical or defeatist. In 1937, she became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism, and she was the first woman to be a member of The Times's editorial board. The resident distorted the columnist's dispatch. (download a PDF of the original column)The 'moral crisis' and failure she described were in the British and French sectors. She reported that the Americans were doing better because of their policy to 'encourage initiative and develop self-government.' She wanted the U.S. to commit more troops and stay the course - not cut and run. Mr. Bush Swift-boated her."

"White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said yesterday that Bush views America as a '10-year-old child' in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent. Card's remark, criticized later by Democrat John F. Kerry's campaign as 'condescending,' came in a speech to Republican delegates ... threaded with references to Bush's role as protector of the country. Republicans have sounded that theme repeatedly at the GOP convention as they discuss the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq. 'It struck me as I was speaking to people in Bangor, Maine, that this president sees America as we think about a 10-year-old child,' Card said. 'I know as a parent I would sacrifice all for my children.' 'Any parent that ran a household the way George W. Bush runs the country would find themselves in bankruptcy court on the way to family court,' said Phil Singer, a Kerry spokesman.' "

On 8-9-04 in Virginia, Bush said it was pointless to make the rich pay their fair share of taxes because "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway." On 9-4-04 in Erie PA, Bush repeated that outrageous excuse for the greedy: "You know what would happen," he said. "They hire accountants and lawyers and you get stuck with the bill." This is OUTRAGEOUS! It's the job of the President to make sure tax laws are enforced, and to make sure loopholes are closed. When the children of the working class are fighting and dying, the rich can at LEAST pay their fair share of the taxes!

Calvin Woodward writes: "Bush glossed over some complicating realities in Iraq, Afghanistan and the home front in arguing the case Americans are safer and his opponent cannot deliver. On Iraq, Bush talked of a 30-member alliance standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States, masking the fact that U.S. troops are pulling by far most of the weight. On Afghanistan and its neighbors, he gave an accounting of captured or killed terrorists, but did not address the replenishment of their ranks - or the still-missing Osama bin Laden." The speech also included some smears against Kerry - such as the $87-billion spending vote - that have long since been proven as blatant misrepresentations.

David Corn: "It's official: the 2004 campaign is a referendum on whether the United States should wage a crusade to bring liberty to the repressed of the world--particularly in the Middle East--in order to heed the call of God and to protect the United States from terrorists who target America because they despise freedom. Or, at least, that is how George W. Bush would like the contest to be framed. In his acceptance speech, Bush pushed the message of the week--it's the war, stupid--to lofty heights... Bush also placed it within the context of an even grander mission. 'America,' he proclaimed from that altar-like podium, 'is called to lead the cause of freedom in the new century... Freedom is not America's gift to the world. It is the Almighty God's gift.'... Bush did not pussyfoot about. His message was nuance-free: la guerre est moi. In this regard, he is taking full and complete responsibility and asking to be judged accordingly. And God only knows how that's going to turn out."

NY Times reports, "Bush will accept his party's nomination in New York this week on the crest of a campaign that aides say reflects an unusual level of involvement from the president himself, particularly in driving attacks on Senator John Kerry that have characterized his re-election effort since the spring. Several aides said Mr. Bush viewed this as the campaign of his life and had intervened on matters as large as the themes it should strike and as small as particular shots of him in his television advertisements. While making sure Mr. Kerry is challenged at every opening, they said, the single most consuming concern for Mr. Bush is that there is an elaborate get-out-the-vote operation in November in anticipation of a contest as tight as the one in 2000... In particular, aides said, Mr. Bush has, along with Mr. Rove, been a driving force behind the attacks that have become a hallmark of his campaign since Mr. Kerry emerged from the spring primaries as the Democratic candidate."

"Wall Street's enthusiasm for US President George W. Bush appears to have cooled as the presidential race tightens and concerns grow about foreign policy and fiscal deficits. Some leading fundraisers of Mr Bush's re-election bid have stopped active campaigning and others privately voice reservations... One senior Wall Street figure, once talked of as a possible Bush cabinet member, said that he and other prominent Republicans had been raising money with increasing reluctance. 'Many are doing so with a heavy heart and some not at all.' He cited foreign policy and the ballooning federal deficit as Wall Street Republicans' main concerns... One New York dinner in June 2003 raised more than $4m, partly thanks to the efforts of Stan O'Neal, chief executive of Merrill Lynch. Yet Mr O'Neal has done no fundraising for the campaign at all since then and friends say he is not supporting Mr Bush."

And so the plot thickens! Looks more and more like one of the motives behind the White House's engineering of the Swift Boat vets smear against Kerry was to use the incident as "leverage" to attack anti-Bush/anti-war groups. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if the very outrageousness of the smear was designed to turn public opinion against "outside groups" as Bush calls them. But Bush's argument has been rendered irrelevant because the Swifties are NOT an "outisde group" - they were answering directly to the White House! Yet the Idiot Bush, who was opposed to campaign finance reform, is making a big fat phony show of enlisting McCain's help to attack outside groups because now it serves HIS purpose. Will McCain fall even further in everyone's estimation by taking the bait?

"Max Cleland tried to deliver a letter protesting ads challenging John Kerry's Vietnam service to President Bush at his Texas ranch Wednesday, but the Secret Service stopped Cleland short of his goal. The former Georgia senator, a triple amputee who fought in Vietnam, was carrying a letter from nine Senate Democrats who wrote Bush that 'you owe a special duty' to condemn attacks on Kerry's military service. 'The question is where is George Bush's honor, the question is where is his shame to attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat?' Cleland asked. 'Regardless of the political combat involved, it's disgraceful.' Encountering a permanent roadblock to Bush's ranch, Cleland left without turning over the letter to anyone." You go, Max!

Newsmax reports, "The money math is simple. The Kerry forces - through his campaign, the unions and the 527s - will outspend Bush by some $300 million or more by election day... One wealthy Republican - one of the few who can write Soros-style checks of $10 million or more - tells us that he has, all of a sudden, gotten calls from desperate Republicans seeking help. All calls have gone unreturned. Like most Republicans, he is strongly rooting for Bush. But no money will be sent. This donor doesn't believe it will make much of a difference at this point. And then there's politics. President Bush never invited the donor - a frequent guest in the Oval Office of previous Republican presidents - to the White House even once during the past four years. It's a story we have heard time and again. Conservatives who write to the president get no response, and no one from the Bush White House calls to thank their friends and supporters on behalf of the President."

Bush has no choice but to run a negative campaign, because there's nothing good to say about him. But there's another, dangerous reason for accentuating the negative and eliminating the positive: it creates cynicism about voting among independents, who are much likelier to vote for Kerry. His chief strategist admitted as much when he said, "Motivating Republicans this year is as important, or possibly more important, than reaching the persuadable voters." They're not even trying to hide their hatred of democracy. They'll do whatever they have to to stay in power.

"On the same day that the Bush-Cheney campaign repeatedly denied coordinating attacks with the anti-Kerry group 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,' the Bush-Cheney campaign in Florida was caught promoting a rally in Gainesville for the group. A flyer being distributed at the Alachua County Republican party headquarters, which doubles as the Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters for the county, promotes a weekend rally sponsored by 'Swift Boat Vets for Truth, Veterans for Bush, Alachua Bush/Cheney Committee,' and others. 'George Bush has disgraced himself by allowing his campaign to promote the ugly smears being spread by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,' said Scott Maddox, Chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. 'The Bush campaign has repeatedly denied any involvement with this group, but now we know the real truth. While George Bush falsely declares his respect for John Kerry's war record, his henchmen on the ground in Florida are attacking it under the radar.'"

BBC reports, "Iraq's successful Olympic [soccer] team has launched an outspoken attack on George W Bush. Midfielder Salih Sadir said the team - which won its group stage in Greece - was angry it had been used in Mr Bush's re-election campaign ads. One accused the US leader of committing 'many crimes', and another said he would be fighting US troops if not for Athens. Their comments were made in a Sports Illustrated magazine interview. Salih Sadir said he was angry at Mr Bush's campaign adverts showing pictures of the Afghan and Iraqi flags with the words: 'At this Olympics there will be two more free nations - and two fewer terrorist regimes'. 'Iraq as a team does not want Mr Bush to use us for the presidential campaign,' said the Iraqi player. 'He can find another way to advertise himself.'"

Mike Hersh draws from the AP, NY Times, Democrats.com and an explosive new book to prove that the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" are really a double-talking, swift vote-grabbing, dirty-trick operation closely linked to the Bush 2004 effort, despite Bush campaign denials. Bush backers are lying and lying about lying. They're "flip-flopping" to trick voters and cover up disturbing facts about Bush's own record - from the Vietnam Era to date.

