The Blue State

Blue Radar

I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• FOREIGN POLICY The IAEA chairman said over the weekend that a US attack on Iran would lead to disaster.  "My fear if that we continue to escalate from both sides from both sidesthat we would end up into a precipice, we would end up into an abyss," said Mohammed ElBaradei.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL It's official: The Democratic Iowa Caucus will take place on January 3rd.  The Iowa Democratic Party establishment voted on Sunday.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL In contrasting himself with Hillary Clinton, John Edwards said this weekend that it was time America had a strong leader analogous to Franklin Roosevelt.  "Look what America was faced with during the '30s and '40s, whenFranklin Roosevelt was president," he told voters in Iowa. "I mean really.The Great Depression, World War II, fighting wars on two differentfronts around the world. Look at the extraordinary challenges thatAmerica was faced with. We did exactly what America has done over andover and over in history: We rose to the challenge."
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL John Edwards outlined a plan that would force drug companies to wait two years before advertising their products to consumers.  "Basically, they do what they want, and they're driving up demand forthe most expensive and most profitable drugs," he said. "The nextpresident needs to deal with this issue."
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL A new Barack Obama television ad focuses on Social Security.  (Finally Obama is addressing actual economic issues!  I thought this would have been his strong point from the very beginning.)
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL Chris Dodd has indicated that he will vote against the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL Barack Obama will formally file today to be on the Illinois primary ballot.  The primary there will take place on February 5th.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL Mitt Romney is promising that Rudolph Giuliani's support will fade.  "Those of us who represent that base will find that we can get thatsupport and ultimately face up one-to-one with Mayor Giuliani," Romneysaid.

If we left something out, it's because we either wrote about ityesterday or are scheduled to do so in an individual post later today. Otherwise, feel free to add any stories to the commentbox.

Blue Nightowl Clips

As we post in the middle of each night, here are some of the political clips making their rounds on the blogs tonight:

1. McCain challenges the Bush Administration on waterboarding.  Great answer!
2. Redstate blog bans Ron Paul posters.
3. William Kristol and FOX crew on bunker buster bombs.
4. Laura Bush with a veil on.

More clips tomorrow.

Someone the '08 race needs

Most people would agree with the following statement: this presidential race is repetitive, too long and often times rather boring.  With that said, the addition of Stephen Colbert makes life a lot easier for us political junkies.

Edwards using Colbert is smart strategy move

Today, Stephen Colbert officially launched his candidacy in South Carolina.  But within hours, the Edwards Campaign responded to something Colbert said:

But trouble started when Colbert was quoted on hisopponent: “John Edwards left South Carolina when he was 1 year old. Hehad his chance. Saying his parents moved him — that’s the easy answer.”

Almost immediately, the Edwards Campaign released a response:

RHETORIC VS REALITY: STEPHEN COLBERT - PLAYING LOOSE WITH THE FACTS

CLAIM: Edwards abandoned South Carolina when he was one year old.

FACT: Edwards was born in South Carolina, learned to walk in SouthCarolina, learned to talk to in South Carolina, and will kick StephenColbert's New York City butt in South Carolina.

"Stephen Colbert claims to represent a new kind of politics, buttoday we see he's participating in the slash and burn politics that hasno place in American discourse. The truthiness is, as the candidate ofDoritos, Colbert's hands are stained by corporate corruption and nachocheese. John Edwards has never taken a dime from salty food lobbyistsand America deserves a President who isn't in the pocket of the snackfood special interests."

Stained by corruption and nacho cheese?  Nicely done!  Is Edwards trying to use Colbert to gain publicity?  After all, you can bet that Colbert will use the spat with Edwards as material this week -- that only helps Edwards.  In every way, Edwards needs this publicity.

Democrats need some emotion

Unless the Democrats can exhume the soul of RFK, they had better find their own way of relating emotionally to voters, otherwise they cannot expect to make major House and Senate gains in November of 2008.  So many Democrats in Washington are closed off from the public, and lack the emotional appeal needed to inspire the country after seven dismal years of George W. Bush.

A leaked internal memo from the Democrats said just about that:

Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because theparty’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widelycirculated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.

“Ourmessage sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote DaveHelfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. NeilAbercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’sHealth Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”

Helfert sent the memo this week to an e-mail list of all Democraticpress secretaries and communications directors after staffers met onMonday to discuss rolling out the Democrats’ latest message.

Maybe start by nominating a candidate like Edwards or Obama -- both of which have charisma that we have not seen in years.

