Campaign Season:

A Hooker You Can't Help But Love, July 31, 2005
John Jay Hooker is refusing to back down....

Davis Vulnerable? Probably Not, July 29, 2005
Roll Call wonders if U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, the two-term Democrat from Tennessee's fourth congressional district, might be vulnerable to a Republican challenge next year. The article is for Roll Call subscribers only. I've read it and the gist of it is that Tennessee as a whole is trending more Republican, and President Bush won in the fourth district in 2004 by a wide margin - and Davis voted for the ultra-liberal Nancy Pelosi for...

"Everybody is waiting" for the Pyrenees, July 15, 2005
Lanc Armstrong and all of his main rivals for overall victory in the 2005 Tour de France finished with the same time today, leaving the leaderboard unchanged - except for Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde, who had been in fifth, but abandoned the race due to a knee injury. Today's 107-mile 13th stage of the 21-stage race was over fairly flat terrain, leaving little opportunity for any of the top riders to gain time on Armstrong....

Sunny Days Ahead, July 13, 2005
Does the nation's ongoing population migration to the south and southwest portend sunny days ahead for the Republican Party in national elections? Perhaps. But while the migration of people into heavily "red" states may boost the GOP in presidential election electoral math, there's another impact it's going to have that is not as pleasant: an increasing influence of liberal former Yankees on local politics in the suburbs of the cities of the south and southwest....

Fighting Back, June 22, 2005
Here's a new ad from the Republican National Committee: Click Play Button to start It's nice to see the GOP fighting back against the onslaught of rude and sometimes bigoted attacks from a party that is desperate to regain power. Ironically, I learned of the ad via CapitolBUZZ, a new pro-Democrat blog that has been spamming me lately with emailed press releases touting their latest blog entries. The breathless blogpost announced:RNC Illegally Uses CSPAN Footage...

"He’s got Bill Clinton’s fingerprints all over him.", June 20, 2005
FiskKite has an extensive look at one candidate in the 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial race. You won't get coverage this in-depth from any newspaper in Arkansas. You also probably won't get any more coverage of the 2006 Arkansas governor's race here, so I suggest you click on over to FishKite, and rely on him and whatever Arkansas bloggers he links to from now on....

Get Your Ducks in a Row, June 20, 2005
I'd like to go to this. I'd also like to do a presentation on political blogging, so if any of the organizers read this on my blog, feel free to send me an email......

VRWC Meeting Report, June 19, 2005
I had fun Saturday night at the Tennessee Republican Party's 2005 Statesmen's Dinner. Sen. John Thune - the guy who knocked off Tom Daschle last fall - spoke and wowed the crowed. Look for him on future presidential prospect lists. More thoughts: I've never heard U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp speak before, but he's phenomenal. So is U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn. Either one of them would give Gov. Phil Bredesen a stiff challenge next year. Sen....

Frist Winning?, June 07, 2005
Blogging for Bryant wants you to believe Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is beating the Democrats over the issue of judicial filibusters....

Romney's Run, May 31, 2005
Hugh Hewitt is wondering whether the Christian evangelicals who make up a large portion of the "social conservatives" in the Republican Party would be willing to support Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a social conservative but a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as a presidential candidate in 2008. There are vast and fundamental theological differences between the LDS - a/k/a the Mormons - and mainstream evangelical Christianity. Hewitt:In 2008, many...

Filibuster Frist, May 24, 2005
Sen. Bill Frist will not get my vote in the 2008 presidential primary. Absolutely not. And these guys are right: yesterday's deal on judicial filibusters, which wouldn't have happened if Frist was a strong leader, emphasizes the importance of electing a principled conservative to the U.S. Senate to replace Frist rather than a part-time Republican who often dances with Democrats....

Run Hilleary Run!, May 19, 2005
Mark Rose is dispensing campaign advice, and giving Van Hilleary a game plan for a successful campaign against incumbent Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. But Hilleary isn't running for governor, you say - he's running for the U.S. Senate. I know. So does Mark. But Mark thinks Hilleary ought to switch races and run against Bredesen - and he lays out both a sensible rationale for the switch and game plan for defeating Bredesen. I have...

