Election Recycling: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. Then Vote.
• E MINUS 7| Administration to seek additional $70b for Iraq, Afghanistan operations early next year, "considerably larger" than expected. [ WP ]
•Candidates spar on national security, withBushon defensive for second day.Kerry: "Bushtalks tough and brags about making America safer, but once again he has failed to deliver."Bush: "Kerryhas turned his back on 'pay any price' and 'bear any burden.' And he has replaced those commitments with 'wait and see,' and 'cut and run.'" [ WP , NYT , USAT , LAT , BG ]
•Thin, raspyClintonenthuses large crowd in Philadelphia: "If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is. From time to time, I have been called the Comeback Kid. In eight days,John Kerry's going to make America the Comeback Country." [ WP , NYT , USAT , BG ]
• Bushdisagrees with Republican platform: "I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do so." [ NYT ]
•Legal uncertainties, tense partisanship in Ohio may lead to Florida-style debacle: Republicans challenge eligibility of 35,000; 120,000 duplicate names found. Mayor of Columbus: "A storm is brewing in Ohio." [ WP , NYT ]
•NewBC04called "greatest-hits compilation of attacks." [ NYT , USAT ]
•Tie reported in LAT poll.Bush's lead narrows nationally,Kerryholding his own in battlegrounds, according to Gallup. [ USAT , LAT ]
•SensingBushmomentum, MoveOn, Media Fund, and ACT may run ads in Hawaii. [ BG ]
•Republicans accuse Democrats of voter intimidation, including breaking into campaign offices, throwing eggs. [ NYT , LAT ]
•Campaigns look to motivate core supporters with pointed final ads. [ WP , LAT ]
• Kerryinfuses rhetoric with statistics. [ NYT ]
• Bushrides out bad news by focusing on terrorism, underminingKerry's credibility. [ WSJ ]
•In their own words: Bush , Kerry [NYT]
• Kerryhas edge with new voters, if they vote. [ USAT ]
•Message to seniors: "Be afraid. Be very afraid. Then go vote." [ USAT ]
•Campaigns pick interviews with care, aim to "eke" out remaining undecideds. [ USAT ]
• Bushhas lopsided record on counter-proliferation. [ WP ]
•Colorado may swing for president, senate seat. Former Republican Sentator: "People have forgotten that this is not a partisan state. It is not an ideological state. So while people say Republicans are losing their grip, the truth is they never had a grip." [ WSJ ]
•On the environment,Bushreduces regulatory costs, targets specific issues whileKerrycalls for stronger rules, international cooperation.Bushis for ANWR drilling,Kerryis against. [ WP ]
• Cheneyasked consequences of rising temperatures not be discussed, claims NASA climate expert. [ NYT ]
• Bushlimns religion and politics. [ NYT ]
• Gore: "Not only is it a failed presidency, but it is a catastrophically failed presidency." [ NYT ]
•No one has the authority to postpone the election, but gray areas remain. [ WSJ ]
•On sidelines of campaign events, the opposition. [ LAT ]
•Can't stop us now: campaigns raise record $1b; "Soft money lives" through 527s. [ NYT ]
•Political coverage from non-political magazines compiled. [ WP ]
•Media over-spun by claims of retooled stump speeches. [ WP ]
• Kerrycampaign "coddling" top fundraisers in California. [ LAT ]
•Mathematicians pour over polls to determine election probabilities, find 4,194,304 possible outcomes. Prof.: "IfBushwins Florida, his win probability is 88%; if he loses, it's only 20%." [ WSJ ]
•Author of "The Great Divide" has dropped $2m on the project (in addition to $50m for anti-aging technology and $5m to clone his dog).John Sperling: "No one could call me a narrow-class elitist. I framed it in a wayFDRwould. It's about the jobless, single women who have had the safety net yanked out from under them. It's about half of young black men in the criminal justice system. There are horrors all around us and the Democratic Party does not seem to see that." [ WP ]