The New York Times: "[O]n close examination, the accounts of 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements. Several of those now declaring Mr. Kerry 'unfit' had lavished praise on him, some as recently as last year. [March 2003 group leader rear admiral Roy F. Hoffmann called Kerry] 'a good man' [and said the actions that won Kerry's Silver Star] took guts, and I admire that.' [In 1996] George Elliott, one of the Vietnam veterans in the group, flew from his home in Delaware to Boston in 1996 to stand up for Mr. Kerry [saying] the action that won Mr. Kerry a Silver Star was 'an act of courage.' Adrian L. Lonsdale, another Vietnam veteran now speaking out [said Kerry] 'was among the finest of those Swift boat drivers.'" Kerry's war record hasn't changed, so why do Bush-backers keep changing their story? Bushies lie - the truth hurts.

WhiteHouseforsale.org: "Among the newly named Pioneers are five individuals who ranked among Bush's top fundraisers in 2000, including Tom Hicks, the former vice chairman of Clear Channel and who bought the Texas Rangers from Bush. Other new Pioneer notables include former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves, head of the American Trucking Association, and Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America, whose wife used to be Enron's top lobbyist. U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) is the lone new Ranger, although another nine previously identified 2004 Pioneers have been elevated to Ranger status." How defining of all the Bush admin. stands for! Bush media minions, pork-fed contractors, and a guy who is supposed to represent truckers - but throws his support to the guy who caused gas prices to skyrocket!

AFP: "George W. Bush famously dislikes press conferences but has embraced "Ask President Bush " sessions packed with supporters at least as eager to pay tribute to him as get an answer. At an "Ask President Bush" in Oregon Friday, he was asked to appoint conservative judges; heard that his tax cuts promote growth; and received an emotional tribute from the sister-in-law of an Iraq-bound US soldier. While he has yet to face a hostile questioner, angry attacks on Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry abound." That's because Kerry meets are honest and open. By contrast, "would-be Bush hecklers face daunting obstacles: Loyalists handle giving out tickets to the event; home-made signs and banners are often forbidden; and in some cases access hinges on signing a loyalty oath." It's only a matter of time before they start handing out the mandatory brown shirts.

While Kerry and Edwards have made SURE that all of their campaign merchandise is made in the USA - not only that, but by UNION LABOR - Bush/Cheney are adding insult to the injury they've already inflicted on American workers by selling souvenir hats, shirts, and other stuff made by the cheapest overseas labor available, including Burma (Myanmar) (allegedly these items have been discontinued after it was exposed that Bush campaign warmup shirts were made there - even though an import ban was supposedly in place) Other items were made in Honduras, China and Haiti - how convenient for Bush that the labor-friendly president of Haiti (who had demanded a minimum wage of US corporations) was overthrown just in time for Campaign 2004!.

"Bush is refusing to condemn an ad that criticizes rival John Kerry 's Vietnam war record, even though the resident's campaign partner this week, Sen. John McCain, urged the White House to do so. 'I haven't seen the ad, but what I do condemn is these regulated, soft-money expenditures' by outside groups that have filled the airwaves with attacks on both candidates, the resident said Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live. Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton criticized Bush for refusing to 'condemn the dirty work' of the ad, saying he 'sidestepped responsibility and refused to do the right thing.' Bush also defended his continuing to sit in an elementary school classroom on Sept. 11, 2001 for seven minutes after being told the nation was under attack. 'I was collecting my thoughts and I was sitting with a bunch of young kids, and I made the decision there that we would let this part of the program finish,' said the resident." Urge Bush to condemn the ad at http://democrats.com/swift

"We are deeply disappointed by the tone and tenor of President [sic] Bush and Vice President [sic] Cheney's personal attacks on John Kerry, a decorated combat veteran who served his country with courage and honor. John Kerry is talking about his plan to address the most pressing issues facing our nation -- jobs, the economy, health care, the war on terror, the war in Iraq. George Bush and Dick Cheney have chosen take their campaign to the gutter. We call on [Bush/Cheney] to stop the irresponsible personal attacks and tell us where they want to take the country. Tell us how they plan to win the peace in Iraq. Tell us how they plan to get us back on track with the war on terror. Tell us where they plan to lead the country. The American people and our troops deserve better." Signed by 10 well-known military leaders, incl. General Wesley Clark and Admiral Stansfield Turner.

Bush has had the audiences in stitches this week with his new stand-up comedy routine, co-scripted by that King of Dark Comedy, Karl Rove. I mean, how can lines like this fail to get a laugh: " know what I'm doing when it comes to winning this war." And, as a new feature to the Bush traveling comedy road show, John McCain has been added as a sidekick - a sort of dour Moe playing off Bush's dark version of Curly Joe. But McCain himself got some good belly laugh lines: "Because of what we did in Iraq, the world is safer and America is safer." As a comic finale to the act, Bush pretended to open the floor to a special "Ask President Bush" Q&A session - then grabbed the mike and made a laugh-a-minute-speech instead. .

AWOL Bush's complicity in the despicable smear against John Kerry's honorable service in Vietnam was made painfully clear on Thursday when White House spokesman Scott McClellan oiled his way carefully around the question, refusing to go on record with the direct statement that the Bush campaign had nothing to do with the attack. Instead, outrageously enough, Bush wants to use the ad as a bargaining chip to get Kerry to agree to an "immediate cessation" of all ads by outside groups. "We have not and will not question Senator Kerry's service in Vietnam," White House spokesman Scott McClellan was reported as saying by Moonie News." Notice how he avoids mentioning the ad directly. The "subtext" should read: "WE won't smear Kerry's service directly, but we'll direct pals like Merrie Spaeth to do it for us!

US Newswire: "The Gen Pres of the Int'l Assoc of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO/CLC, Harold Schaitberger, issued this statement after Bush released a new ad using images of fire fighters: 'Bush Zeroed Out First Responder Programs in Budget Proposals, Made Misleading Claims of Budget Increases to Take Credit for Actions of Congress. President Bush's new ad using fire fighter images to imply that he has supported first responders in their battle to protect America's homeland is yet another example of his misleading the American People. The fact is that the 9/11 Commission said a rededication to preparedness is needed in this country because they know what two other independent studies showed -- that we are still not safe because two-thirds of America's fire departments remain under- staffed, even while Bush refuses to spend one penny to fund the SAFER Act, a new law that was passed with bipartisan support in Congress that would put more fire fighters in our communities.' "

The Independent (UK)reports, "President George Bush's senior strategists have vowed to use the month of August to mount derisive and personal attacks on the Democratic candidate John Kerry in what is becoming an increasingly bitter election campaign. August is traditionally a sleepy and politically quiet month, even in election years, but both sides have said they cannot afford to break off from campaigning, even for the Olympic Games. With Mr Kerry enjoying a bounce of about 4 per cent from last week's Democratic convention in Boston, Mr Bush's aides said they will ... directly attack Mr Kerry, trying to divert attention from what they say was his brief, four-month tour in Vietnam 30 years ago. [How many months did Chicken Hawk W serve in VN?] This will culminate with the Republican convention in New York at the end of the month in which Mr Kerry will be portrayed as a flip-flopping object of humour and derision."

Just reading through the "chat" supposedly served up by Jenna and Barbara Bush made us believe the rumor: the twins alleged chat is a front set up by the Bush campaign to disseminate Bush propaganda to what their focus groups tell them will be the 18-24-year-old group where Bush popularity is sadly lacking. Here's a sampling of "candid twinspeak": "He is definitely an extremely busy man, but he still finds plenty of time to devote to us."..."Two months after September 11, when our father and our country were dealing with a huge national tragedy, he still found time to throw us a party for our 20th birthday."..."As I sat on stage waiting for my dad to deliver his remarks, I was so overcome by the unbelievable excitement in the room, watching so many people yell and chant for my father, I could not help but get tears in my eyes." We can just picture Karl Rove huddled over a computer in a back room of the White House, typing in both Qs and As!

Ha'aretz: "Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told Haaretz that he believes it is up to Israel to negotiate peace, and that at this point there is no partner on the Palestinian side with whom to negotiate. Kerry told Haaretz that he would deal with terror by working against Arab countries that support it. 'I can be more effective with the accountability of the Saudis and other Arab countries,' Kerry said. 'I'll do a better job of reducing the threat to Israel and the rest of the world.' " By contrast, Bush has let Saudi Arabia and Yemen off the hook for their considerable connections to Al Queda, while illegally invading Iraq, which had NO real connection to Al Queda - hardly a terrorism-reducing strategy. Kerry believes negotiations with Arafat are pointless, since Israel will not accept Arafat as a representative of Palestinians -- an alternative must be found.

