Election Recycling: When Other Guy Wants You to Stop Thinking
•Candidates tied in WSJ/NBC poll. Pollster: "This is a race as close to dead-even as it comes,"Bushis "on the cusp" of winning or losing. [ WSJ ]
• Bushon defensive in Florida, moves to reassure voters on flu shot shortage: "We will keep the promise of Social Security for all our seniors. We will not have a draft." [ WP , NYT , LAT ]
•Legal battle commences; attorneys trained to look for irregularities and intimidation.KE04has raised $3m for legal bills: "This has been one of the top, if not the top, priorities." [ WP , WP ]
• CheneyquestionsKerry's judgment, suggests threat of nuclear terrorism: "You have to get your mind around that concept."Kerrycities problems with flu shortage, Social Security. [ NYT , USAT , LAT , BG ]
•SomeKE04ads are contrived for news stories and do not run at all.Devine: "We're certainly not trying to be disingenuous." [ WP ]
•Sinclair skims plan for anti-Kerryfilm, which blames him for prolonged war, torture of POWs, and deaths. [ WP , NYT , NYT , USAT , WSJ , LAT ]
• Kerry, trying to raise doubts aboutBush, mixes attacks on his record in rhetorical stew.McCurry: "People are absorbing all of this simultaneously. We have to be on [Iraq and domestic issues] and link them with this fundamental premise: It's more of the same if you wantBush, you're going to have the same mistakes repeated over and over again." [ NYT ]
•Jewish voters contemplate vote forBush(19% did in 2000). Said one, "The Democrats don't have the stomach for this fight." [ LAT ]
• KerrysaysClintonwill hit trail soon: "He said, 'You know, when the other guy wants you to stop thinking, and he's trying to scare you into not thinking, and you want Americans to think about their future, it's pretty clear who you ought to be voting for.'" [ NYT , WSJ , LAT ]
• Kerrynow leads among women. [ NYT ]
• Kerry's three-point strategy for using military force: build allied support, listen to professionals, and learn from Vietnam.Kerryhas said loss of American life better justified under multinational action. [ WP ]
• Bushnearly doubles standing among African-Americans in new national survey;Kerryslow to energize demo. [ WP , USAT , USAT , LAT , WT ]
•Candidates run against opponent's caricatures of them.Grunwald: "The standards in this political season for accuracy are lower than they have ever been, and the penalty for fabrication is lower than it's ever been." [ WP , USAT ]
•Lawmakers receive flu shot free of charge, no questions asked. 2.6m shots recently found will not be available until January. [ WP , LAT , LAT ]
• Rice, Snowgive speeches, talk to local media in battlegrounds.KE04flack: "America would be a lot better off ifDr. Ricespent more time worrying aboutOsama bin Laden's job security and less time worrying about her own." [ WP , WP ]
•Groups spend in excess of $300m on encouraging turnout. [ NYT ]
• Kerrycriticizes NCLB without offering his own plan, just additional funding. Scholar: "They both favor a robust federal role in setting public policy in education." [ WP ]
•In New Mexico, whereGorewon by 366 votes, the heat is on for the hispanic vote. [ WP ]
•Judge decides spending rules remain. [ NYT ]
•PBS sponsors eight-hour town hall discussion of issues with 1,500 voters in 17 cities. Professor: "We've shown that even during a highly polarized election, people can actually reach some mutual understanding when they spend some time learning about the issues and talking to people very different from themselves. This is a picture of what democracy could be like if people had a dialogue and heard more than the usual campaign sound bites." [ NYT ]
• BushrelativesforKerry.com launches. [ BG ]