I was shocked not to see Oregon on this list at all! The latest polls shows R. Saxton and D. Kulongoski tied. Saxton is moderate and Kulongoski is unpopular. Oregon is a Dem. state in what appears to be a dem. year. However, Saxton could win that one. It should be a tough race until the end. It seems that you missed that one, Chris. Another race that is widely entertaining is the Texas governor's race. Poor o' Chris Bell has been massively overshawdowed. It looks like Strayhorn's campain is competing against Bell for votes, and is losing. Although neither can mount a really credible campaign. That leaves the unpopular incumbent Perry and Kinky Friendman. Surprisingly, Friedman is the candidate who appears to be gaining steam. What an upset that would be. The ultimate backlash against Bush...his own lt. governor lose the governor's mansion in Texas to an independent candidate named Kinky. This could actually happen, folks. Who else gives Kinky a shot?!

"If he wins, watch for Pawlenty to be immediately included in the 2008 GOP vice presidential pool." I have said since early this year that a McCain/Pawlentry ticket would be great. A Vietnam war veteran who is strong on national defense with a CEO type candidate (Pawlentry) who can balance a budget and live within means that's actually produced. That's a team we haven't had in Washington D.C. in....how long? Pawlentry will excite the conservative base, which McCain lacks. McCain will get conservative democrats and independents to the polls. Great campaign team that I believe would be great policymakes for our nation!

I agree with Zathras and rkb that the debates in MI will be the crucial events in the race. Governor Granholm comes across much better than DeVos and will hit him on the many issues that he has dodged. he actually has claimed on more than one issue that he won't decide a position until after the election.

Today he just came out in favor of intelligent design as part of classroom curriculum. Another sign of him forcing his views on the state. The debates will be a great forum for the voters to see this.

P.S. Enjoy the Ohio Valley! If you're in Cincy, get some Graeter's ice cream. There's none better!

Pawlenty for VP??? Care to explain why? I'm sure Karen/Tina/Slim Pearl in Girls would much rather have Condoleeza. He's not known nationally at all, I don't think he's even done anything in particular to distinguish himself in MN. Would VP be his reward for heeding Dick Cheney's order to switch from the Senate to Governor's race in 2002?

Speaking of Dick Celeste, his brother Ted who mounted a weak challenge to Mike DeWine in 2000 is challenging a Republican state rep. in Franklin County (Columbus) in one of the state's biggest legislative races. Some of us have talked about state legislatures before here, and Dems are poised to make gains in the Ohio General Assembly. The right-wing Columbus Dispatch recently reported that three Republican state senators are tied with or trailing their Democratic challengers. While 3 may not sound like a lot, the Ohio Senate has only 33 seats, half of which are up every two years. If Dems gain 3 seats this year and 3 more in 2008, they'll return to the majority for the first time since 1984.

http://sandwichrepair.blogspot.com

"Where is California" asks rtaycher1987.

I'm a classic bay-area California liberal who also spends a lot of time in Hawaii. Both states have had Democrat-filled legislatures for too long, which has resulted in Republican governors who hold positions that are actually rather liberal. I have my issues with Lingle and Schwarzenegger, but they're both pretty reasonable. And, the democratic opponents have been so far out that they scare me.

In California this coiuld possibly implode because the governor is so liberal - tune into a talk-radio station to hear all the complaining - but so far the middle is still strong for Arnold.

California is vying with Texas as the poster-child for the need of redistricting by an impartial panel.

Posted by: Keith | September 19, 2006 10:20 AM

___________________________________________
Neither governors are that liberal, moderate at best. There is a huge difference beetween HI an CA GOV races. In HI the candidate is unknown with no money, in CA you have a decent challenger wounded by a bad primary, also Lingle is popular while the terminator is mildly unpopular(se SUSA polls)

Thanks for fixing a couple of your errors re Wisconsin -- and you're right that the race is tightening, I think -- but you continue to buy into the "truthiness" of the GOP line on the travelgate story, despite clarifications by others.

The woman was not a Doyle aide -- unless all the thousands upon thousands of us who are state employes are all aides, even if we never met the man. As stated above by others, she was a state employe appointed under a GOP governor well before Doyle, and she was several steps removed from the governor's office in the state hierarchy.

There was no evidence given in the case that she got any directives, or even hints, from Doyle or any of his aides to do what she did -- and I suspect that she may win an appeal of the conviction on what she did.

I thought better of your column than to get so many things wrong in a single sentence.

George W. Bush's grandfather helped finance the Nazi Party. Karl Rove's grandfather helped run the Nazi Party, and helped build the Birkenau Death Camp.

The Bush family ties to the Nazi party are well known. In their 1994 Secret War Against the Jews, Mark Aarons and John Loftus use official US documents to establish that George Herbert Walker, George W. Bush's maternal great-grandfather, was one of Hitler's most important early backers. He funneled money to the rising young fascist through the Union Banking Corporation.

In 1926, Walker arranged to have his new son-in-law, Prescott Bush---father of President George Bush I, grandfather of George Bush II---hired as Vice President at W.A. Harriman and Company. Prescott became a senior partner when Harriman merged with a British-American investment company to become Brown Brothers Harriman. In 1934 Prescott Bush joined the Board of Directors of Union Banking.

The bank helped Hitler rise to power. It also helped him wage war. As late as July 31, 1941---well after the Nazi invasion of Poland---the U.S. government froze $3 million in Union Banking assets linked to Fritz Thyssen. Thyssen was noted in the American press as a "German industrialist and original backer of Adolph Hitler."

Loftus writes that Thyssen's "American friends in New York City [were] Prescott Bush and Herbert Walker, the father and father-in-law of a future President of the United States." That would be the current president's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, also the former CIA director.

On October 20, 1942, the U.S. government ordered the seizure of Nazi Germany's banking operations in New York City, which were under the direction of Prescott Bush. The government seized control of Union Banking Corporation under the Trading with the Enemy Act. The liquidation yielded a reported $750,000 apiece for Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker. The book, The Splendid Blonde Beast: Money, Law and Genocide, goes into exhaustive detail on Bush-Harriman Nazi money laundering. More recently, Michael Kranish covers the same Bush-Nazi relationships in The Rise of the Bush Family Dynasty published in the Boston Globe. Loftus documents that "Prescott Bush knowingly served as a money launderer for the Nazis. Remember that Union Bank's books and accounts were frozen by the U.S. Alien Property Custodian in 1942 and not released back to the Bush family until 1951."

--why torture is no big deal for bush. Family history.

oh man, what we've got to look forward to in November. This was so bad that even the winners are challenging it. But of course, they're Dems:

'Congressional candidate Donna Edwards announced plans yesterday to file a lawsuit over apparent voting irregularities in Tuesday's primary election in Prince George's County, while defeated county executive challenger Rushern L. Baker III demanded an independent investigation of the process.

