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Election Recycling: Flukey Things Happen
•Candidates employ "ever-harsher" attacks as race stalls.Kerrysticks to criticism of missing explosives in Iraq;Bushglares at journalists when asked to comment.Rove: "Kerry, by so rapidly embracing the story, is going to end up being tarnished by it. What would he do as president? Get up every morning and say, 'I'm going to govern based on what I find in the newspapers?'" [ WP , NYT , USAT , LAT , BG ]
•Republicans play for Hawaii, Democrats eye West Virginia, Arkansas, though strategists think shift is unlikely. DNC, liberal groups buy airtime in Hawaii;Clintonencourages play for Arkansas. [ WP ]
• Bushtargets rural areas, appeals to Democrats: "If you believe America should lead with strength and purpose and confidence and resolve, I'd be honored to have your support and I'm asking for your vote." [ NYT , LAT ]
•Commander says his unit did not check bunker where explosives went missing: "We happened to stumble on it. . . It was not our mission. It was not our focus. . . The plan was not to go in there and start searching." [ NYT ]
•CIA delays distribution of draft internal report that names names for 9/11 intelligence failures. [ NYT ]
•U.S. troop death toll in Iraq tops 1,100. [ USAT ]
• Clinton, in Florida, campaigns to "Hey Ya," promotesKerry's support of Israel as appeals to Jewish voters enter crucial stage.Clinton: "I was wondering if the wolves were smelling the explosives out of that dump." [ WP , NYT , BG ]
•Conflicted evangelicals could hurtBush. Pastor: "If I'm a proponent of life, I have to think about the consequences of not providing prescription drugs to seniors or sending young men off to war." [ LAT ]
•Closing ads from 527s strike emotional chord. Scholar: "Even if they do notice it's not a candidate ad, a lot of people probably think they're colluding with the candidates." [ WP ]
• Bushrenews call for reform of tax code. [ WSJ , WT ]
•Legal fight pushes election rules aside; accusations of fraud abound. [ WP , NYT , USAT , LAT , WT , WT ]
•Suppression of opponent's supporters "a dirty little secret." Scholar: "Both campaigns' rhetoric is being tailored to peel off the weak layers of would-be opponents. It's much easier to get those voters not to turn out than to switch over to your guy." [ WSJ ]
•Democrats allege "scare tactics" directed at students registering to vote. [ WP ]
•45 newspapers abandonBush, including 9 that do not endorseKerryeither. [ WP ]
• Bushvisits Wisconsin town he passed through months ago. [ WP , USAT ]
•Schwarzenegger to stump forBushin Ohio. [ LAT ]
•Campaigns at war for new voters. [ NYT ]
• Bush's stump speech varies slightly, always refers to 9/11. [ NYT ]
•Polarized nation approached from different directions. Democrats head West, narrow gender gap;Bushedges among blue-collar workers, appeals to security-minded women. [ WSJ ]
• Bushbetter at projecting "regular guy" qualities. [ LAT ]
•33 routes to a electoral vote tie.Jim Jordanputs odds at 1 in 3 forBushto win popular vote, lose electoral college.Cook: "Flukey things probably happen in every election, but because most are not close nobody pays any attention. But when it's virtually a tied race, hell, what isn't important?" [ WP ]
•Last leg ofKerry's bio: the Senate years. [ NYT ]
•Study findsBushreceivedGore-treatment after the debates; 59% of reports onBushwere negative. [ WP , USAT , BG ]
•With 20-hour days, reporters followingKerryrely on chain-smoking and quips like "Wake me up ifMike McCurrycomes back here with his pants off."Cutterresorts to sugar-highs. [ BG ]
•Activists energized by hospitalization ofRehnquist. [ LAT ]
• Nadersupporters, including many Arab Americans, shift toKerry. [ LAT , LAT ]
•Many expats still waiting for ballots. [ WSJ ]
•500,000 poll workers needed; seniors face difficulty with new systems. [ USAT , USAT ]
•Voting by the numbers: 205m eligible voters, 105m voters in 2000, 1.4m poll workers. [ USAT ]
•Ohio's Secretary of State under the microscope: "Elections are a human endeavor, and my human instincts say there's no such thing as a flawless election. A lot of this is just partisan noise. The reality is, the system may be tested, but it will be okay." [ WP ]