Don't Blame Me, I Voted For..., May 16, 2005
A long time ago , way back in 1987, a wealthy healthcare executive whose only political experience had been losing a race for a seat in the Massachusetts legislator set out to become Mayor of Nashville. He lost. Big. Four years later, after four years of lousy leadership by Mayor Bill Boner (yep! his real name!) that ranged from incompetent to embarrassing, that same wealthy healthcare executive ran again and won as voters' remorse kicked...

Poor Republicans, May 15, 2005
Don't miss David Brooks' column in the Sunday New York Times, titled "Meet the Poor Republicans".Already, we've seen poorer folks move over in astonishing numbers to the G.O.P. George Bush won the white working class by 23 percentage points in this past election. Many people have wondered why so many lower-middle-class waitresses in Kansas and Hispanic warehouse workers in Texas now call themselves Republicans. The Pew data provide an answer: they agree with Horatio Alger....

The Incoming Tide, April 11, 2005
Michael Barone:In the long run, Republicans are well positioned to increase their numbers in both the Senate and the House. Some Democrats hold seats because of personal popularity or moderate voting records. But when they retire, Republicans may well succeed them. In the short run, very few Republicans run great political risks by supporting Bush. Significantly more Democrats run great political risks by opposing him. Obstruction doesn't work well for Democrats in Bush seats: Just...

Digging Up The Grassroots, April 09, 2005
Mark Tapscott continues to bird-dog a story that deserves much more coverage from the mainstream media than it is getting. More here. Apparently, the Left isn't happy that it has been revealed that the "grassroots" campaign for campaign finance reform was really an astroturf campaign funded by liberal think tanks and designed to muzzle conservative speech....

Poll Shows Bryant Would Beat Hilleary, Corker - and Ford, April 05, 2005
A poll reportedly commissioned by Congressman Harold Ford Jr.'s proto-Senate campaign poll shows him leading in the Democratic primary race that he hasn't even officially entered, and shows that in the Republican primary former Congressman Ed Bryant has a near double digit lead over former Congressman Van Hilleary, with Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker a very distant third, reports the TeamGOP.org blog. The poll also shows that, if the election was today, Ford would lose to...

The London Times Thinks Bredesen is Swell, April 03, 2005
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen gave an interview to the London Times which writes a rather fawning story about Bredesen's gubernatorial record and presidential chances.Bredesen, 61, was giving his first interview to a foreign newspaper since his emergence earlier this year as a potential dark horse in the presidential race. It appeared to reflect an attempt to raise his international profile amid increasing speculation in Washington that he may become the next southern governor to come...

How A Blog Swarm Stopped the FEC's Evil Plan, April 01, 2005
Don't miss the National Journal's comprehensive report on how the blogosphere beat back a plan by the Federal Election Commission to muzzle free political speech on blogs in the name of "campaign finance reform." Also, sort of related, I blogged about it last night, but it's already way down the page, so I want to again urge you to read Frank Cagle's column in Knoxville's Metro Pulse predicting blogs are going to play a major...

The Electability Factor, March 28, 2005
Ed Byrant, candidate for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, welcomed fellow former Republican congressman Van Hilleary to the race for the nomination today with a press release and a devastating PowerPoint titled Van Hilleary's Historic Statewide Loss in Perspective. It's a brutal and brutally effective retort to Hilleary, who recently claimed he was more "electable" than some other candidates in the Republican field. Message: Hilleary can't win. For my take on Hilleary, read this. Short...

Down With Freedom, March 28, 2005
The Tennessean endorses legislation that will: 1) limit the expression of political support via donations to a political party, and, 2) hamper political activity by making it harder for political parties to raise money....