The separate announcements signaled that Tuesday's voting, a flawed process by many accounts, may not conclude the close primary contests for a seat in Congress and the county executive's office. The election itself was "horrendous," the Prince George's elections administrator said yesterday. And the victorious Democratic county executive candidate, incumbent Jack B. Johnson, said it warranted investigation.

"The integrity of the election is at stake," said Edwards, who ran against Rep. Albert R. Wynn in the 4th District Democratic primary and is waiting for the race to be decided when provisional ballots are counted next week in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Jonathan S. Shurberg, a lawyer working with Edwards, said they will ask a judge to take possession of voting machine memory cards in two, possibly three, precincts in Chillum. The request will be made either in Prince George's Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro or U.S. District Court in Greenbelt over the next several days.

Edwards said her legal complaint will focus on the security of voting machines that contained voting cards and were not delivered to the county Board of Elections until late Wednesday. "When we read reports about how easy it is to hack into these machines, there has to be concern," Edwards said.
...
"We're not doing this for the campaign," Perry said. "We're doing this as a duty. Voters have been disenfranchised."
...
The county's interim election administrator, Robert J. Antonetti Sr., acknowledged yesterday that the primary was the most troubled election he has overseen during 34 years in the field. "This was horrendous," Antonetti said.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/751

Zathras: Thanks for the info. This will make me watch Texas more than I would have, if you or anyone has info on any other state having a Jewish Gov., I am aware of the House and Senate but not states other than Mass. Thinking back to JFK and his breaking the POTUS Catholic for the first time is very appealling to me, since he was my first vote for POTUS and I am not Cat, Jew, Mor, Mus, but Babtist.

I didn't go through all of these postings so someone might have already stated something to this effect, but if thats so then let me second it: As someone from Massachusetts, I can honestly say Kerry Healey has no chance no matter who wins the primary. She is a wooden multimillionnairess republican who a) is running in a very hostile environement to republicans b) has far less charisma than any of her opponents and c) is following in the footsteps of yet another republican governor who used Massachusetts as a stepping stone to higher office. In the past MA has had a slight preference for republican governors because they tend to be moderate in a state where so many are very liberal. But George Bush has successfully squashed that "moderate" feeling out of just about everyone in the state. The only person who can't beat Kerry Healey is Christy Mihos, the independent candidate.

From the Providence Journal website on the Brown University poll rreleased today:

Governor's race

The poll also shows Republican Governor Carcieri well ahead of his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty. Carcieri now leads Fogarty with 50 percent of likely voters supporting him to 38 percent supporting Fogarty, up from a 44 percent to 39 percent Carcieri lead in a June poll.

LSterling has a good take on it above, but Number 10 on The Fix list may be too high. Carcieri hasn't really alienated Rhode Islanders. Alienating state employees gets politcians point in many states. RI may be one. Fogarty's running a "reform" campaign against somebody who is not accused of doing anything illegal, unethical or immoral. It will take an anti-Bush wave to beat Carcieri.

In Your Name:

Diaz, sensing that something was wrong, lifted Jamadi's hood. His face was badly bruised. Diaz placed a finger in front of Jamadi's open eyes, which didn't move or blink, and deduced that he was dead. When the men lowered Jamadi to the floor, Frost told investigators, "blood came gushing out of his nose and mouth, as if a faucet had been turned on."

What bush means by' clarifying' Geneva -- he wants to keep doing this sort of thing, without it being called torture:

'Mark Swanner, a forty-six-year-old C.I.A. officer who has performed interrogations and polygraph tests for the agency, which has employed him at least since the nineteen-nineties. (He is not a covert operative.) Two years ago, at Abu Ghraib prison, outside Baghdad, an Iraqi prisoner in Swanner's custody, Manadel al-Jamadi, died during an interrogation. His head had been covered with a plastic bag, and he was shackled in a crucifixion-like pose that inhibited his ability to breathe; according to forensic pathologists who have examined the case, he asphyxiated. In a subsequent internal investigation, United States government authorities classified Jamadi's death as a "homicide," meaning that it resulted from unnatural causes. Swanner has not been charged with a crime and continues to work for the agency.'

The Fix's take on the Mass Governor's race is a little off the pace considering the most recent poll (conducted by the Boston Globe) shows Deval Patrick beating Gabrielli 47% - 25%, not exactly a dead heat that the fix would like you to believe. Also it is unfair that the fix keep pushing Gabrielli as the only real challenger to Healey, when the Patrick campaign has the most dedicated set of volunteers and the only real grassroots campaign out of all the candidates. Of course when it comes to money Gabrielli has the clear advantage, because he is a multi millionare who is dumping his money into the campaign.

So it would be niceif the FIX could talk to some local politicians and experts on the matter of the Mass Governors race and not just look at everyones check book.

Here's what happened when Bush called on Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times:

"Q Hi, Mr. President.

"THE PRESIDENT: Fine. How are you doing?

"Q I'm well today, thank you. (Laughter.)

"THE PRESIDENT: Did you start with, hi, Mr. President?

"Q Hello, Mr. President.

"THE PRESIDENT: Okay, that's fine

I have to agree with the other posters disputing how close Marylands race will be. I have yet to see a poll with O'Malley having less than a five point lead.

And RCD made a good point about the DCC's get out the vote initiatives. A massive number of volunteers in the most populous counties is lit dropping and door knocking until November.

I doubt Mayor O'Malley will win a crushing victory but the campaigning has been effective so far and I believe the lead will hold.

This thing about what church you go to is nothing more than an attempt to pick up votes and nothing to do about faith. Most folks like myself, being disabled and for the most part, homebound most of the time. We practice our faith more likely than others go to a place of worship just to be seen and socialize. Cynical, you bet. These Bible Thumpers are what I refer to, not the good folks that practice what they preach.

bsimon - Thanks, that adds more context to the situation than I had available. C-Span carried the debate, but it wasn't on until 12:15 a.m., a bit too late for me last night. If Allen opened the door, so be it.

Unfortunately, the sponsor the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce doesn't have a transcript on their website.

If Peggy Fox was following-up a door which had been opened by Allen, my apologies to her.

Zathras: Your statement about a "1996 "red stripe" (the geographical oddity where the states forming a stripe from the Dakotas to Texas were the only ones to vote for Dole)." is in error. Dole carried many states besides the six in the red stripe. Virginia, both Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi look pretty red to me. The odd two, contiguous to no other red states, were Alaska (which I'll grant is seldom contiguous to any other state) and Indiana. Five more states just west of the red stripe also went Dole: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Utah. With the exception of Colorado, the others have been reliably Republican since the mind of man runneth not to the contrary.

