Arlen Specter gets feisty:
The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush today against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation.I guess now that the election's over, it's time for Specter to put Bush back at arm's length, where he likes him.
4 p.m. exit polls, via Slate (as seen on every other blog on the Internet):
FloridaAlso worth noting: post-4 p.m. numbers show Kerry up 51-48 nationally.
Kerry 50
Bush 49
Ohio
Kerry 50
Bush 49
Pennsylvania
Kerry 54
Bush 45
Wisconsin
Kerry 51
Bush 46
Michigan
Kerry 51
Bush 47
Minnesota
Kerry 58
Bush 40
Nevada
Kerry 48
Bush 50
New Mexico
Kerry 50
Bush 48
North Carolina
Kerry 49
Bush 51
Colorado
Kerry 46
Bush 53
The wacky hijinx of election fraud:
Some Michigan voters have received phone calls falsely claiming that Sen. John Kerry would make gay marriage legal. In New Jersey, some voters have heard a man claiming to be former Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf backing the Democrat. Elderly voters in Pennsylvania have been called and told they are ineligible to vote.
How to tell if your opponent isn't taking this campaign seriously: see if he shows up to your debate dressed like this.
Dark horse (read: "Losing") Senate candidate Art Small is selling his mobile campaign center, which includes such items as:
- Sunscreen, 1 tube
- Bug repellent
- Candy and gum
- Stickers
- Yard signs
- Party supplies: colorful balloons, silly string, napkins, plates, etc.
- Tailgate party supplies, including food, charcoal, napkins
- Pre-printed stamps -- great fun for parties
- Pens, poster markers, post-its, etc.
- Complete set of FEC campaign regulations
- Several photos of John Kerry and John Edwards
- Many photos of Art Small
- Thank You notes (from Art Small for Senate), with matching envelopes (blank)
Kerry reassures me he is the bigger jackass in this election.
Yago: Last time we talked, in March, you said that it's important to listen to hip-hop because it gives you a sense of what's going on in the street. Have you heard the new Eminem song that's been out?
Kerry: You know, I heard Eminem on "Saturday Night Live" last night. I heard the song that he did. I don't know if that's part of his new [album] or not. I liked it. But that's the only thing that I've heard in the last weeks. I'm on the trail. I'm campaigning every day.
Yago: Last question: If you're elected, will you come on MTV as president and speak with young people again?
Kerry: I would love it. I would absolutely love it. I'd really look forward to it. The answer is absolutely. With pleasure.
A strange coincidence: Brit Hume and John Kerry were boyhood friends.
For those readers gobsmacked by that information, consider that the future presidential candidate and TV news power broker were only about 4 feet tall and shared a passion for cartoons instead of politics. They met in kindergarten and hung together through fifth grade.
Shades of A Time to Kill in Montgomery:
Third Congressional District Democratic nominee Bill Fuller was injured and his home was destroyed in a fire early Friday, which the head of Montgomery County's Democratic Party said could be a hate crime.
An interesting statistic about the Daschle-Thune race:
Mr. Daschle and his Republican challenger, former Representative John Thune, will have spent nearly $30 million - roughly $40 per capita in the mainly rural state - by the time the race is over.$40 per capita! I don't know the exact numbers, but in the past year and a half of presidential campaigning (including the Democratic primaries), I'd guess the candidates' spending totaled $700-$800 million, or about one-twentieth of the per capita spending on the South Dakota Senate race.