Caution: Hilleary's Running, March 26, 2005
Former Congressman Van Hilleary, last seen losing the governorship in 2002 to a Democrat, has launched his campaign website for the 2006 Senate race. By the way, back in 2001 in the early stages of that Tennessee gubernatorial campaign I wrote a column urging Hilleary to make his campaign message much more clear regarding the state income tax. Democrat Phil Bredesen, I wrote then, "has figured out how to explain his opposition to a state...

Backfired, March 20, 2005
The Democratic National Committee's attempt to dent U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn with radio ads urging constituents in her district to call her opposing the President's Social Security reform plan appears to have backfired. The ads, which ran in Memphis last week timed to coincide with Bush's visit there, generated 51 calls to Blackburn's office - 49 from callers in favor of Social Security reform, just two opposed. Like I said, the DNC really doesn't know...

Blog While You Can, March 17, 2005
Mark Tapscott has a must-read piece on how left-wing think tanks spent $39 million on a six-year strategy to "Create impression of groundswell of support" for campaign finance reform. The legislation passed, and is now undermining your First Amendment right to express political thoughts....

Offline Bloggers Face FEC Regulation, March 14, 2005
Reuters:Internet bloggers should enjoy traditional press freedoms and not face regulation as political groups, lawmakers and online journalists say.Non-Internet bloggers, on the other hand will have their First Amendment rights abridged just as if they were political groups......

We Have Three Years..., March 13, 2005
to change her mind....

Will the GOP Challenge Bredesen in 2006?, March 11, 2005
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen may have a well-funded GOP challenger in 2006. That's good news because Bredesen is not invincible. His complete mishandling of TennCare makes him vulnerable, and his condescension toward social conservatives and social-conservative legislation may prevent him from winning as many Republican votes as he did in 2002. The potential challenger is B.C. "Scooter" Clippard Jr., a well-connected and politically active businessman who is currenlty the Chief Development Officer for FirstBank and...

With Enemies Like These..., March 11, 2005
The Democratic National Committee is taking shots at U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who represents Tennessee's Seventh District and is my congressman. They are attacking her over her support for reforming Social Security."The president and most Tennesseans are trying to engage in a serious debate about Social Security. It's a shame so few liberals are willing to join us," Blackburn said. "They have no ideas and no solutions on this issue. Their only line in this...

Bredesen: Flailing on TennCare, Insulting Social Conservatives, February 07, 2005
Matt White points the way to two must-read columns about Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, the first, from Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Greg Johnson (link - free reg. req.) of which exposes Bredesen's condescending attitude toward social conservatives, and the second of which, from long-time political commentator Frank Cagle, writing in Knoxville's Metro Pulse, peels the varnish off the governor's high-gloss image as the guy who could save TennCare. Johnson:When it comes to cultural issues, Bredesen...

Senate 2006: A Very Crowded Field in Tennessee, February 07, 2005
There are two more big names likely to join the Tennessee 2006 U.S. Senate race. The first is former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who narrowly lost the 2002 governor's race. Hilleary is riding high on a new poll that shows him leading in virtually any configuration of candidates in the GOP primary. Here's the Knoxville News-Sentinel story (free reg. req.) The second is U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, according to this report. Blackburn is a fast-rising...

A First Look at the 2006 U.S. Senate Race in Tennessee, February 02, 2005
It's only February 2005, but things are already heating up in the 2006 race for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee, for the seat that current senator and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has said he will vacate. There are two men considered to be front-runners in the race for the GOP nomination, and passel of other likely GOP candidates. I'm not paying attention to the Democratic side in the race because, really, who cares? When...

Wish I Could Be There, January 26, 2005
The Heritage Foundation's Center for Media and Public Policy is having a very interesting blog-centric event on Friday in Washington DC, featuring Matthew Sheffield, co-founder of RatherBiased.com; Paul Mirengoff, a/k/a "The Deacon" at PowerlineBlog.com, and Kevin Aylward of WizbangBlog.com, and hosted by Mark Tapscott, director of the Center for Media and Public Policy. Topic for discussion: in the wake of Rathergate, are blogs becoming the new media establishment ? [Hat tip: Technology Liberation Front] I...