Lylepink and JEP,

Perry is Protestant. Texas does have much the same look overall as other states in the 1996 "red stripe" (the geographical oddity where the states forming a stripe from the Dakotas to Texas were the only ones to vote for Dole). However, Texas overall is not as extreme as the others because of the Democratic bases in Texas's numerous big cities. Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso all had a majority of the votes for Gore in 2000, for example. However, this urban vote was drowned out by the overwhelmingly Republican vote in the suburbs and rural areas.

"We know Allen plays to the Red Necks. Is it the reporter's job to spark a fire on what should be a non-issue in a campaign? I don't think so."

How is known pandering to Red Necks NOT a campaign issue?

MMm--I think yo may have hit it with both allen and bush. A daddy who was the man they'll never be.

I didn't love bush senior as a president but at least he was a man--he actually served in the military, he didn't cut and run, didn't desert like junior did.

"Did Fox know of some relevance to the campaign or the office which he seeks to hold? "

From what I read (Kurtz's review), Fox's question was a semi-followup of Allen's reference to his grandfather having been incarcerated by the Nazis. It looks like, on the one hand, Allen wants credit for his grandfather's incarceration, but doesn't want to talk about whether he has Jewish ancestry. Is it really important for the voters to know? Probably not. But then, why did Allen bring it up?

'offered Cindy Sheehan "more cash" to make up for her son Casey's death'

Allen suggested in a public hearing that if the military death benefits were higher, a mother like Cindy might find some comfort in her son's demise. He did not say it in the context of the general conversation, he was speaking directly to Cindy when he said it. His condescension was so apparent, I didn't know if I had actually heard him say it.

It was broadcast on CSpan, and surely someone has a tape of it, its as bad or worse than the macaca mistake.

Cindy's soft-spoken, dignified response was "I would rather have my son back."

Barbara Boxer was beside herself after Allen made the comment, all the good people in the room were aghast, and I just cried, I was so ashamed of our government at that moment.

I haven't cried out loud since my mother died of ALS, many years ago, so it isn't exactly a common event.

Then I got mad, and that anger became a personal grudge.

I admit it, Allen is one of those men who makes me ashamed of being a man. Bush fits that neanderthal description, too, these guys live in an evolutionary sub-class and inject the laws of the jungle into our rule of law. Then they expect us to abide by the very laws they ignore.

And if it weren't for their daddies, neither of them could pretend to be the man they imagine themselves to be.

I did not set out to make a case for careful proofreading, but I made it nonetheless. I apologize for the unnecessary letter in signature.

I was absolutely stunned not to see Texas in the top 15. According to the latest independent poll, Democrat Chris Bell has pulled to within 4 points of the heavily-favored, lavishly-if-not-legally financed incumbent. Making things really interesting is that Bell himself is only 5 points ahead of singer•songwriter/mysteries author/magazine columnist Richard Friedman, known by most people as Kinky Friedman.

The other independent candidate, Carol Keeton Strayhorn, has spent a great deal of money--she paid for every signataure she collected to get on the ballot; Kinky paid for none of his--started the race well, but is now in free-fall, with single digit showings in most polling.

Bell has yet to run a television ad.

If someone asked me if I were Native American, because i have a grandmother who is, i would simply say 'yes'. Actually I woud be glad to talk about it, becuase I am proud of it.

And my husband is jewish. If someone asked, he'd probably say, well, duh.

So -- I'm not trying to be provocative Nor, I really don't understand.

Good use of the US Military, eh? Gotta protect that oil.

U.S. Navy boosting security off W.Africa, chief says
Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:29pm ET165

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is bolstering its presence in the Gulf of Guinea to help improve security and defend vital seaways including oil and gas routes, its European commander said in an interview.

Admiral Harry Ulrich, commander of U.S. naval forces for Europe and Africa, told Reuters that improved security would prevent extremists from gaining a foothold in resource-rich West Africa.

...

Gulf of Guinea crude oil producers Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea and promising newcomer Sao Tome & Principe already supply 16 percent of U.S. energy needs.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-09-19T172930Z_01_L19915923_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFRICA-US-SECURITY.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-8

In your Wisconsin entry:

There was no guilty plea and no admission of any bid-rigging.

'Scuse me, add Olberman and Cafferty to that list of Constituitonal defenders I just mentioned...

"Allen's religion or heritage is not a scandal waiting to happen that anybody knows of."

It would not have been a scandal, had he not responded scandalously. Now, just like the macaca event, he's chewing on his foot, this guy must be hooked on toe jam.

I agree, without a doubt, the MSM is sleazy, but it is many other things too, we have to learn to sort the truth from the talk.

We won't get much help from the media in this, and if you think there's any hope of bringing the 24 hr news channels around to doing some real, serious journalism, you've never watched Nancy Grace.

For now, these blogs and Comedy Central are about the only thing upholding our Constitution, and at least here you know you HAVE to choose for yourself what to believe, you are not just expected to believe it.

MikeB;

One of the most disturbing thing about the Bush administration is how much loyalty they managed to extract from Republicans who really do not agree with them.

Even our local trolls clearly do not agree with neocon policies, I would guess they are old-line Repubs, with a fiscal-conservative tax-cutting bent and an abiding moral outrage against all things "different."

Unfortunately, their concept of loyalty to the party just plain outweighs their loyalty to the nation, and that is why they continually support a neocon regime that is virtually the antithesis of what they actually believe.

They keep following blind leaders, and they all ended up in the ditch, somewhere north, south, east and west of Baghdad.

Loyalty is a virtue, but only if it is not blind.

Flowers was a "scandal" in the wings.

This isn't some babe sneaking into the Executive Mansion issue.

Nobody that I know of has the authority to give the news media carte blanche to delve into any and every aspect of everybody's life. But some reporter's take it as if they are on a a God given mission. They feel that they can ask any question anytime with impugnity.

I don't think so. For need me there need to be merit and substance before I give the reporter credence. I didn't see it here.

Fox was trying to light a fire for the sake of lighting a fire.

Allen's religion or heritage is not a scandal waiting to happen that anybody knows of. If he wants to deal with it publicly in the manner of Joe Lieberman, John Kennedy, etc., that's his call. Apparently, no reporter has had a problem with him as a Presbyterian.

Did Fox know of some relevance to the campaign or the office which he seeks to hold? Does Allen's Jewish heritage affect his positions on Israel? I've never heard anybody even mention his positions on Israel before. What did Fox know that we need to know there? Or, does his Catholic heritage affect how he votes on abortion, school vouchers, etc.? I've never heard anybody link his Catholic heritage to his Conservative positions.

