The Truth Will Out?

This is really too rich. What amazes me is that they posted it, as is, on the White House site:

Here's what Bush said, from the transcript
of the (new defense) bill-signing ceremony: "Our enemies are innovative and
resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our
country and our people, and neither do we."

Halliburton Ponies Up for Fraud

The SEC fines Halliburton for faulty accounting practices while our sitting Vice President was CEO of the company. Don't you think you might hear a little more about this from more news sources?

Republicans, Dedicated to Elevating the National Discourse

I guess, at least they're consistent. I think Amy Sullivan is more than just a little optimistic to imagine that this sort of thing doesn't work (let's not forget that the RNC base has given people like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly extremely comfortable careers), but I hope she's right.

Making Sense of the Polls

While a lot of the post-DNC Convention news has focused on Kerry's apparent lack of a bounce in the polls as a result, I think it's important to look at the internals in the polls, as this article in the Washington Post does. Looking at the fact that Kerry is now seen as a potentially better commander-in-chief than Bush, as well as the increasing enthusiasm and stability of the support of his base are all very good indicators for the Kerry camp. And as little of a change might have occurred for Kerry, it's good to remember that people have had four years to formulate an opinion about Bush, so one can only assume that regardless of the outcome of the upcoming RNC convention, it is hard to imagine that Bush's numbers will change much as a result.

For what it's worth, a neighbor saw Lawrence O'Donnell on TV a couple of days ago, who was saying that he had seen some internal polls from the White House and that the numbers looked very bad for Bush. Also that the toughest job in DC right now would be getting the President re-elected. But this is a second-hand quote from a Democrat (who is nonetheless well-versed in Presidential politics), so take it with a grain of salt.

What Bush Says, and What Bush Does

are, as we well know, quite often two entirely different things.

The latest example is his so-called adoption of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission regarding the establishment of a National Intelligence Director. As Joshuah Micah Marshall clarifies in this post, instead of actually following the recommendations of the commission, Bush is quite nearly doing exactly the opposite. But hey, it SOUNDS like he's doing something noteworthy, and really, isn't that all that matters? To this administration in any case.