Bob Lancaster writes, "Here are a few examples of the streamlined optimist-pessimist go-f***-yourself campaign theme at work: If you don't think you're better off now than you were four years ago, then you're a pessimist and can go f***-yourself. If you don't think that Clinton left us with a fast-collapsing economy, and that Bush the Optimist slowly but steadily and always cheerfully dug us out of those colossal all-Clinton's-fault ruins, then you're a pessimist and can go f***-yourself. If you don't think everything is just hunky-dory with the economy, and that this 'recovery' is the real McCoy, and that prosperity is just around the corner, then you're a pessimist and you can go f***-yourself. If you think these gasoline prices are hopelessly out of control, well then, pessimist, g.f.y. If you think job outsourcing is a matter of concern, or if you even know what the term means, then p.g.f.y."

Dan Balz writes, "Republicans risk losing the economic debate in this year's election unless they shift their focus from trying to convince voters that the economy is improving and engage Democrats directly over how to create jobs and expand growth in the future, Republican governors were told here this weekend. GOP pollster Bill McInturff, in a Saturday briefing for the Republican Governors Association, presented survey results showing that voters are far more responsive to Sen. John F. Kerry's economic message that talks about a middle-class squeeze than to President Bush's efforts to change public perceptions by talking up recent economic statistics. Republicans have been hoping that, with improving economic statistics, Bush will gain politically, but GOP governors agreed with McInturff's conclusion that voters are not ready for such a message" - 'cuz it's bush*t!

Elizabeth Bushlover writes, "As with all decisions at the White House, politics was paramount. In a summer when Michael Moore's film 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is attacking Mr. Bush for spending 42% of his first eight months in office on vacation instead of worrying about Al Qaeda (Mr. Moore's calculation came from The Washington Post), the image of Mr. Bush lazing away August on his 1,600 acres was not one that Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, particularly relished. Still, there was debate over Mr. Bush's vacation within the White House [with Karl Rove advocating work.] 'What Karl advocated happened,' said a Republican close to the White House. 'I don't think any voting decision is going to be made on what the president did for three weeks in August, but there are people who believe very strongly that it created the wrong visuals. They didn't want those pictures.'"

Bush knows he will lose in November unless he captures Osama - or perhaps Ayman Al Zawahiri or Mullah Omar. In an explosive story, The New Republic quotes Pakistani officials who say Bush is pressuring them to deliver one of these "high-value targets" (HVT) before November - best of all, at the height of the Democratic convention. As a carrot, "Powell pointedly refused to criticize Musharraf for pardoning nuclear physicist A.Q. Khan--who, the previous month, had admitted exporting nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya - declaring Khan's transgressions an 'internal Pakistani issue.' In addition, the administration is pushing a five-year, $3 billion aid package for Pakistan through Congress over Democratic concerns about the country's proliferation of nuclear technology and lack of democratic reform." Folks, this is TREASON - and it's time for Democrats to start screaming!

NY Daily News reports, "One of New York's top Republicans shocked his party yesterday by urging Bush to dump Dick Cheney and replace him with Colin Powell. 'I will shock Republicans and probably get them angry,' said former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato. 'But I think we could do better.' Powell 'would help galvanize the nation and offer a truly historic opportunity for American unity and pride,' he told the NY1 cable news channel. If Powell does not want to be vice president, D'Amato suggested, Bush could tap his sometime rival John McCain, the Arizona senator, for the No. 2 spot on the ticket... D'Amato is a political patron of Gov. Pataki, who is set to introduce Bush at the Republican convention in Manhattan next month. He is the highest-profile Republican to voice what some in his party have been saying quietly - that the curmudgeonly Cheney could be a drag on the Republican ticket." Of course, it's much more likely that Cheney would dump BUSH and appoint himself as Resident!

The GOP didn't wait a nanosecond to start attacking John Edwards. That's all they know how to do - character assassination. The attacks just prove how terrified they are of a Kerry-Edwards ticket, which crushes Bush-Cheney in the polls.

Bush is running a weird campaign video that tries to compare John Kerry to Hitler (LOL!). First off, Bush obviously slept his way through his history classes (or was too hungover to pay attention) or he would know that HITLER WAS A RIGHTWINGER, not a liberal. So right there, Bush's "parallel" between Hitler and Democrats becomes a sick joke. Next, Bush's own family was CONNECTED to Hitler through lucrative business deals, so one wonders: is this a veiled TRIBUTE to Hitler? A thankyou for services rendered, as without Hitler's money, the Bush family would probably not in a position to be corporate politicoes today. Last, the only people stupid enough to accept the ridiculous campaign tactic will be the ever-shrinking Bush core of constituents - the unread, unquestioning, bigotted, thuggish group who, ironically, are quite reminiscent in their attitude to those who followed Hitler.

"Maurice Stern wears his politics on his sleeve... and on his head. With anti-Bush pins adorning his wicker hat and an anti-Bush T-shirt to match, the 75-year-old suburban Delray Beach man's attire apparently sparked an argument Wednesday... Stern and his wife stopped into a Subway sandwich shop around 2 p.m. for lunch. His shirt and pins initially tickled 35-year-old Mark Yellen, who laughed. Yellen then called a friend, a supporter of Democratic candidate John Kerry, to stop by and see Stern's shirt. But at some point, Yellen and Stern argued. Yellen walked over, took Stern's hat off and threw it on the table, Stern told police. Stern stood up and insisted Yellen retrieve the hat and put it back on his head. Yellen got angrier and hit Stern's face with an open hand, knocking the older, smaller man to the floor, according to the report... Police arrested Yellen Thursday when he went to the station with his attorney to make a statement. He was charged with battery on the elderly."

Remember how the Busheviks screamed about the two Moveon ads from volunteers (out of 1000+) that compared Bush's dictatorship to Hitler's? Well, if they hate those ads so much, how come they keep finding ways to promote them? These Moveon ads are featured in Bush's latest Web ad, sandwiched between clips from Al Gore, Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Dick Gephardt, and John Kerry. What unites these widely-divergent figures? The introduction calls them, "The Faces of John Kerry's Democratic Party - the Coalition of the Wild-eyed." Obviously the Busheviks have given up all hope of winning the election, so they are resorting to pure trash. We hope the folks at the DNC will dig up clips of Tom DeLay, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, David Duke, and a few other friends of W!

Dan Froomkin writes, "It's very exciting when the president or the vice president swoop down on your town to make a campaign appearance, but what's left once they're gone are a lot of unpaid bills... Nate Jenkins of the Lincoln [NE] Journal Star writes that now, no one wants to foot the $31,900 bill for his visit. When Bush visited La Crosse, Wis., in May, he left behind $60,277 in unpaid security-related expenses incurred by the city. Joan Kent of the La Crosse Tribune writes that the city plans to bill the Bush/Cheney campaign for some of it, and make up a bit more through a Homeland Security grant, but swallow the rest. 'It's not whether it's a dollar or $60,000; I just do not think the city taxpayers should subsidize campaigns,' [Mayor John] Medinger said. 'He also said he thinks it is questionable whether Homeland Security money should be spent for security at events such as campaign rallies.' "

Cincinnati Post: "Why does the Cincinnati suburb [of Indian Hill] rank No. 4 in the 2004 election cycle for donations to the Bush campaign, under ZIP codes in Manhattan, Dallas and Houston? Bush has personal ties to wealthy Indian Hill residents, including Mercer Reynolds III, Bush's campaign finance chairman, and William O. DeWitt, host of tonight's fund-raiser. Reynolds and DeWitt bought out Bush's struggling oil company in 1984 and later became co-owners of the Texas Rangers with Bush and other investors. "What you see are big bundlers who use their circle of friends and business associates, and are able to get those people to give," Noble said. Their pitch: Inclusion in an elite circle of party donors and access to high-ranking members of the party. Access ranges from meeting with the president at the fund-raiser and getting a photo taken with him to having Republican Party officials return phone calls, Noble said. "

Cincinnati Enquirer: "So you didn't get an invitation to tonight's fund-raiser with Bush in Indian Hill? You're in good company. The $25,000-a-couple event at investor Bill DeWitt's house is so exclusive that not even the Bush campaign's southwest Ohio chairman, prosecutor Mike Allen, or county chairman Greg Hartmann were invited. 'They know I don't have that kind of money,' Hartmann said. The Media Fund, an anti-Bush group, plans to air radio ads today in Cincinnati highlighting the difference between average Ohioans and those at the fund-raiser. 'The economy may be fine for the people at your fund-raiser. But the real way to help families in Ohio is to create the kind of jobs that pay a decent wage and provide real health care,' reads the ad's transcript: 'Mr. Bush, by tonight you'll be on your way home. Our jobs will still be on their way overseas.' "

"Bush's re-election team drove up negative impressions of John Kerry during a relentless $80 million advertising campaign the last three months, but the Republicans failed to undercut the Democrat's standing as a viable alternative to Bush... [Bush] has been unable to do what President Clinton managed in 1996: open what proved to be an insurmountable lead over Republican challenger Bob Dole. Eight years ago, the Clinton re-election team, relying on an aggressive ad campaign, turned a 4% lead over Dole in January into a 16% advantage in June. Recent surveys show Kerry either tied with Bush or one candidate holding a slight advantage over the other with more than four months remaining before Election Day. Kerry's biographical ads focusing on his decorated tours of duty in Vietnam have been particularly effective, Jamieson said. The Kerry campaign spent more than $60 million on ads."

