Morning roundup

I am not really going to be talking about the WI primary as it was over so long ago, despite what Howard Dean says. Dean, who fired his National Campaign Chair Steve Grossman for expressing reality, is now being told by his hometown newspaper, the Burlington Free Press to quit the race and have "the grace to leave." More from the editors: "It's over. Dean will not be elected president in 2004."

Former President Clinton was asked about picking a Vice President: "It is a deeply personal decision who you pick as your running mate." On Kerry's choice, "I have not taken sides with regard to any of the candidates for president. I like Wes Clark, but it would be disloyal of me to favor any individual when so many have been helpful to me." So maybe the rumors were true, Clinton wanted to support him all along. I guess he saw what happened to Gore and decided to keep his support for Clark underground. Would there really be a Kerry/Clark ticket? Here are some cheezy mottos I made up on the spot...
Kerry-Clark 2004: Two Patriots. No Act. K-C : they know what's cookin' and "Support our Troops: Elect some" or "Support of veterans: Elect them" The site of the two doing competing pushups with the troops at the Army-Navy football game would be a great Photo-Op, too bad it will be in December, after the election.

Speaking of using troops for a photo-op, the Bush administration wants to "have discussed bringing in U.S. troops to boost security" at the GOP convention, "but the NYPD doesn't think it needs them." Isn't it bad enough to lay the 9/11 memorial cornerstone during the convention and have a view of Ground Zero from the hotel and have it all take place a few days before 9/11? I guess not.

Meanwhile, in the Kentucky special election to the house Democrat Ben Chandler (ex-AG ex-Gov candidate) "says he's cautiously optimistic about his chances for a win" today against GOPer Alice Forgy-Kerr. The last poll I saw had him 8 points up. This could be the first of 2-3 special election wins for the Democrats before November in the House. (the other two are South Dakota special and Louisiana special where Billy Tauzin is looking for a lobbying job at MPAA-- the guys that arrest teens for downloading MP3s) Good way to starting taking back the House in 2004.

Remember that unsubstantiated rumor that Kerry had an affair with a reporter. So far we have gotten nothing but denials from both sides and no proof (even if you counted an off-record quote by Wes Clark, his people say once again, that was a misconstrued misquote from off the record-- and hence not supposed to be quoted anyway). Meanwhile Larry Flynt, the smut peddler who cares, has dredged up more on real sounding proof on Bush. Flynt was instrumental in helping nail GOPers in 1998-9 for having affairs while impeaching Bill Clinton for having one. "I've talked to the woman's friends. ... I've tracked down the doctor who did the abortion, I tracked down the Bush people who arranged for the abortion. ... I got the story nailed" said Flynt, who "says he plans to market a Bush abortion story as genuine." Flynt "claimed that Bush arranged for the procedure in the early '70s." Does this mean this aborted fetus was Bush's would-be baby? Or was he just being a nice guy and helping out a friend? Guilty by association according to the press, if true. This is especially true when you are loud pro-life politician. Seems pretty hypocritical.

Folks, it isn't even March and already it has gotten ugly with these rumors and the National Guard stuff. Can't want to see how nasty it gets by the fall-- oh wait, yes I can.