I'm not buying for a minute rationalizing a poitical gain based on a person's ethnic or religious heritage which has nothing to do with their campaign or holding office. It's sleazy.

If Fox has something related to that, fine. Channel Nine should have quite a scoop on it's hands. If she doesn't, it was uncalled for.

'offered Cindy Sheehan "more cash" to make up for her son Casey's death'

He SAID that?!! He really said that? omidgod what a classless beast, what a freaking bastard. If I were her, i wuold have leaped on him and ripped his eyes out.

JEP, you know who else had a problem with being jewish? Adolph Hitler. The noose in Allen's office proves they have a spiritual bond.

Paris, 18 Sept. (IPS) Almost three years after Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights activist who be came the first Iranian to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, Mrs. Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian to go into space with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday 18 September 2006.

But her 10 days journey that would include a two-day trip to the International Space Station was saddened because the Americans refused her bearing the flag of her natal nation of Iran along with the flag of the United States, the country she is a citizen, on her space suit, in a sign of possible reconciliation between the two antagonist nations.

Her journey was saddened because the Americans refused her bearing the Iranian flag along with the flag of the United States on her space suit.

'She was also asked, by Russian and US governments, not to make any political statements while on board the ISS.
Mrs. Ansari's flight into space is a thorn into the eyes of the clerical leaders of the Islamic Republic that, because of Islamic laws on which the regime is based, bars women from such activities.

"Actually, the Americans made a big mistake in refusing Mrs. Ansari putting on Iran's flag, as it could help defusing animosity between the tow nations. Now, more Iranians would hate the United States", one political analyst prognosticated, as she is reported to have already attracted praise from Iranians and Americans alike on her blog.'

--The Iranian people don't hate us -- they are for the most part pro-USA. It's their govenrment that's the problem, but it really hurts the reformers when bush pulls this kind of childish stunt. It sure looks like he's trying really hard to start a war, doesn't it?

JEP: I do not know what Perry is. The only one that I know of is Kinky and that is the reason his opponents have not brought up the issue as others have in many states. Texas seems to appear, if you can believe the MSM, more of the rite-wing states like Kansas and most of the RED states as a whole. Another thing worth mentioning is the polls in that USA/Gallop mostly have GW 3 to 4 % higher than most others.

I'm wondering, as an armchair psychiatrist, if Allen's passionate embracing of the Rebel cause and wrapping himself in its imagery, wasn't his way of hiding, psychologically and publicly, from his own heritage?

Sure would explain some of those quirky twists in his history.

And it would also explain his inability to realize and capitalize on such a great opportunity to broaden his support base, simply by being what he really is.

Apprently, he prefers to be something else.

I must admit, I have an unbudging grudge against Allen, ever since he publicly and condescendingly offered Cindy Sheehan "more cash" to make up for her son Casey's death.

His incredible, thick-hearted, brain-dead insensitivity at that moment revealed much of what we suspect about his neanderthal ethics, and now it has been openly exposed at the Macaca event.

Illinois. It's too early to speculate on 30 points. Sounds strange. But this is after all, Illinois where it seems that Club Fed has a 'Land of Lincoln Wing'.

Patrick Fitz has an October Surprise for Blago.

You can feel it in the air. Mr. Rove allegedly passed on to Button Box Judy, the assurance that he would give her all the resources she needs.

She needs more than Money. Rod the Reformer has alot more. She needs an intangible.

Think indictment close to Springlfield. The RNC has not lost its touch.

The access panel door on a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine -- the door that protects the memory card that stores the votes, and is the main barrier to the injection of a virus -- can be opened with a standard key that is widely available on the Internet.

On Wednesday we did a live demo for our Princeton Computer Science colleagues of the vote-stealing software described in our paper and video. Afterward, Chris Tengi, a technical staff member, asked to look at the key that came with the voting machine. He noticed an alphanumeric code printed on the key, and remarked that he had a key at home with the same code on it. The next day he brought in his key and sure enough it opened the voting machine.

Why is being asked if you are jewish an ambush? I just don't get it. So what? He's said in his campaign before that his grandfather was in a Nazi camp, so it's not like it's a secret.

As JEP says, he is jewish becuase that is determined by the matrilineal line. Whether he practices it is quite irrelevant. As far as the jewish people are concerned, he is of jewish blood. And no, it doesn't amake a difference as far as governing, so why should he care if he's asked? If you think religion shouldn't be mentioned in politics, you're sure living in the wrong country right now.

I'v always been a moderate. It's simply, compared to the truely frightening right wing types that follow Bush like a mob of zombees, Barry Goldwater would be a moderate. As for political positions, I think you would find that I am not all that much different than you. I simply cannot abide evil and immoral behavior and George Bush, Rove, Cheney, Rice, and the rest of this WHitehouse are the most immoral, evil collection of scounderals since Enron.

"Is it the reporter's job to spark a fire on what should be a non-issue in a campaign?"

I think so...

Remember Jennifer Flowers?

That IS a reporter's job these days, you have described it quite succinctly, albeit inadvertantly.

Why did Allen react? Because it was an ambush on a very personal matter.

Is Allen a practicing Jew? No! He may never have seen the inside of a synagogue other than in which to campaign. If what I've read is correct, his father was Catholic. He's a practicing Presbyterian. So is he Jewish, Catholic, Presbyterian?

Your comment "...because he IS jewish." is correct only in that he apparently has Jewish ancestors. He's Jewish in the same context that John Kerry is Jewish. Nobody tried to make a campaign issue about that. As far as I'm concerned, so what! We know Allen plays to the Red Necks. Is it the reporter's job to spark a fire on what should be a non-issue in a campaign? I don't think so.

It's like so many posts on this blog about Romney being Mormon. Again, so what. Will it affect how he governs? Didn't seem to have one whit of an effect in going on four years in Massachusetts.

Fox was trying to ambush Allen and it blew up on her. I don't blame any politician who snaps back at a personal ambush like that.

Do I like that it may cause Allen problems? Actually, Yes! But, only because it is "out there" now and may have to be dealt with. I find the means which produced that end, unethical.

Drindl, cheer up.

In the end, its all good.

Literally...

But between now and then, we must do whatever we can do to protect and nurture our people and our planet, because that will be the measure for our reward, not some dollar figure in a bank account.

Joe Lieberman's lead over Ned Lamont has dwindled to two points, a new Rasmussen poll released today has found.

Is the son or daughter of a Jewish man deemed Jewish, isn't it the mother's heritage that determines lineage?

Which makes Allen even more of a hypocrite, because that makes him a "bona fide" Jew.

Or am I mistaken on that point? Someone, correct me, please, if I'm wrong here...