Bredesen Watch, January 24, 2005
Glenn Reynolds is touting Phil Bredesen - the Yankee-born Harvard educated multi-millionaire governor of Tennessee - as the right model for the next Democratic presidential candidate.Bredesen's secret is no secret at all: It's respect. He doesn't view rural people, or southerners, with the thinly disguised contempt that is found, all-too-often among national Democratic figures.There are reasons to think Bredesen would make a formidable Democratic nominee. But he's not invincible. In Tennessee, basically, Bredesen has been...

Memogate: The Armstrong Williams Gamble, January 15, 2005
Here's an interesting take on the Armstrong Williams story and CBS's memogate scandal, from a person who has an, uh, interesting perspective:In the opinion of this con-artist, one of the biggest scams perpetrated on the public in the last year was the CBS memo scandal, in which political partisans and the establishment media tried to get by with manufacturing a story to further their own ends. They did so consistent with an established BIAS and...

Memogate: They Weren't Looking, January 12, 2005
From Howard Kurtz's WaaPo media column today comes this bit of reaction to the report on CBS's use of fraudulent documents to slander President Bush, a report that lays out a mountain of evidence of political bias on the part of story producer Mary Mapes and then claims it could find no evidence that the story was motivated by a political agenda at CBS:CBS News Vice President Linda Mason, named to a new post overseeing...

Memogate Report: CBS Not Biased, January 11, 2005
Another brilliant editorial cartoon from Cox & Forkum. Click to enlarge. Also, dont' miss Jonathan Last's excellent analysis of the CBS report and the failings of the Thornburgh-Boccardi investigation into memogate....

RatherGate: Whitewash, January 10, 2005
Hugh Hewitt makes a good case that the CBS report on memogate is a whitewash. Powerline - one of the blogs that humbled CBS - also finds the report is, uh, rather lacking in crucial areas....

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - And Maybe Not Even Then, January 10, 2005
Bloggers are working hard to overturn the stolen election in Washington state. John Fund has the details....

RatherGate Report Nails CBS; Four Executives Gone, January 10, 2005
The memogate fiasco at CBS involving those forged documents with with CBS' Dan Rather slandered President Bush, has finally resulted in CBS firing some people. I won't be dissecting the report here - you need to stick with Powerline, RatherGate.com, Little Green Footballs, RatherBiased.com and Instapundit for the heavy lifting. But it's worth noting that the just-released investigative report commissioned by CBS on the journalistic scandal is at odds with the recent piece written by...

Is eBay the Future of Politics On the Net?, December 13, 2004
Business web sites that foster an aura of community trust may hold the key to the future of online politics, says CNET today. Interesting....

Memogate: How Ironic, December 09, 2004
From RatherBiased.com comes a report on the news that CBS tried to promote a recent story on 60 Minutes Wednesday via left-wing blogs. Even ignoring that such partisan-oriented promotion belies CBS' claims of nonpartisan objectivity, the marketing plan is rich with irony as yesterday on CBSNews.com there was an article that accused the Senate campaign of South Dakota Republican John Thune of using sites like South Dakota Politics and Daschle v. Thune as a "proxy"...

Blog Early, Blog Often, December 08, 2004
John Thune, who narrowly defeated incumbent Tom Daschle in the South Dakota senate race this fall, was aided by two local political bloggers in that state. Turns out the bloggers were paid by the campaign, a total of $27,000 over five months. While some on the Left are carping that there wasn't sufficent disclosure of the arrangement (even though months before the election one of the bloggers was identified by the Thune campaign as a...

Credit Where Credit is Due, December 07, 2004
A USA Today story reports on the rapid growth of "sub-prime" mortgage lending - i.e., lending to people with less-than-stellar credit. It's a trend that could benefit the Republican Party long-term as homeowners are more likely to vote Republican than are renters.Subprime lending - higher-interest loans to consumers with impaired or non-existent credit histories - has been the fastest-growing part of the mortgage industry. Subprime mortgage activity grew an average 25% a year from 1994...