Bush is on his way to becoming a "limelight parasite." So far, the only braking in his downward slide has been through sucking off reflected light from someone else. Schmoozing with Chirac and the D-day crowd gave him a mild boost. Then slurping up Reagan's reflected light during the funeral events gave him another (both highly transient). Now he has attached himself leech-like to John McCain and wounded soldiers fresh from battle, hoping to get another infusion. McCain seemed to also be trying to suck up points from Bush and the troops, gushing Biblically about the battle of "good versus evil" in Iraq. So I guess you could say it was a symbiotic limelight session between Bush and McCain, who then both used the oldiers as their "host organisms."

Captiol Hill Blue: "Bush has spent seven of every $10 he has raised for his re-election campaign, more than half of it on television ads, and is asking supporters for more money. Bush has collected at least $218 million since he began fund raising in May 2003, easily outpacing Democratic rival John Kerry." Bush's negative TV ads have done little to help him - the only temporary stay in his downward trend in the polls was copping reflected light from Reagan during the funeral. That bump up is said to have already faded as anger at Bush's overuse of Reagan's name grows. So now, Bush is frantically sending e-mails pleading with Repugs to send him more money because Kerry "has certainly got his liberal allies all stirred up to attack me." Oh Waaaaaah!

Capitol Hill Blue: "As Bush tries to convince an increasingly skeptical American electorate he deserves re-election in November, he also faces declining support among his Republican base amid growing discord over his foreign and domestic policies." Among the Republicans who are reaching the end of their patience with Bush are many rightwingers: Bob Barr, Dick Army, Pat Buchanan, Phyllis Schlafly, and even pwn Bush's father, who refuses to publicly endorse the Iraq war - the core of Bush II's floundering presidency." Many Republicans turning against Bush cite two main factors: Iraq and Halliburton, as one disillusioned Austin Republican put it: "It's just too much old boy politics with the Bush administration. I don't like that."

Bush has accused Kerry of spending too much time away from D.C. on the campaign trail. Strange talk coming from a man who's spent roughly one month of every four at his "ranch!" Kerry would spend more time in DC if he too had the use of a free private jet. CNN reports: " Bush is using Air Force One for re-election travel more heavily than any predecessor, wringing maximum political mileage from a perk of office paid for by taxpayers. While John Kerry digs into his campaign bank account to charter a plane to roam the country, Bush often travels at no cost to his campaign simply by declaring a trip 'official' travel rather than 'political.' Even when the White House deems a trip as political, the cost to Bush's campaign is minimal. In such instances, the campaign must only pay the government the equivalent of a comparable first-class fare for passengers. It's a minuscule sum, compared to the $56,800-per-hour it costs to run Air Force One."

"Bush was out of line to ask the Vatican to get U.S. bishops more involved in promoting his conservative social agenda, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Tuesday. 'I think it was entirely and extraordinarily inappropriate, and I think it speaks for itself,' the Massachusetts senator, who is Catholic, told reporters in a question-and-answer session outside Cincinnati, Ohio. A Vatican official privy to discussions between Bush and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state to Pope John Paul II, said Bush 'complained that the U.S. bishops were not being vocal enough in supporting him on social issues like gay marriage and abortion.' The discussion took place June 4 during Bush's visit to the Vatican. The Vatican official said that Bush, a Methodist, asked Sodano to 'push the bishops to become more actively involved' in promoting those issues that are part of his social agenda. The official said Sodano did not respond to Bush's request."

Derrick Z. Jackson writes: "`Bishops for Bush' [bumper stickers] may soon be coming. It seems that the president who admits few faults and confesses no shame but invokes God in policy decisions to a grating degree pandered to the pope in his recent trip to the Vatican. This is somewhat funny, given that during the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush spoke at Bob Jones U., well known for its racist history and its leaders denunciation of the Catholic Church as a 'satanic counterfeit.' Bush later said he 'should have been more clear in disassociating myself from anti-Catholic sentiments and racial prejudice.' But he did not go so far as to say he made an actual mistake by going to Bob Jones - when there were scores of colleges he could have spoken at throughout the South." Three years later, Bush thumbed his nose at the Pope in invading Iraq. "But there he was at the beginning of June, still admitting no major mistakes in his presidency, shamelessly asking the church for help."

"Bush reportedly asked Vatican officials earlier this month to promote socially conservative values in the United States more aggressively -- a further sign that the Catholic Church and its members could play a key role in this year's presidential campaign. Bush, whose reelection strategy hinges in part on winning support from highly religious voters, told a Vatican official that 'not all the American bishops are with me' on social issues, according to an article in the independent journal National Catholic Reporter. Bush focused especially on gay marriage, the article said... 'Bush's overt attempts to use houses of God as political organizations, and now lobbying the Vatican to play election politics, crosses the line,' Kerry campaign spokesman Michael Meehan said yesterday. 'While people of faith are important to the foundation of America's value system, politicians should not exploit religious organizations for personal political gain; dimming reelection prospects are included.'"

This is a classic example of White House media/poll manipulation. On the main page of Boston.com, there is a three page story about Bush running that attempts to "humanize" him by talking about his relationship with his father. At the bottom of the page is this Bush poll you can click on. Up comes a simple question: Will you vote for Bush again" ? with the lure: "Vote and WIN A SONY LAPTOP!!!!" (Any advertiser will tell you, if you dangle a prize, people will feel compelled to respond as hinted at - just as people entering the Publishers Clearinghouse often feel compelled to also buy the magazines.) Click on a the vote bar and suddenly, you are asked to fill in all your personal info, including age and home address. Voila! You will no doubt find yourself on the Bush campaign mailing list!

BBC political analyst Tom Carver says Bush's effort to scoop up reflected light from Reagan -is a big mistake: "Indeed, the Bush team faces a very real danger. The tidal wave of Reagan memories - his smiling image, his greatest hits, the feel-good associations - may end up overwhelming George W Bush to the point where the candidate is diminished not enhanced. The president's biggest problem is that he is no Ronald Reagan. Though denounced at the time as inflammatory, Ronald Reagan's 'evil empire' remains an undeniably influential phrase, whilst George Bush's 'axis of evil' already seems like a cheap rip-off with no coherent logic." Right now, Bush is trying so hard to wrap himself in Reagan's mantle that "there are more references to Reagan's phrase than those of Mr Bush on his own website." Most tellingly of all: "Out in front of the Capitol, more than one Republican said to me with a sigh: 'I wish we had a Ronald Reagan today.' "

Bush has grown pathetic in his effort to pump up his image (anything but actually DOING something constructive! It's all about "appearance"). Now he is trying to suck up Reagan's limelight - in fact, the Bush campaign page looks as if Reagan were running, not Bush!. What's very funny about this is 1) The popularity of Reagan was a fairytale manufactured by the rightwing corporate machine, so the "reflected light" is just not all that bright for most Americans. It's a sad case of the Repugs being "hoisted on their own petard" by starting to believe their own lies; and 2) Republicans who adored Reagan are finding the comparison between the Gipper and Bush painful, not inspiring.

Capitol Hill Blue reports, "As the nation prepares to bury Ronald Reagan, Republican insiders fight among themselves over plans by the political team or George W. Bush to use images of and speeches by Reagan in new television ads aimed at jump-starting a faltering campaign. 'They're disgusting,' says one long-time Republican who participated in a focus group to preview the new television ads. 'They dishonor the memory of Ronald Reagan and if Bush allows these ads on the air I, for one, will not vote for him in November.' The ads, ordered up by Bush political advisor Karl Rove immediately after Reagan's death last Saturday, use images of Reagan and excerpts from his speeches in what one angry GOP conservative describes as a 'callous attempt to tie George W. Bush to the legacy of Ronald Wilson Reagan.' One proposed ad even goes so far as to show Reagan saying 'George, go out and win one for the Gipper'" - but that was George I. Grab some popcorn - this could be a battle royale!

Bush is using Pennsylvania as a testing ground for a new scheme to use churches as free regional Bush campaign offices. The Bush machine has sent emails with its campaign logo clearly at the top to 1,600 religious congregations: "I'd like to ask if you would like to serve as a coordinator in your place of worship. We plan to undertake activities such as distributing general information/updates or voter registration materials in a place accessible to the congregation." What the email fails to inform churches is that the IRS prohibits political campaign activity, for or against any candidate, from taking place at organizations that receive tax exempt status...including most churches and religious groups. Bush is trying to oil his way around this by having his "point people" use meeting sites "accessible to the congregation." But it still amounts to use of a "religious group." As ever, it won't be Bush, but those he uses, who pays the piper.