I may be thinking of something from the Old Testament...

Well bhoomes, that used to be true, actually. But the many christian cults that are springing up in this country -who call themselves christians yet reject the teachings of christ--are hurtling backward rapidly. They're at about the 12th century now and not even slowing down.

I'd say it's very possible that we will end history where we started it -- in a cataclysmic nuclear war in the Mideast. We've been fighting the same battles for 5000 years. Only our weapons have evolved, but not our self-awareness.

I hate to say it because i have a child, but I think we're a dead-end species that's reached the end of its line.

"How is his ancestor's religion relevant?"

Because if he is prejudiced, overtly or even subtly, towards his own ancestry, or simply embarrassed, it proves what an unmitigated bigot he really is.

Allen missed a great opportunity to embrace and show pride in his heritage, and while being partly Jewish might lose him some of his nascar dads (we ARE talking Virginia here) it would likely gain him support among both the Evangelical and Jewish communities.

But apparently, he prefers to defer instead of define, and that smacks of avoidance and denial, and shows how transparently bigoted he really is.

He has apologized for the Rebel Battle Flag he used to wear at toga parties, but how can he explain the noose?

Allen's a bigot, even towards his own blood. "Macaca" was no isolated event.

As I recall, Adolph Hitler had similar misgivings about his own family tree...

You can probably take the Illinois race out of the top 15. There is no chance that Topinka will win this one and it is not even going to be close -- we are far too blue for that. She needs more than lots of money to run ads to close the gap -- like maybe some initiatives to solve some of the problems we have in Illinois. Ever hear of a real platform, Judy?

And the Blagojevich campaign, flush with cash and major media buys, and an army of democratic campaigners, has not yet pulled out all the stops for Rod. I would be surprised if the actual election results are closer than 20% between the two candidates, especially in light of the recent poll giving him a 30% lead.

MikeB: When did you become a moderate?

I think the point is well taken that the catholic church has as much blood on their hands as the muslims but the difference is Christianity is a part of the 21st Century while Islam is still in the 6th century. The fact they want to behead the Pope makes our point.

bhoomes - "...If you think this country is going to give power to Reid and Pelosi, then you have been on Willie Nelson's bus for too long."

Speaking as one moderate, compared to Bush, an evil and twisted little gnome, and a genuine twirl your finger around your ear lunatic, Reid and Polosi are sane centrists.

Noreaster--I just don't see why the question made him so angry. Yes, is was off-topic by the reporter, I agree, but the way he snapped out on her was weird. He's a politician, he should be used to people asking questions. ..and why does he thinks it's an insult to be asked if you're jewish?

That's what he said, that she was 'casting aspersions' -- which in itself is weird, because he IS jewish.

Lylepink;

Can we therefore assume Perry is the "Protestant's candidate?"

Or is he a Catholic? That would put an odd edge to the race.

And as for Texas being alone in the gubernatorial sleaze category, I suspect, Missouri, second only to Louisiana in its history of political subterfuge and intrigue, (OK, so New Jersey fits down there somewhere) may have some surprises in store before it is all over.

The Talent/Boehner struggle had some of the most subtle and revealing twists and implications we have seen in many years, and there is still some hell to pay, I would guess.

And lets not forget Ashcroft, our original afflicted, affected Bush AG, who was one of Delay's closest henchmen, and certainly has close ties to Talent SR and JR.

Curious how Ashcroft has disappeared from all the political radar screens, his connection may be the link between Abramoff and Talent, it is hard to imagine they weren't all swimming in the same shark-infested waters more than once.

But are they safe, just because they are the sharks?

I think not, there are too many trophy-fisherman trolling these waters, they might all get caught on an Abramoff hook before it is over.

Jack Abramoff; the gift that just keeps on giving. I don't know what sorts of ties Iowa's "R" Nussle had to Abramoff, but his relationship with Delay is historic. And I would guess there's a public record of it carefully hidden away somewhere.

So who knows where this stinky pay-for-play trail will lead, but it smells bad enough that there'slittle doubt as to "whether or not," it is just a matter of "when and where."

It will be hard for anyone who was closely attached to the endemic Delay control-freak conspiracy and its overflowing special-interest gravy train, to wriggle out of the lassos that will be thrown on them over this election cycle.

The "worshipping Bush" campers should be a surprise to noone. There are parallel sects and cults all across the nation with their single issue, Jesus driven, boot camp perceptions of reality. They are generally and genuinely looking for someone or some cause to dedicate themselves. More difficult is that to which they're now reacting. There are middle-eastern countries with a 7th century outlook using an 8th century religion to define 19th century pan-Arab naitonalism, and taking offense at any direct or implied criticism of their faith. This is not a peaceful exercise of belief. There may not be a "clash of civilizations" in the near future but there just might be a rehash of the Great Crusades.

Regarding WI:

The biggest development of the campaign has been Green's refusal to relinquish $400,000+ in PAC money, as the state elections board has ordered. (He tried to get around state PAC limits by transferring money from his Congressional campaign fund.) His was given 10 days to do so; the deadline passed yesterday w/o Green forking over the money. He is trying to fight the order in court, but while it is being resolved there he is simply refusing to comply. (He claims that he was railroaded by a Dem-controlled elections board.)

For a guy who hoped to attack his opponent over ethics, this is a problem.

Drindl - You provided: "Why is that relevant -- my (George Allen) religion, Jim's (Webb) religion or the religious beliefs of anyone out there?"

and commented: "What a vile, disgusting filthy animal he is."

To me your criticism of Allen on this is way off. He had a hell of a good point. How is his ancestor's religion relevant? His religion might be (only to the extent that it might affect his potential performance in office), but his grandfather's?

Give me a break.

Peggy Fox's response was just pure journalistic B.S. "'Honesty, that's all,' questioner Fox answered,..."

It was meant to be an ambush and it backfired on her.

Unless it's going to affect how they will perform in office, a candidate's religion is their own business. If they make an issue out of it, then it becomes campaign fodder with respect to them and the office for which they are running, not their heritage.

And, unless she had somethingelse relevant to the campaign to which to link the question, Fox owes Allen an apology.

Kinky Friedman I still can't believe. I knew him about 25 years ago, when he used to live in Greenwich Village. I did some freelance political articles for a magazine called 'High Times' and he used to hang around their office. Quite a place...

'US President George W Bush plans to announce a "substantial discount" on the five billion dollar deal to sell F-16s to Pakistan during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Washington as a gesture of approval of his handling of the war on terror, a media report said on Tuesday.'

I really am astounded at this.. this is the same Pakistan that just signed a peace treaty with the Taliban and pulled all their troops away from pursuing bin Ladin, telling him he was welcome to stay there. Any republicans out there who could tell me what THIS is all about?!!!