Baby Boom, December 07, 2004
David Brooks observes:Young families move away from what they perceive as disorder, vulgarity and danger and move to places like Douglas County in Colorado (which is the fastest-growing county in the country and has one of the highest concentrations of kids). Some people see these exurbs as sprawling, materialistic wastelands, but many natalists see them as clean, orderly and affordable places where they can nurture children. If you wanted a one-sentence explanation for the explosive...

Shop The Way You Vote, December 07, 2004
With the holidays upon us, some of us might wish to be mindful of who we patronize relative to their Election Cycle political donations, as reported by the Center for Responsive Politics. WITH US: WalMart, $467K, 97% to Republicans; K-Mart, $524K, 86% to Republicans; Home Depot, $298K, 89% to Republicans; Target, $226K, 70% to Republicans; Circuit City Stores, $261K, 95% to Republicans; 3M Co., $281K, 87% to Republicans; Hallmark Cards, $319K, 92% to Republicans; Amway,...

No. Because., December 03, 2004
John Hinderaker asks:Has anyone in the mainstream media, with its alleged investigatory resources, shown any interest in finding out why oil prices seem to have risen and fallen in synchrony with the American campaign season?No. And they never will. The election is old news, and no respectable liberal news organization is going to spend time and resources debunking one of their own pre-election memes....

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream..., November 29, 2004
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Howard Dean to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Seriously - can you think of a better choice? Of course not. If you're a blogger, join the campaign to get Dean elected chairman of the DNC here....

The Power of Marketing Community, November 22, 2004
I don't check Hugh Hewitt's blog three times a day like I did before Nov. 2, but I still check him almost daily and find lots of good post-election commentary. From him today:As for politics, Ronald Brownstein and Richard Rainey continue to provide the sort of excellent post-election coverage in the Los Angeles Times that readers would have enjoyed - and the paper might have profited from - pre-election. Bush-Cheney '04 won 97 of the...

An Internet Politics Teach In, November 22, 2004
Zephyr Teachout, who was director of Internet organizing for Howard Dean's campaign - and that turned out so well, didn't it? - says the recently concluded campaign season barely scratched the surface of how the Internet can be used as a political organizing tool. It's an interesting read....

60,000,000, November 16, 2004
Patrick Ruffini, back to blogging from a 17-month vacation (hah!), notes that President Bush is the first presidential candidate ever to get more than 60 million votes. Oh, and the "high turnout favors Democrats" meme is now officially dead....

No Wonder the Democrats Have the Blues, November 11, 2004
President Bush won in more counties nationwide against John Kerry than he did against Al Gore four years ago. Even the Blue states are increasingly Red. Here's a map from USA Today. Also, RealClearPolitics notes that Bush increased his level of support in almost every state compared to four years ago, and has the data to prove it....

Hah, November 08, 2004
Thank God it wasn't enough. From Cox & Forkum...

I Was Right. Sort Of., November 05, 2004
Turns out that President Bush also won Iowa, making the final electoral vote tally 286 - 252. Yahoo has a map and still-changing final popular vote tally that, as of Friday afternoon, shows Bush up 51.5 to 48.5, a 3-point margin. Bush has 59,544,263 votes, a margin of 3,405,477 more than Kerry's 56,038,786 votes. Monday, I predicted Bush would win by 4-6 points, leaning toward the high side, so I was overly optimistic....

The Presidential Election of 2016, November 05, 2004
They've got Barack Obama. We've got Bobby Jindal. Jindal versus Obama in 2016, perhaps?...

Postmarked: Irrelevance, November 04, 2004
Knoxville blogger South Knox Bubba is deep in denial, and rather bitter too, lashing out with his increasingly foul, shrill and bigoted anti-Christian rhetoric. He also seems not to have a clue as to why the Democratic Party was soundly beaten Tuesday, blaming it on "marketing" rather than "message."We're too nice and we try too hard to play by the rules. There's no rule that says you have to be nice and there's no law...