Peter S. Canellos writes: "This shock-and-awe of the airwaves hasn't seriously damaged Kerry...[in fact] viewers might just as well wonder whether Bush has come on too strong, too fast: His campaign is already on orange alert with five months to go before the election. The Bush strategy seems simple: Use the Republicans' fund-raising advantage to portray Kerry as a Massachusetts liberal just the way George H. W. Bush portrayed Michael Dukakis as an out-of-touch, card-carrying left-winger in 1988. But so far, this campaign has played out as Bush-Dukakis the way Dukakis must have envisioned it unfolding: Bush has seemed a little shrill and insistent, while Kerry travels the country making presidential-type addresses. He's currently on an 11-day tour discussing national security. And with each intemperate attack ad, Bush looks like a man expecting a different administration in January, too."

You can tell more about Bush by who's NOT on his list of supporters than who is - although who is certainly is telling. On the list: hardcore rightwing Christian fundies, NeoNazis, corporazis (ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, Wal-Mart, every banking, insurance, and drug baron, etc.), and now, aging biker dudes in black leather and tattooes. Conspiciously underrepresented in name and number: the well educated (Nobel laureates, college students, scientists, educators of all sorts), labor unions, environmentalists, police and firefighters, social service workers, human rights activists, childrens rights advocates, Vietnam and Iraq War I veterans (aside from a very noisy minority)....I think you get the painful difference by now.

Tom Engelhardt writes, "The speech itself -- and I read several versions carefully -- is a fascinating construct, offering a coherent story about our world, a parable of sorts, which defines its terms (and redefines ours) as it goes. It tells a level-playing-field tale in which almost all acts are reduced to the sphere of the private individual. Just about everything is not only under control, but small, local, or like Saddam's 'threats,' in 'the neighborhood' (which he 'terrorized'). Life is a matter of 'character,' of which the President, it turns out, has plenty to spare... Our tone is imperative and personally dominating. The president 'acts' and acting has value in itself. It leads you directly into that constellation of virtues: strength, resolve, clarity, certainty, determination. The President is clear. He says what he 'means' and means what he says, and that's the way America should be. He's unlike his Democratic opponent, who, as we all know, flip-flops on all issues... "

Why hasn't Miller been read out of the Democratic Party? Sen. Zell Miller, the Bush campaign's most famous Democratic attack dog, ripped into John Kerry on Saturday as an "out-of-touch, ultraliberal from Taxachusetts" whose foreign and domestic policies would seriously weaken the country. Miller, the lone Democratic senator publicly backing Bush, made the remarks in a Bush-Cheney grassroots event during the state Republican convention, where he was greeted as a hero. "I'm afraid that my old Democratic 'ties that bind' have become unraveled," he said in a speech that evoked sustained applause, laughter and two standing ovations." Gee, guess he wants Dennis Miller's job as the top GOP shill. (No known relation, as far as we know...)

The founder of USA Today believes the best way we can support our troops is to bring them home from Iraq. And he knows that's not going to happen as long as George W. Bush is running for re-election [sic] as "a tough-talking, self-proclaimed War President." He's urging Bush to take a cue from fellow Texan Lyndon Johnson and choose not to run. Bush is no more likely to end his campaign for "re-election" than he is to admit he wasn't elected in the first place. But if Bush is losing the support of a major media outlet, maybe saving our democracy just got a little easier.

David Corn writes, "Shouldn't college students seeking knowledge--especially knowledge that might challenge their own biases--be encouraged? Not so, it seems, according to the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign and the College Republicans of Kalamazoo College. When seven sophomores at the school showed up at Wings Stadium in downtown Kalamazoo to see George W. Bush at a campaign rally on May 3 and presented the tickets they had obtained for the event, security officers would not allow them in. The problem, according to these students, was that College Republicans volunteering at the event fingered them as liberals who did not support Bush. And such citizens were not welcome at the rally." Share your outraged with BushCheney04@GeorgeWBush.com

Joe Conason writes, "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are veteran corporate media consultant and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth, who is listed as the group's media contact; eternal Kerry antagonist and Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as 'the classic body-count guy' who 'wanted hooches destroyed and people killed.'" Merrie Spaeth, advised Ken Starr and provided PR help for Sam Wyly, when Wyly's "Republicans for Clean Air" attacked McCain's environmental record in 2000.

Well, the gay marriage, "Massachusetts Liberal," Vietnam war protestor, and Medals-or-ribbons ploys have not worked for Bush as effective tools against Kerry - in fact they have backfired. So now the BushMedia machine is trying an even more outrageous tactic, accusing Kerry's campaign of being "too white!" This while Bush populates his staff with token blacks used for effect, with no real input (Colin Powell comes right to mind!). Kerry, says Black Caucus leaders, has made himself sincerely accessible to minorities. Says Elijah Cummings: "I really believe in my heart that those trying to judge Kerry early in campaign are a bit premature in regards to diversity." But that won't stop BushMedia from spreading more lies!

On 4/26, even Tom Brokaw of NBC felt compelled to present a fair and rounded story on the Bush campaign's outrageous (desperate?) attacks on Kerry's voting record and the issue of his medals. Other major news outlets, including Knight Kidder and CBS, also did an outspoken doubletake. The very fact that Bush, who has sent over 700 US soldiers to their deaths in a war based on lies while never having been anywhere near combat himself, would dare to make an issue over something as petty as Kerry's medals turned more stomaches than it did heads. As to Kerry's voting record, Knight-Kidder's assessment of the Bush ad is that it intentionally misleads, accurately stating some of Kerry's actions, "but without providing context.... It sometimes misleads by giving the impression that Kerry voted against a specific weapon when instead he voted against an overall bill that contained the item"

Jane Stillwater writes: "It's almost a done deal that there WILL be an 'October Surprise'. It is just a matter of what it is going to be -- and when. We can't just assume that a man who spent his childhood blowing up frogs is going to change his ways -- so I am assuming that Bush's 'October Surprise' will probably have something to do with things that go BOOM. Let's look at the facts. First Bush blew up the frogs. Then he moved on to bigger things. Did he blow up New York City next? Not according to John Ashcroft. After 9-11, however, Bush went on to blow up Afghanistan, Haiti and Iraq. Is there a pattern here? You bet! And I will take your bet. Just enter my new 'What will Bush blow up next?' contest. If you are the first to guess correctly what the time and place of Bush's 2004 'October Surprise' will be, you will win $50!"

Well, Bush's anti-gay crusade - which he had hoped to make into a main platform plank -fell flat on its self-righteous face. So now the increasingly desperate White House is falling back on one of its other key rightwing "sure things": Gun control. Cheney is trying to whip up gun toter hysteria at Kerry: At a dinner hosted by the NRA (following their romp at Bush's ranch), Cheney frothed: "John Kerry's approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and regulate some more." And guess what, Dickie? To that (regulation) 75% of the American people say: "Go Kerry, Go!" This latest GOP plank is as doomed to collapse as the anti-gay marriage crusade!

Bush has in recent weeks spoken only at the safest possible venues - including a shotgun press conference during primetime (the US audience being at the receiving end of the PR "shotgun"). He's been at community colleges in conservative areas of conservative states (rural North Carolina, Arkansas, and West Virginia). But even those audiences weren't as enthusiastic as the Bush sound-biters could wish. So now Bush goes to speak before an even narrower audience - the annual conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. And even this appearance is being kept secretive and tightly controlled. What's next? A surprise appearance before, say, the Crawford Republican Mothers for George Bush Society?

This is a case of one picture - in this case a chart - being worth a thousand words. The oil and natural gas industries stand to gain the most through continued occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. They gain easy access to the region's oil and natural gas and a free "security force," courtesy the US military. Now take a look this chart and you will cease to wonder why Bush is determined to "stay the course," regardless of how much blood is shed. Since January 1, 2004, the oil and gas industries have lavished nearly $7 MILLION on Bush - 82 cents out of every dollar spent in presidential campaign donations by these industries has gone to Bush, while just 18 cents have gone to Kerry.

Bush, hiding out at Rancho Boguso (also known as Prairie Chapel) is celebrating Easter in his own way. No cute fuzzy bunnies and baby ducks better show their tails anywhere near his "ranch"! They are likely to be blown away by the small army of hunters from the NRA Bush turned loose as a thank you for the $390,000 the gun toters have showered on his campaign just this year alone. Bush mouthpiece Claire Buchan said the "sportsmen" are there so Bush can "discuss his clean air, wetlands and healthy forests initiatives in addition to showing off the energy conservation features of his home and the native grasses that have been replanted." What a joke! A very sick one, anyway! For the real story behind the ranch, see http://www.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=6687

Mike Hersh writes, "Despite their record of utter failure on terrorism, the Bush campaign is built around 9/11. Along comes Richard Clarke proving Bush blew it and let 9/11 happen. No wonder the entire Bush national security team is ignoring its duty to keep us safe to 'get' Clarke. Bush failed after 9/11 when the American People almost unanimously gave him a second chance, but he abused that by pushing a radical right wing agenda and rushing to attack Iraq rather than leading as he'd promised. Bush does not deserve another term. He has not earned another second chance."