"Halliburton has sought to have the suit thrown out, arguing the company is immune from litigation related to its work in Iraq for the U.S. government."

Lawlessness, personified...

Since when does our legal system profer immunity to anyone, in any capacity, supposedly even the President can be deposed for high crimes and misdemeanors, but Halliburton is "immune?"

I wish our soldiers and fellow citizen contractors were immune...

Alaska belongs on the list. Turnout in the state is unpredictable, and history has shown that if a party is getting killed on the mainland, they get disspirited in Alaska and lose races that they might have won. Polls are still open there when other states have been reported. This was arguably the case in 2004 (although Democrats weren't getting killed that year) and was certainly the case in 1980, when Frank Murkowski first won his Senate seat.

Rkb,
Patrick's success is really a great story of working the Grassroots. He basically was written off in the beginning and has since worked the streets to gain the momentum he has. I don't know if he will pull it out today but the polls show him ahead by alot. Also his refreshing approach to campaigning has gotten him a 15% point lead on Healey. I look forward to having him as my governor.

JEP, the only Texas candidate with any possible sleaze connection would be the incumbent Perry. The others have absolutely none.

Several posts on the Texas Gov. race. Me thinks religion is playing a larger part in it than most folks want to admit. Kinky is Jewish and the overwhelming religion in Texas is Prod. with the exception of Latinos, who are mostly Catl.

Anyone who thinks they can "die for God" isn't reading their Bibles or their Korans.

And anyone who causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better that a millstone were tied around their neck, and they were thrown into the sea, rather than face God's wrath for corrupting his innocents.

Holy War is impossible, it is the ultimate oxymoron. God's warriors don't kill, they speak of peace and seek to give comfort to the suffering innocents caught in this profane cultural crossfire.

Here's a poem..

"I wish that all the zealots who covet the Middle East,
understood, a real holy warrior fights for peace,

Not with rockets, bombs and guns,
but with education, food and love.

The scenes of death we see each day, is blood spent wrong, lives lost in vain..

And the only beneficiaries of all this death and fear,

Are business-suited oil men, whose fortunes grow each year.

The Devil is in every land, not just here or there,
wearing all those fine silk suits, sitting in their leather chairs.

And there is no single person on whom to lay the blame, if there was surely don't you think that we would know his name?

When violence and bloodshed are part of someone's plans, you can wager, and win your bet, its not God, its Man."

-I just caught the 'worshipping a picture of President Bush ... and was stunned. I was raised as an evangelical... didn't these people ever hear of heresy?

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Macaca "Mad Dog" Allen?

Sounds like an appropriate nickname...

Like I posted when I first got on this blog, right after the Macaca moment, Allen seems to have a very quick character change, he tries to act like a statesman, but beneath it seethes an angry, spoiled teenage bully, who will punch out your lights at the drop of an insult.

I think that alone should give Virginia's voters pause, if he can't control his own emotions, should he be making world-class decisions?

Ot, I know, but man... training Christian suicide bombers--

'Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President Bush -- these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer's Bible camp in North Dakota, "Kids on Fire," subject of the provocative new documentary, "Jesus Camp."

"I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places," Fisher said. "Because, excuse me, we have the truth."

"A lot of people die for God," one camper said, "and they're not afraid."

"We're kinda being trained to be warriors," said another, "only in a funner way.'

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2455343&page=1

"That being said the coruption in Ohio by Taft and his administration is going to sink Blackwell."

That, and Blackwell's blackwellian election shenanigans...

If the light of day is ever shown upon that abyss, the Republicans in Ohio will have to change the law to allow felons to vote from prison, if they ever want to win another state election.

Many of them will be behind bars by then, if Justice ever has her day.

Andy R,

I live in Nova Scotia and pick up Boston affiliates of the US networks, so I caught a bit of what I presume was the last debate of the three Dem. candidates. I was really impressed by Patrick, especially his answer about merit pay for teachers and his closing comments about the importance of leadership.

From what I've read at The Fix, he's been consistently behind during the race, but I'm glad to see that he's picked up steam. (At least, as much as I can be glad about a race that I know little about).

As far as a race I know much more about, I'm a bit surprised that Granholm moved up a spot this week, espceialy since she's got her biggest lead in the polls to date. I agree with Zathras (?) that the debates will definitely seal the deal.

'I'll be shocked if Spitzer doesn't win 63%. His record is impeccable. The only question is who has him on their VP shortlist?'

Interestng question. He's impressive. Has earned himself quite a fearsome reputation as a reformer on Wall Street. Of course, they will fight nastily if he tries to go national. Last thing K Street wants is an honest man. Which means he will be viciously attacvked. Rule of thumb today -- the more honest a politican is, the more vile the attacks. But in New York, at least, he should sweep. Suozzi, his Dem opponent is a decent guy, has no money. But who could take on 'The Sheriff of Wall Street" and the 'Crusader of the Year' anyway?

John Faso, his republican opponent is nothing more than a joke, a nobody in a strongly blue state.

lylepink -- the point of bush's speech today will be look 'tough' to strut, to boast, to swagger, to brag, to threaten. The point is to try to make him look like an actual man, which may fool some of his fellow cowardly pantywaists in his party. And yes, of course, he wants laws enacted that will enssure he never gets prosecuted for his crimes. He wants--quite literally--to get away with murder.

And what about Allen -- he's really losing it. Everytime he gets in front of a camera, something makes him snap and he goes mad dog on people. Is that having an effect?

And thanks, JEP, I appreciate you too.

Forgot to mention how the polls change when the media gets off the war in Iraq and on to the war on terror. The dems MUST keep the war in Iraq their main issue, otherwise the distraction will be to the advantage of the repubs.

Fourty-Four percent think Blago would do a better job of eliminating corruption in Illinois?? As a Chicagoan i can say Blago is about a ham sammich away from a federal corruption indictment..The reason Illinois highways are perpetually torn up is so Blago keeps the campaign coffers filled with cash from the road builders around here....His only saving grace is JB Topinka comes across as , for lack of a better term, an idiot....If the repubs could have talked Jim Edgar into running again he would've crushed Blago head to head.....

"Although we tend to think Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is in decent shape, public and private polling continues to show him running neck and neck with state Attorney General Mike Hatch (D)."

Chris, if the polls show otherwise, then why do you think Pawlenty is in decent shape?

Are the naysayers right, do you lean, like Matthews, to the right but you only expose it inadvertantly?

I'll have to watch a bit closer for these kinds of thinly-veiled endorsements, maybe some of the other posters are correct in suggesting you are "one of them."

Hope not.