Red State Blues, November 04, 2004
You know if you live in a red or blue state. What about your county? Even in the blue states, there are red counties. Check out Pennsylvania, a blue state that's mostly red, for example. If you live in a blue state that almost voted red, please buy Hugh Hewitt's excellent book If it's Not Close, They Can't Cheat, and learn how to help turn your state red....

Argh, November 03, 2004
A BuzzFlash moron reader says Bush stole the election.The Republican owned voting machines prevailed over exit poll projections and the will of the American people. ... Computer experts say that signals can travel both to and from computerized voting machines through wireless technology, modems, and even simple electricity.There you have it, on good authority, from a guy who apparently didn't know that computerized bits of electronic data can be moved around over modem gizmos and...

Red America, Blue America, November 03, 2004
Lots of interesting stuff in this piece by Gannett News Service writer Chuck Raasch looking at the issues that defined the voters' choices....

It's Over, November 03, 2004
Congratulations, President Bush....

HobbsOnline Readers Overwhelmingly Backed Bush, November 03, 2004
The final tally on the poll of my blog's readers is in, and President Bush wins the zero electoral votes from the state of HobbsOnline. Bush was the choice of 2,400 of the 2,956 people who voted in the poll, winning 81 percent of the vote. Kerry got 16 percent (468 votes) with Nader getting 1 percent (20 votes), Other getting 2 percent (48 votes) and None getting 1 percent (20 votes). Thanks for participating!...

Almost Everything, November 03, 2004
Nov. 2, 2004, was an almost complete triumph for the Republican Party at the national level and in Tennessee. Nationally, George Bush won four more years in the White House. Mark it down. His lead among the already-counted votes is too high for John Kerry to overcome among the as-yet-uncounted "provisional" ballots. Bush leads in the Ohio vote count by more than 145,000 votes. There are about 190,000 votes not yet counted, including provisional ballots....

On Pins and Needles, November 02, 2004
Click to enlarge. Via Cox & Forkum Also from Cox and Forum in the last few days: Decision 2004 Click to enlarge. Read the accompanying commentary here. Also, one titled Translation: Click to enlarge...

As America Votes, November 02, 2004
My London correspondent George Miller, an American living in London (where he spent the latter half of his childhood), blogs about the world situation as America votes. I'm going to steal the whole thing, but urge you to visit Miller's excellent London Calling blog and read several more of his most recent posts.As America Votes... The Sudan begins another round of ethnic cleansing in Darfur. (UN standing by to watch). North Korea threatens South Korea....

Melting the Blogosphere, November 02, 2004
Is Election Day melting the political blogosphere? Instapundit is slow, as are several other political-related blogs. Some sites are just down completely. And not just conservative sites - even Daily Kos, cyber-home of the hate-filled Left, is saying it is having to "fix capacity issues." Some 6,218 unique vistors at HobbsOnline already this month - and we're just halfway through the second day. All that traffic is chewing up bandwidth at a rate far, far...

Watching The Results, November 02, 2004
Mr. HobbsOnline will venture out from his computer keyboard located deep in the heart of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to watch election returns tonight with a large group of local Republicans, including my state senator (future governor?) Jim Bryson, at the Embassy Suites hotel in the Cool Springs area of Brentwood/Franklin. The lovely Mrs. HobbsOnline and the amazing Little Girl HobbsOnline and Little Boy HobbsOnline will also join in the celebration. Bryson is not...

Vote!, November 02, 2004
I voted. The line wasn't long at 8:15 a.m., but was, according to poll workers, very long an hour earlier. Outside the polling place were the usual assortment of Republicans and Democrats holding up campaign signs for their respective candidates. The African-American man holding up a sign was holding up a sign for Bush-Cheney. Alright! When I was little I liked to play "cowboys & indians." I liked being the cowboy. Today, I voted for...