Bush has some nerve complaining about groups like Moveon, which spend money willingly donated to them by citizens! Bush himself is financing key parts of his campaign with taxpayer dollars NOT given to him- last time we looked, they called that theft! Treasury Secretary, whose salary is paid by taxpayers, uses his time and federal resources to analyze and refute Bush's opponent's proposals, and now has issued a press release on the topic! Reports Boston.com: "The Kerry campaign blasted the release, calling it a violation of the Hatch Act, which bars most government employees from participating in partisan politics while on the job. 'Whether it's using Treasury officials to analyze John Kerry's plan to create 10 million jobs or CIA officials to help smear Richard Clarke, this White House is the most political White House the nation has ever seen. They will say and do anything to get reelected.'"

BuzzFlash writes, "Senior members of the Bush Administration - as well as many staffers - would be likely to face criminal investigation and prosecution were they to be voted out of office. The shredding machines couldn't work fast enough at the White House to destroy the evidence concerning a variety of likely Bush Cartel legal transgressions. And with just a bit of prosecutorial power, particularly if the Democrats reclaim either House of Congress, many members of the Bush Cartel - including Bush and Cheney - could theoretically face years of legal probes into its countless betrayals, deceptions, lies and abuse of power. When your back is to the wall and you know that you might face a prison term if you lose, you fight like a street brawler wearing brass knuckles and using everything at your disposal, including electronic voting software and the judicial system, to stay in office."

We alerted the public to this latest Bush PR scheme some time back. Reggie the Rig is a corporate stunt concocted by the "product salesmen" who run the Bush campaign and view the American voter as just a big bunch of consumers with "market profiles." Reggie is a big rig truck (truckers) painted to lookly vaguely like a Nascar logo (Nascar dads), and manned by two characters from "central casting" - Deke and Christine, who love "ridin', ropin' fishin' and goin' to Cornhusker meetings (cowboys, farmers and sportsfolks. The rig, which is turning up at every sporting and ethnic event it can stuff into its schedule to fit as many "target markets" into the corporate sales campaign as possible, comes equipped with a superduper plasma screen TV and Xbox games (teens n' 20-somethings). see http://www.gopteamleader.com/reggie/about.asp

NY Times reports, "Bush's campaign is following an aggressive and precise 90-day media strategy to define Senator John Kerry as indecisive and lacking conviction, with a coordinated blitz of advertisements, speeches and sound bites, senior campaign advisers said this week. The goal, several campaign aides said, is to first strip Mr. Kerry of the positive image that he carried away from the Democratic primary contests and then to define him issue by issue in their own terms before the summer vacation season. The central thrusts will be national security and taxes, they said. The aides said the strategy was planned weeks ago in coordination with Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political aide, while Mr. Kerry was battling for his party's nomination. The aides are following a tight timetable, they said, and they want to have defined Mr. Kerry on their terms between now and early June." Doesn't Bush have anything POSITIVE to campaign on? How about "Four More Wars!"

The Bush-Cheney fleece pullover from Burma continues to echo. "On top of evading his own trade laws, Bush's effective endorsement of Burmese goods means his campaign is marketing products from a country the State Department has repeatedly condemned for human rights abuses and that the Treasury Department has cited for laundering money from illegal narcotics dealers. Just last year, Bush told the United Nations it needed to more seriously address international sex slavery, saying, 'there's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable.' But his own campaign is now marketing products from a country that experts cite as one of the leaders in international sex trafficking." Paging the religious right!

Reuters: "A Bush-Cheney '04 campaign jacket sold on the Internet has stirred controversy because it was made in Myanmar, whose imports have been banned by the United States. Although the company that shipped the fleece pullover, Spalding Group of Louisville, Ky., has said it did so in error, human rights groups faulted President Bush's reelection campaign staff for not taking a more careful look at the origin of the products being sold in its name. The Bush administration has had sanctions in place since September against Myanmar -- also known by its colonial name, Burma -- in an attempt to punish the government over human rights violations. 'Burma is one of the most repressive, brutal dictatorships in the world,' said Charles Kernagan, head of the National Labor Committee, a group that seeks to combat sweatshops internationally. 'The Bush-Cheney campaign was putting money into the hands of dictators with that purchase.'"

"When President Bush came to town this week, the line to exchange a few words and pose for a picture with him was thick with heavyweights. There, at a private reception, was Gordon Bethune, the chief executive of Continental Airlines, and Drayton McLane, the owner of the Houston Astros. And there was Paul Dickerson. Mr. Dickerson is not well known, but he is highly valuable to the Bush campaign, one of 187 'Rangers' who have each raised at least $200,000. Only 33, he is one of many fresh faces behind Mr. Bush's financial operation, which has minted scores of new fund-raisers and molded them into the most effective money machine in presidential campaign history...At Mr. Bush's visit here on Monday, for example, Mr. Dickerson, a Houston lawyer, brought Michael Ames, an investment banker he hopes to entice to do business with his law firm. 'I ask clients to come along, instead of bringing some sweet young thing,' he said. 'As a young associate, I want to make partner.'"

This says it all about what Bush has to offer America: His campaign is spending millions to invoke 2 1/2-year-old images of Bush at ground zero (complete with central casting "fireman') and on finding some way to make Kerry look bad. The issues? Forget it. The Bushies are obsessed with finding new ways to take shots at Kerry: He's a Massachusetts liberal...er, no...he's like Dukakis! er...no...he's a special interest taker...er no...he's pro gay marriage!...er no... he's a waffler... or...better yet, he's like Al Gore! The latter is their latest "brilliant strategy." Anything and everything but deal with the ISSUES. The Al Gore thing will backfire worse than the rest because 1. the two men are so unalike and 2. Long about now, the majority of Americans WISH Al Gore were in the White House!

"In his first campaign commercial, George Bush reached down and molested the dead. But this is only in keeping with both Bushes. George Bush, Sr., had the badge of officer Eddie Byrne, who was gunned down in South Jamaica, and he stood up at Christ the King High School in Middle Village and held it up and said he would have this badge on him forever. Some chance. Bush then led high school girls into insane cheers for the death penalty. Now, right off, this second George Bush came up with the badge of a Port Authority cop, George Howard, who died... His mother gave Bush the son's badge. When Bush came back to the trade center a year later, he reached into his pocket and whipped out that badge and he had a tear in his eye... this George W. Bush acts like he's entitled to treat the remains of a dead man like a souvenir. Now he shows a commercial with dead bodies, or body parts, covered with an American flag being taken through the smoke and flames of the world trade center attack."

Bush is going after MoveOn, a bonafide grass roots movement with an irrational vengeance. MoveOn was founded by seven activists - none of them representing a political party, none of them office holders, none of them with a corporate agenda. Yet right now, a pro-Bush group that IS politically affiliated, that IS corporate powered is running anti-Kerry ads funded by corporate soft money. Of course their ads are pretty pathetic - they use the worn out ploy "Massachusetts liberal" and think everyone will be horrified that Kerry wears $75 ties. (hey! we need comic relief). But guess what? Citizens United tried to interfere with due process (they called it "courtroom advocacy") to BLOCK McCain-Feingold and the GAO's efforts to make Cheney come clean on the energy task force. Citizens United also played a key part in the Get Clinton efforts.

Bush is either REALLY desperate to make some smear stick to Kerry, or he really is astoundingly ignorant of US history - especially recent history. He blasts Kerry for pushing for US intelligence cuts in 1995, but it must have slipped his mind WHY Kerry and many other Congresspeople wanted the decrease. Number One: The fall of the Soviet Union and dismantling of the Cold War Soviet spying operation, an operation which took the greatest dollars and man hours of just about any other US intelligence operation. Two: In the years leading to the proposed decrease, the Ames case, along with revelations of gross abuse of the CIA (Central American death squads, etc.) had come to light, revealing the flagrant abuse of funding. Three: the Iran Contra trials of the late 80s and early 90s were also still clearly in the public's mind, regarding the misuse of taxpayer-funded intelligence. (see also http://www.sptimesrussia.com/archive/times/853/features/a_8992.htm)

"Bush took American political discourse to a new low last week when his re-election campaign began airing television commercials that exploit the horror and misery of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The president's willingness to pick at the still open wounds of that tragedy in a crass appeal for political support illustrates the desperation of the man and his political team to cling to power."

(Scroll down to "9-11 Commercials") Bush said he "will continue to speak about the effects of 9/11 on our country and my presidency... I have an obligation to those who died. I have an obligation to those who were heroic in their attempts to rescue (the victims). And I won't forget that obligation," Bush said... But he added: "How this administration handled that day, as well as the war on terror, is worthy of discussion. And I look forward to discussing that with the American people. And I look forward to the debate about who is best to lead this country in the war on terror." You lose that one Bush! You sat in a classroom while thousands died. You fled on Air Force. You were warned by the CIA a month before that Al Qaeda was planning attacks. You have failed to secure the infrastructure. You have underfunded first responders. You allowed dirty bomb material to be looted from Iraq. But you set up one helluva Police State apparatus!