Of all those Texas gubernatorial candidates, which one is the "closest" to Delay?

I don't mean in terms of ideology, I mean in terms of political and financial indebtedness.

As a Minnesotan, I agree that the MN gov race will be interesting. I don't see it being as close as some predict however. Instead, I hope Chris is right, that the GOP takes Pawlenty out of here with a VP nomination. Good Riddance!

JEP,
The governors aren't really affected by Abramoff because he was really a DC type. That being said the coruption in Ohio by Taft and his administration is going to sink Blackwell.

Fair enough JEP. I just hope to see more postings on state races here, since there are some really fascinating races. In particular, CC's biggest omission is that of the Texas governor's race, which is the single most fascinating race in the country, simply because there are 4 strong candidates and nobody really knows what is going to happen.

FREE WILLIE!

Helpme out here, folks, which of the Governors' races has the likeliest misfortune of suffering from the "Abramoff effect?"

Wasn't Talent (Sr.) quite connected to Delay? I realize the Abramoff scandal tends to nussle down into Congressional and Presidential politics, but is it possible the Missouri gubernatorial race might get some crossover?

Texas, too, doesn't Perry still have some very public connections that will eventually become election issues?

Just wondering, has anyone had heard anything new about this, I seem to recall a Molly Ivens piece with some of this info?

Molly, Jack Cafferty and Kieth Olberman should start their own online/TV media outlet, maybe we would hear and see the truth, for a change.

Thanks for the great update, "Cruchy" Chris Silly-za!!

Well with gas prices going down and Bush's polls are going up, did you Dems count your chickens before they were hatched? GET REAL, If you think this country is going to give power to Reid and Pelosi, then you have been on Willie Nelson's bus for too long.

The GOP Governor's ad against Doyle will not work. The state employee convicted on the travel case was a Tommy Thompson appointee who was given a civil service position.

Doyle is not a warm and fuzzy official. But he took away the tax issue from Green and is winning the buisness vote on the Stem Cell issue

I am interested to know what kind of impact Strickland's use of his faith is having in Ohio. He was featured on Faithfuldemocrats.com and talked openly about his faith in his political decisions. Could you give us any insight Chris on how politicians faith might imapct this election for both sides?

The issue today is the UN for the news media. The politics of the speach today by GW will, in my opinion, keep the focus on Iraq and Iran. The thing that is being put aside "Big Time" is the fact they are trying to get a law passed that will put aside the crimes they have commited already by saying in the new law that it is/was not a law. I hope the folks understand what I am trying to say, and am not very good at putting it in writing. The Gov. race in Md. will be closely connected to the House and Senate races not only in Md. but Va. as well.

Drindl and Zathras;

You have no idea how many times I have taken some of your own "off-topic" and on-thread posts and posted parts of them on other blogsites and websites, because your words were succinct and clarifying, or took a new perspective that I had not considered, but agreed with enough to pass along to others.

When we still lived in California, back in 2003, before we returned to Kansas for family reasons, I had a short-lived local radio show in an unnamed university town, we called the show "The Midnight Blogger."

On the air, starting at midnight on weekends, we took our favorite blog posts from the prior week and read them aloud for folks to respond to via email and voicemail. While I had to leave before it really got rolling, it was a great exercise in blogosphere development and scrutiny.

There were a couple of local academics who were familiar emailers to the program, and I have remained in contact with them over the past couple years,and keep them apprised of the latest blogs where I'm "hanging out" and posting, lately you all know that has been the WaPo.

Before that it was Harry Reid's "Give em'Hell, Harry" blog, and before that, many others. Usually it is just one or two at a time, but occasionally I post the same thing on over 2 dozen blogs, if I feel an urgency to get some sort of message out that I believe the MSM is ignoring or glossing over.

One thing my "academic advisors" have been impressed with is the comprehensiveness of "The Fix" blog, that it covers so many issues that are not necessarily in the thread, but still germane to the bigger picture.

And while they joined me in my lament that the really smart conservative debators had long ago given up trying to defend Bush against our intrepid crew of Bush-doubters, they were more than impressed with the quality of the writing on this blog, on-thread or off-topic, they consider this one of the more "literate" blogs, and they now read it regularly.

And they are both linguists, who know how to appreciate the written word. I wish I could convince them to blog, but they are in that large majority class of careful people who would never "expose themselves" the way most of us here do, we are all much too fearless as far as they are concerned.

So don't be so quick, Zathras, to squeeze the dialogue onto a thread, and Drindl, don't assuage your message for anyone but yourself, I have not found a single long post of yours to be boring or meaningless. Usually it is your shorter, stacatto, more animated statements that get a bit personal, not your long posts.

And those are always great little "zingers," they typically give me a chuckle, and occasionally a real bellylaugh.

And that is what makes any blog unique.

The combination of the thread and its variables, and the parts that have nothing to do with the thread, it is all a part of the character of this blog. Whether you want to accept it or not, blogs also serve as entertainment, along with being informative the stimulate our minds and hearts.

At least for now.

If it turns purely academic and demands thread adherance, general readership will diminish and your own words will become much less influential.

JEP
www.lsvchronicle.com/Archives.html

If you want to blog a book, then go ahead but I doubt if to many people will read it. Of course maybe your narcisstic and just want to read your own postings. I'm not ready to throw the towell in on Blackwell, but I will in a another week or two if he doesn't start to get any traction. If he's got any good dirt on Strickland, now's the time to get it leaked to the media.

Chris,
You can move Maryland up on the list, Ehrlich is going down. Everyone is seeing Erhlich ads now that the primaries are over, but none of the polls have changed in months.

There is only one poll where O'Malley is leading by less than 6 points, and that same poll in May was at the same place eventhough other polls had O'Malley with a double digit lead. MD is one for the Dems and Erhlich snuck passed us in 2002, but a sitting Governor consistently trailing in the polls with no movement in months, that's not a good sign.

Also, the money advantage Erhlich has over O'Malley doesn't really exist, because the MD Democratic Party is handling all of the GOTV efforts for O'Malley and Cardin, leaving all their money for earned and paid media. Erhlich needs huge GOTV efforts in every corner of the state because that's where the Repubs and the conservative Dems that are his base live, whereas the Dems are concentrated in highly populated places like Balitmore City and the Washington suburbs.

Maryland likes its politics as a fight between center-left and far-left policies, we don't need the GOP with their callus policies slowing down our progress towards perfecting the Free State.

Minnesota will be very interesting. The latest statewide poll shows a dead heat, despite the fact that Hatch has done very little media campaigning.

I think that the incumbent is in "Pawlenty" of trouble. Hatch will win in a squeaker I think. Helped by a big win for Klobuchar in Senate race and the Dem's momentum here. GW Bush is very very unpopular in the North Star State.