Cave, Limited View, November 02, 2004
From an editorial in today's largest Nashville daily:Bin Laden unwittingly managed to deliver one crucial message to voters just days before the election. He reminded them that this nation isn't divided into red states and blue states. He reminded them that the real enemy isn't George Bush, or John Kerry, or Karl Rove, or Bill Clinton. The real enemy is a madman, holed up in some cave. Americans share the common goal of his destruction.You...

My Prediction, November 01, 2004
Here is my electoral-vote prediction for tomorrow's presidential election: Bush wins with 293 electoral votes, taking the states shown here in red (click the image for a larger, more-legible version of the map). If I'm wrong, it won't be by much - my alternate scenario has Bush picking up Wisconsin, gaining 10 electoral votes, but losing New Mexico (5), Minnesota (10) and Colorado (9), for a finally winning tally of 279 electoral votes. His popular...

Ruin Their Day, November 01, 2004
British historian Paul Johnson writes:All the elements of anarchy and unrest in the Middle East and Muslim Asia and Africa are clamoring and praying for a Kerry victory. The mullahs and the imams, the gunmen and their arms suppliers and paymasters, all those who stand to profit - politically, financially, and emotionally - from the total breakdown of order, the eclipse of democracy, and the defeat of the rule of law, want to see Bush...

My Presidential Endorsement, November 01, 2004
This will surprise exactly none of you but I'm voting for George W. Bush tomorrow....

Osama Tape Mistranslated - And an Iraqi Blogger
Explains Why Bush Victory is Crucial, November 01, 2004
The Middle East Media Research Institute says al Jazeera mistranslated a portion of the Osama bin Laden video, and says the terrorist leader's message has been misrepresented to the American people on the eve of the election. MEMRI says bin Laden essentially offers a truce to states that vote for Kerry, but promises more attacks on those states that vote for Bush tomorrow....

News From The Front, October 31, 2004
I'd love to give you an excerpt of the best part of Charles Krauthhammer's column, an election-eve commentary recalling the brilliance of the way President Bush conceived and conducted the Afghanistan war, but I think it's a copyright violation to copy the whole thing. So you can just read the whole thing, titled Kerry's Afghan Amnesia, here. Also in War on Terror and Campaign Season news comes this alert that the UN may try to...

The Main Thing, October 31, 2004
The Tennessean interviews a series of "Main Street" business owners regarding the political issues important to them in this election and finds a common desire for lower taxes and less-costly healthcare insurance. If these people are paying attention, every last one of them will vote for the reelection of President Bush....

Frist In Line, October 31, 2004
Here's an interesting look at what impact Tuesday's elections might have on the political future of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee....

Osama Live, October 29, 2004
3:27 p.m: If Al Jazeera's new Osama bin Laden tape is real, and recent, and if on that tape bin Laden, mastermind of the murder of 3,000 American civilians on a bright September morning three years ago, discusses the possibility of another attack on the U.S. on the scale of September 11, it will remind voters of the most important issue in this election year - defeating Islamist terrorism - and John Kerry will have...

Now That Would've Been a Great Campaign Slogan, October 29, 2004
Blogger Frank J: "We need four more years of tax cuts and dead terrorists." Don't miss his illustrated endorsement. Much more fun than Megan McArdle's long, well-reasoned but, er, not funny presidential endorsement....

Er, Um. Nevermind., October 29, 2004
It's going to be difficult for John Kerry to keep harping on the "failure" of the Bush administration to secure those 377 tons of explosives at that Iraqi arms depot after the invasion if it turns out that the American military removed much of them... But I'm sure he'll find a sensitive, nuanced way to do it....

Balance, October 29, 2004
Nashville's public-access cable channel is going to air Michael Moore's lie-filled Fahrenheit 9/11 three days before the election. No word on if the public-access channel will also run FahrenHYPE 9/11, the documentary that debunks the crockumentary. The decision to air Tubby Riefenstahl's film was made by a local teevee producer, Chris Lugo, a leftist who is a member of Citizens for a Democratic Media. His production credits for the little-watched public-access channel include "Left of...