KY-GOV: New ad puts Fletcher in big trouble

It is rare to find a political ad that puts this information into just 30 seconds.  Like with the issue of climate change, it is difficult to argue with facts.  A progressive group called Blue Grassroots Fund released this ad on television, which targets ethically challenged Kentucky Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher.

Fletcher is toast:

As Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post notes, this ad is perfect because Fletcher becomes his own worst enemy:

The ad, which was produced by Envision Communications, is so effectivebecause it uses Fletcher's own words against him. Taken from footage ofhis inaugural address in 2003, Fletcher promises to bring change andreal reform to state government even as his own indictment and those ofaides around him are flashed on the screen.

The election is on November 6th, so it's coming right up.

Blue Radar

I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• POLL CNN: 75% disapprove of Congress' job performance.
• AFGHANISTAN There was a major battle on Saturday in Afghanistan's Helmand Province between the U.S. military and Taliban fighters.  As The Blue State has often reported, Helmand Province is the site of the most severe opium production in the world.
• JUSTICE DEPARTMENT Democrats are holding up the confirmation of Bush's Attorney General nominee until the nominee admits that waterboarding is a form of torture.  The White House is furious.  This weekend, Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy responded.  “Over the last six years, the White House has become accustomed tothinking that they run the Senate, but those days are over,” Leahysaid. “This is a key position in a Justice Department that has becomeincreasingly politicized, and it comes at a crucial juncture for theDepartment.  In order to be able to make an informed judgment, theSenate will take the time that requires on this nomination – no more,and no less.”
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL The Washington Post is reporting Sunday morning that Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) is being considered by a few candidates as a vice presidential pick.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL John Edwards became the first presidential candidate to visit all 99 counties in Iowa.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL Republican candidate Mike Huckabee pledged to send Chuck Norris after whoever does not vote for him in Iowa.  This came just days after Norris endorsed Huckabee.  "I think now people are afraid not to vote for me," Huckabee said.  "We're going to put Chuck on their doorstep and he's going to puthis right heel on the right side of their faces if they don't help usin the caucuses. That's our new strategy."
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL On Saturday, Barack Obama lashed out at Hillary Clinton for refusing to say whether she would raise the regressive payroll tax gap from $97,000 to $200,000.  "She's not alone in avoiding answering this question directly — she'snot alone in ducking the issue," Obama said. "Because conventionalthinking in Washington says that Social Security is the third rail ofAmerican politics. It says you should hedge, and dodge, and spin, butat all costs, don't answer."
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL Next week in Iowa, Barack Obama will spend $203,825 on ads, while Hillary Clinton will spend $117,970.
• 2008 ELECTION/PRESIDENTIAL This weekend, Barack Obama proposed that minimum wage increases ought to be tied to inflation.  "Here’s the basic principal: If people work, they shouldn’t be poor," Obama said in Des Moines, IA.

If we left something out, it's because we either wrote about ityesterday or are scheduled to do so in an individual post later today. Otherwise, feel free to add any stories to the commentbox.

Top-5 Political Clips of the Week

As we post at the end of each week, here are the top-five political clips over the last seven days.  Let's start our countdown at number five:

5) Islamo Fascism week?  Wingnuts unite.

4) Romney confuses Obama with Osama.

3) Rice admits US funds corrupt anti-US militias in Iraq.

2) FEMA's fake press conference.

1) Cheney sleeps during briefing on the California wildfires.

More clips tomorrow.

Sunday News Shows

Here are the guests that will appear on the Sunday news shows.  The notables are in bold:

ABC's "This Week" — Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

CNN's"Late Edition" — Nabi Sensoy, Turkish ambassador; Mohamed ElBaradei,International Atomic Energy Agency chief; Sens. Barbara Boxer,D-Calif., and Trent Lott, R-Miss.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.

"Fox News Sunday" _ First lady Laura Bush and Gov.-elect and Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-La.

Expect Chris Dodd to explain his reason for blocking a bill that grants immunity for telecommunications companies that handed over customer information to the U.S. government as part of the USA Patriot Act.

Bill would require Congressional approval for war with Iran

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation this week that requires President Bush to seek Congressional authorization before going to war with Iran:

Standing behind him are liberal anti-war groups, which have expandedtheir focus on Iraq to include a drumbeat of protests against apotential war with neighboring Iran.

"Every day now, it seems that theconfrontational rhetoric between the United States and Iran escalates,"said Sen. Robert Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"President Bush needs to understand that theCongress will not be kept out of the loop while his administrationplots another march to war," said Byrd, D-W.Va.

The question is when Bush and Cheney disobey that order and go to war will Congress actually stand their ground for the first time since winning back majority in both houses last November?