AP: "Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a firefighters union said Thursday they're angry that President Bush's new campaign ads include images of the destroyed World Trade Center and firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble. They say the ads are in poor taste and accuse Bush of exploiting the attacks." Although the Rove brigade tried to defend the ads, the same folks had promised in the past not to use the attacks for political gain. "It makes me sick," said Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother Bill Kelly Jr., in the attacks. "Would you ever go to someone's grave site and use that as an instrument of politics? That truly is what Ground Zero represents to me." David Potorti, whose brother Jim died in the North Tower, said. "It's an insult to use the place where my brother died in an ad. I would be just as outraged if any politician did this."

International Firefighters Association president Harold Schaitberger: "I'm disappointed but not surprised that [Bush] would try to trade on the heroism of those fire fighters in the September 11 attacks. The use of 9/11 images are hypocrisy at its worst.... His advertisements are disgraceful. Since the attacks, Bush has been using images of himself putting his arm around a retired FDNY fire fighter on the pile of rubble at ground zero. But for two and a half years he has basically shortchanged fire fighters and the safety of our homeland by not providing fire fighters the resources needed to do the job that America deserves. Bush's actions have resulted in fire stations closing in communities around the country. 2/3 of US fire depts remain under-staffed because Bush is failing to enforce a new law passed with bipartisan support in Congress that would put more fire fighters in our communities." Obviously, the IFFA has endorsed Kerry.

"With a huge $10.5 million downpayment, Bush's re-election committee rolled out its first campaign commercials on Wednesday, using images of the destroyed World Trade Center to claim 'steady leadership in times of change.' ...The campaign had said it would not use Sept. 11, 2001, for political reasons, yet footage from the aftermath of the terrorists attacks is shown in the ads. Campaign manager Ken Mehlman said the day was a defining moment that led to Bush's accomplishments, including passage of the Patriot Act and the war in Afghanistan that eliminated the Taliban rule. 'These are important parts of this administration's record,' he said." What you should show is the video of Bush sitting there in a classroom reading a story about a pet goat, while thousands died. And why not remind New Yorkers that Bush's White House pressured the EPA to lie to them about Ground Zero fall-out, including asbestos contamination? A lie that was perpetuated for two years.

"'The entire format and actual physical setup could be radically different,' one GOP insider commented. 'They might not even have a podium, or maybe a rotating podium that comes up from underground. It would be like a theater in the round, with off-site events that are part of the convention.' The source, a veteran official of past GOP conventions, said the 50,000 delegates and guests would watch off-site events on giant TV screens. 'Now, we'll go to the deck of the USS Intrepid as the U.S. Marine Corps Band plays the National Anthem,' he said, pretending that he was playing the part of the convention chairman. 'Or, and this is a real possibility, we could see President Bush giving his acceptance speech at Ground Zero,' he added. 'It's clearly a venue they're considering.'" Billmon responds: "They can't be seriously considering this, can they? Maybe my instincts are way off, but I think the backlash from using the WTC site as the backdrop for a partisan speech would be enormous."

CNN: "John Feehery, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said it would be difficult for Republican leaders to get the 291 votes required to pass any such amendment. But he implied that it might not matter. 'Sometimes you win for losing,' he said, noting the issue would draw a clear line between Democrats and Republicans, as well as between Bush and Kerry. Feehery also said that not only do many Democrats oppose a ban, but there also is a 'diversity of opinion' within the Republican conference. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colorado, has submitted a proposed marriage amendment that is enthusiastically supported by many social conservatives. But other conservatives oppose revising the Constitution, and many moderate Republicans oppose a ban on same-sex marriage." In short, the gay marriage thing is a Rovian PR stunt that is designed to divert attention from Bush's failures and scandals -- AWOL, WMD Lies, the Valerie Plame Affair, Halliburton, War Profiteering...

In one of Karl Rove's most idiotic PR schemes yet, Bush was propped before a claque of Republican governors yesterday attacking Kerry with pubescent taunts. Bush's desperation was obvious as he hurled every accusation he could come up with at Kerry, even using tired Freeper lines, like invoking the "specter" of Dukakis and implying that all senators from Massachusetts (including, of course, Ted Kennedy) were liberal losers. Even the usually pro-Bush media (CBS, for example) couldn't help pointing out that this juvenile performance was delivered to a safe and friendly audience. Keep it up Bushbaby - you're going to push Kerry and Edwards further ahead with each new performance!

RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie has been complaining all week that the only reason Bush is down in the polls is because the Democrats have spent so much money on ads attacking the Great Pretender - $29 million. But Gillespie fails to mention in his pity party that this $29 million was the total spent on the Democratic campaign PR from ALL sources (only $17 million from the Dem "war chest") so far. And he also fails to mention that this PR has represented all Dem candidates - 9 at highest count. Meanwhile, Bush spent 7.5 million just in January on his PR campaign, just from his own war chest. That means the Democrats have spent about $3.2 million per candidate to Bush's $7.5 million, i.e., Bush has spent more than TWICE as much per head than the Dems! Hey, Ed, there's a great book you and Bush must have read: "How to Lie with Statistics". Scratch that -- at Bush's reading level, he can only handle the "Very Hungry Caterpillar", Ann Coulter's "Treason" and Bernard Goldberg's "Bias."

"Bush's presidential campaign told John Kerry it 'does not condone' any effort to impugn his patriotism but asserted that senator's voting record on national security and defense issues is a valid target of political scrutiny. Responding Sunday to a letter in which Kerry accused Bush of using surrogates to attack his military service in Vietnam and his subsequent opposition to the war, Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign chairman Marc Racicot said, 'I ask you to elevate the remarkably negative tone of your campaign and your party over the past year'... Racicot said, '...Your letter claims that supporters of our campaign questioned your service and patriotism. In fact, that simply wasn't the case.'" Wait a second... a few weeks ago, Racicot sent around a fundraising email accusing Kerry of sending out "surrogates" to attack Bush for being AWOL! You filthy hypocrites! And remember what Bush surrogates did to John McCain in 2000?

So much for Bush's assumption that all NASCAR fans are sheep who would mindlessly cheer him on just for showing up at a race. Many say they applauded the 'office' not the man, and were, in fact, furious at the Bush circus descending for a photo op in the middle of a big event. Many fans who had traveled hours to get to the races found themselves blocked from their seats or even from the track itself by "security" checkpoints. In response, the Daytona International Speedway officially apologized and set up a hotline for complaints. We bet the big stunt LOST Bush more votes than it gained him!

Bush is running out of safe audiences quickly. First it was elementary schools, till he totally alienated educators. Then it was the military, until he couldn't be sure that even this captive audience would make a sufficient show of even fake adulation. Now he's tapped his last sure audience NASCAR dads. Of course, not all NASCAR dads are Bush supporters, but there are enough on any given day in the bleachers to make a show for the cameras. The whole staged event said it all about what this pResident is all about: "He spent an unusually long time at the race - more than two hours, compared to the 55 minutes he planned for a Tampa event today on the economy." In short - Bush doesn't care if his cheering NASCAR fans have jobs, just that they look good on camera.

From Public Citizen: "The Bush-Cheney campaign's elite fundraisers -- who have raked in more than $142 million and counting since June -- include at least 53 federal registered lobbyists, according to an analysis by Public Citizen. While the Bush campaign has strongly criticized Democratic challenger John Kerry for being beholden to 'special interests,' the president accepted more in direct contributions from lobbyists in one year than Kerry did in the past 15 years. In addition, he collected at least $6.5 million 'bundled' by Washington influence-peddlers last year. On Thursday, the Bush-Cheney campaign sent a video message to more than 6 million people, decrying U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as an 'unprincipled' politician 'brought to you by the special interests'... According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Bush received more than $960,000 in individual contributions from lobbyists last year."

The Guardian reports, "In less than a week, Mr Bush has been forced to surrender twice on security issues and mount a personal defence of his military service record during the Vietnam war. Under pressure to appoint an independent inquiry into prewar intelligence on Iraq, Mr Bush reluctantly agreed to a bipartisan commission. Public opinion polls this week showed that voters had greater trust in Mr Kerry, the Vietnam veteran, than Mr Bush on issues of national security... Mr Bush's campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, just over the Potomac river from the White House, did not seem fully operational yesterday. ... Ever since the season began, the Republicans have been vigilant at dispatching Bush or senior party surrogates in the wake of each Democratic caucus or primary. Yesterday Mr Bush was in South Carolina, hoping to stamp on any rise in Democratic support following Tuesday's primary. Last week, he turned up in New Hampshire."