Holy crap, Chris, you're delusional. Patrick is up 21% in the polls to Gabrielli(why didn't you mention that?). And in polls in the general he is up 15% to Healy.

I forgot to mention, I'd drop Alaska off the line and replace it with Texas. I know it sounds bizarre. But the two independents both are running very good campaigns. Admittedly, I'm giving into a stereotype, but I saw Friedman on Tucker Carlson and he seems like he can appeal to a lot of people in that state.

Let me make one thing clear. McCain is being assailed by the Christian Right. As a self-proclaimed 'proud member of the Religious Left' I admire McCain, Warner, and Graham for standing up the administration. Christ wouldn't have tortured people, period.

As for the Line, Michigan is probably too high. It appeared to be neck-in-neck then Granholm engaged. I look for her lead to expand. Her favorability will go up now that there's something to compare it too (look at the president's approval in middle '04 compared to November).

I'll be shocked if Spitzer doesn't win 63%. His record is impeccable. The only question is who has him on their VP shortlist?

Free speech is one thing; diluting speech of others is another thing. This is the one topic every 2 weeks devoted to state races. Too much noise on other issues dilutes the discussion. If you want to discuss federal issues, just go to the last topic, or any of the 20 before. The state races are important too, and they get too little coverage in the national media.

As I've said before, a line on state house races would be as important as that on governors' races, but we have none of that here. I am just trying to preserve issues that get drowned out in the clamor over the latest Bush atrocity.

"Where is California" asks rtaycher1987.

I'm a classic bay-area California liberal who also spends a lot of time in Hawaii. Both states have had Democrat-filled legislatures for too long, which has resulted in Republican governors who hold positions that are actually rather liberal. I have my issues with Lingle and Schwarzenegger, but they're both pretty reasonable. And, the democratic opponents have been so far out that they scare me.

In California this coiuld possibly implode because the governor is so liberal - tune into a talk-radio station to hear all the complaining - but so far the middle is still strong for Arnold.

California is vying with Texas as the poster-child for the need of redistricting by an impartial panel.

"Any chance that we can limit discussion to the state races?"

No.

But you should certainly be intelligent enought to choose which ones you want to read. You have every right to scroll past a post if it is not germane to your specific issues, or to the thread.

If you want a moderated blog, start one of your own, but until CC decides to set some limits (big mistake, if he wants readership to stay as high as it has been) you gotta let the bloggers blog.

Give it up, armchair editors, stop complaining about what you perceive as "off thread"...

Exercise your own free will with your scroll wheel, but don't try to exorcise my free speech. People should feel "free" to utilize one of the few venues available for free speech.

Good to see your coming around on Ohio Bhoomes. CC, my one problem with your rankings is that whenever you mention a possible GOP pick-up it is always heresay evidence by 'republican insiders', and when you talk about Democratic pick-ups it is because they are ahead in the polls. I don't really care what Republican or Democratic insiders have to say, they are PAID TO SAY THEY WILL WIN. Give us the independent analysis please.

My take on a few races.
Alaska-seems about right.
Illinois-30 point lead in a poll? IL shouldn't be on this list if that is true.
Nevada-Probably going GOP but the dems have a shot if they can really GOTV in vegas.
Minnesota-Hatch is down by ten percent in the Ramussen poll. It will take a major ground swell of anti-incumbent(GOP) senatament to take it. However, Pawlenty is at 46% so he still can be beaten.
Maine-The DGA will throw in money for Baldacci to even out the money race. The polls show about 1% up for Baldacci. This one should probably be higher.
Rhode Island-The polls show this as a deadheat. Taken with the risk that the GOP faithful are not going to come out in droves for Chafee this has the recipe for a democratic steal. I think it should move up with Maine.
Wisconsin-Doyle is up by 9 points. I think this one should be behind RI, and Maine, and maybe minnesota.
Maryland-O'malley is up by 7% in the polls. This is probably the right place but maybe should move-up in the future.
Michigan-Granholm is consistently ahead. but not by alot. It should maybe be behing Maryland and Maine.
Iowa through New york look good to me.

Deval Patrick is way ahead in the polls in Mass primary. Also he is ahead by like 15% against Healey in the general. Massachusetts will be electing our first Black governor this November.

bhoomes and mary,

both of you know that Blackwell is done. New poll came out yesterday showing Strickland up 55% to 34%. Even more telling, the poll demonstrated that a majority disapprove of Blackwell then approve. Blackwell's days in Ohio politics are numbered. Oh, what a sweet day that will be.

As I have stated many times before on this blog, most "moderate" republicans, including statewide candidates, are running from Blackwell (like Bush). My state Repub. rep candidate has told me to my face that he "is voting for Strickland and that he wants nothing to do with Blackwell."

Strickland by 10-15% on Election Day.

Drindl remember brevity, I normally enjoy reading your postings, but when they get to long, I just scroll down. The same goes for the rest of you blowhearts, if you can't make your point in a couple of paragraphs, then your to stupid to be paid attention to.

I so hope you're wrong about MD. Please, please, please, get Ehrlich out of here, and give us back our blue state!

His choice for lt. governor was pandering at its finest.

While we're on the topic of which races to list, Texas is certainly a better one to list than either Alaska or Illinois. Perry is only ahead by 6 points. Even though the opposition is split, this race is much closer than Alaska or Illinois, where the incumbent party has a double digit lead. Give Texas a chance!

bhoomes, dear, it's 'blowhards'. i'l try to keep it shorter and more on topic.

Chris, in your Ohio Valley tour, come to Cincinnati, the reddest part of Ohio, and I'll treat you to Graeter's ice cream (favored by Nick Lachey--a big endorsement, I know!!), Montgomery Inn ribs, and of course Cincinnati-style chili. And cold beers. We can also go to Georgetown-on-the-Ohio, Jesuit-run Xavier University, and you can go 50 miles east to Georgetown, Ohio, home of Ulysses S. Grant in Adams County for a rural perspective. Email me at howardm@one.net

Chris, in your Ohio Valley tour, come to Cincinnati, the reddest part of Ohio, and I'll treat you to Graeter's ice cream (favored by Nick Lachey--a big endorsement, I know!!), Montgomery Inn ribs, and of course Cincinnati-style chili. And cold beers. We can also go to Georgetown-on-the-Ohio, Jesuit-run Xavier University, and you can go 50 miles east to Georgetown, Ohio, home of Ulysses S. Grant in Adams County for a rural perspective. Email me at howardm@one.net

Wow, the off-topic postings are coming out in force. Any chance that we can limit discussion to the state races? This is the one topic that is devoted to them, and there is no need for other discussion to bleed i