"Bush condemned the Massachusetts court ruling on gay marriage on Wednesday, and conservative groups said the White House had informed them that the resident would soon endorse efforts to pass an amendment to the United States Constitution defining marriage to be between a man and a woman. Mr. Bush, in a statement issued by the White House on Wednesday night, stopped just short of explicitly backing a change to the Constitution, but left little doubt that he is heading in that direction. The ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 'is deeply troubling,' Mr. Bush said. 'Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman,' he said. 'If activist judges insist on re-defining marriage by court order, the only alternative will be the constitutional process. We must do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage.'"

George Bush is doing his first 'serious' interview in 4 years with Tim Russert on Sunday's Meet the Press. Does anyone imagine Tim Russert will ask him tough questions, and then keep challenging him until he answers them - the way he does with Democrats? Yeah, sure. To prove what a media wh*re Russert is, let's make a list of all the questions Russert will NOT ask Bush. Send your questions - or the whole list - to AskMTP@NBC.com. Then we can keep score after Russert helps Bush spew even more lies and disinformation. 1. Mr. Bush, why did you lie to the American people and the world about Iraq purchasing uranium from Africa? 2. Mr. Bush, why have you said on several occasions that Saddam would not let UN inspectors into Iraq before the war, when everyone in the world knows he did? 3. Mr. Bush, did you plan to invade Iraq from the start of your administration, as Paul O'Neill says? Add YOUR questions in Democrats.community!

"A media firm working for Bush's re-election campaign has a share of the administration's publicly funded $12.6 million advertising effort touting the new Medicare law. National Media Inc. of Alexandria, Va., is purchasing $9.5 million worth of television advertising for a 30-second commercial that the administration intends to educate seniors about changes in Medicare such as the new prescription drug benefit... Emanuel said campaign media buyers typically are paid 10 to 15 percent of the cost of air time. But executives would not say how much the firm is being paid... National Media partners include Robin Roberts, the media buyer for Bush's 2000 campaign, and Alex Castellanos, who is well-known for creating sharp attack ads including the Republican Party commercial about Al Gore in 2000 that subtly flashed the word 'RATS' across the screen." Impeach Bush Now!

Bob Traitor Novak writes, "'I can see the pucker factor,' said one GOP operative, using the military slang term for an attack of gut-clenching fear. What he implies is that he and his colleagues are confronting the possibility of another Bush becoming a one-term president... Most worrisome to Republicans is Kerry's war hero image while, in the words of one prominent Bush supporter, 'our guy was drinking beer in Alabama' [LoL!] Republicans are trying to negate Kerry's heroism with his postwar peace activism, but that approach is not working. In an interview with Kerry in New Hampshire, I asked if he ever regretted throwing away his medals. There was no regret, but he hastened to add: 'I threw away my ribbons, not my medals.'... On Friday, Scott McClellan bridled at the thought of the president suffering a deficiency in credibility. But that in truth is the biggest problem he faces today."

Three million jobs have disappeared, the death count in Iraq is rising, his presidency is under fire for lying...yet all Bush can think about is tax cuts and football. What a sorry commentary on this "residency." "An invited audience of about 1,000, mostly Fidelity Investment employees [yeah, right - real typical of middle and low income America!] who got seats through a company lottery, gave Bush standing ovations, cheering when he arrived, when he left, and several times in between [wonder what kind of bonus they got?]. The three Fidelity employees and three small business owners on the stage with him each told their story of how the tax cuts helped them, and Bush responded after each one.[no script here!]." It says it all about Bush's "tax cut case" that instead of having a REAL teacher testify for him, all he could come up with is someone who USED to be a teacher! LOL!

While the Bush-controlled media continues to ignore John Buchanan's Republican primary challenge in New Hampshire, Bush himself isn't ignoring Buchanan. Bush is sending Senator John McCain to campaign for him, even though McCain was all over TV this week shredding Bush's SOTU speech and denouncing him for spending like a "drunken sailor." Bush is also sending Rudy Giuliani to NH, obviously to try to attack Buchanan's accusations that Bush WANTED 9-11 to happen and that he committed treason in failing to prevent it despite numerous warnings. Finally, Bush himself will visit NH on Thursday to talk about "jobs" - the issue that is really fueling the deep hatred of Bush among middle class Republican voters in NH and all across the country. Call talk shows and urge the media to cover John Buchanan's surging primary challenge to Bush! (johnbuchanan.org)

"The reaction to the President's State of the Union address was nearly unanimous: it was a political document, devoid of serious, detailed proposals. As CBS News put it, 'the rhetoric, the themes, the pre-speech spin were all orchestrated to portray a president above politics, fighting evil on the planet. Politics without fingerprints.' The WP notes the speech 'showed just how conscious they are of the opposition's emerging campaign themes 10 long months before Election Day.' Picking up on the defensive nature of the speech - and its brazen substitution of politics over policy - media critic Tom Shales noted that Bush's words 'sounded like taunts - taunts to the rest of the world or taunts to Democrats.' He said, 'the fact that Bush appeared to be so giddily primed for another political slugfest was a little bit disheartening, and even a little bit scary.' "

"The winner of the Iowa caucuses on Monday night will have an unexpected competitor waiting right around the corner, and he is not one of the Democrats running for president. The opponent is Bush and his State of the Union address, which White House officials scheduled for Tuesday night [Jan. 20], only 24 hours after Iowa, to draw attention from the Democratic victor, a Republican close to the Bush campaign said. 'Was it planned?' the Republican said. 'Yes. The fact that the Iowa caucus was going to be held on a certain date was not unknown to people in the White House.' The underlying strategy, the Republican said, was not to steal all the thunder from the Democrats, but rather to change the subject. 'What you achieve by doing it quickly is to get people to focus on the resident's positive agenda after two weeks of people beating his brains in and criticizing every aspect of his policies,' the Republican said." Last year's SOTU was on Jan. 28.

"Two political rallies turned into a brawl Saturday night in Des Moines. A Democratic rally at Drake's Olmstead Center, urged young Iowans to get out and vote. It was targeted toward high school and college students. A group known for not voting. The rally featured comedian Janene Garafalo and classic rock star Joan Jett, but it got a surprise visit from some unwanted guests. A group of college republicans at their Midwest caucus leadership conference heard about the rally and stormed in. 'There are seven of us who worked really hard at putting this conference together, said Jason Cole of the college republicans. 'So, we met, discussed and majority ruled. We went down there.' What they didn't discuss is what to do if things get out of hand. One of the Bush supporters shoved Jett and she pushed back in anger. Ole said that was the decision of one person, and not representative of what the conference was trying to do." Bush thanked his Florida brownshirts, so expect them everywhere!

"REPENT AMERICA, an evangelistic ministry based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Columbia Christians for Life in Columbia, South Carolina have released a new website calling Christians across the nation to re-think voting for George W. Bush in the upcoming presidential election. BushRevealed.com was launched on the world-wide-web today to provide Christians with articles, information, and commentaries on Bush's pattern of anti-Christian behavior in the last several years, and is challenging them not to remain in bondage to the two-party system. BushRevealed.com was developed to serve as notice to Christians across the nation that President George W. Bush over the past few years has compromised his 'Christian faith' by promoting evil and openly supporting wickedness." Hey Karl Rove, there goes your "base"!

James Shannon writes, "Many people who regularly tune into the crude form of political pornography practiced by Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News Channel - among others - will no doubt be convinced such non-ads were actually broadcast. When Gillespie calls on Howard Dean or Dick Gephardt to renounce the alleged ads, the implication is that they somehow bear responsibility for these contest entries. Nothing could be further from the truth, but as you may have guessed by now, this is not about truth. The tactic being applied here has a name. It is called the Big Lie, defined as 'untruth on a large scale consciously used as a propaganda technique on the assumption that it is more likely to compel belief than untruth on a modest scale.' The Democrats running for president have likened Bush to Hitler? Sure, why not - and if that is true, then almost any attack [Bush's] defenders unleash on the eventual Democratic nominee is justified in retaliation."

Joan Walsh writes, "The outlines of the 2004 campaign are clear: The Democratic nominee will be depicted as soft on Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden by GOP hatchetfolk, while the Bush campaign and its media echo chamber insist it's DEMOCRATS who represent the party of hate. Got it? That's why the MoveOn.org flap this week is a good warm-up for the ugly battle to come. Everybody who follows national politics knows the story line by now: MoveOn stands accused, by the RNC, Matt Drudge and the Wall Street Journal, of sponsoring television ads comparing George W. Bush to Hitler. Following the Republican 'revelation' of MoveOn's political perfidy, some Jewish leaders denounced the ads for belittling the Holocaust by comparing our resident to the man who murdered 6 million Jews. The moral of the story: Bush's opponents are crazy, vicious haters who'll do anything to disparage him, even disrespect the memory of the victims of Nazi horror. Another day, another big Republican lie."