Monthly Archives: October 2004

For whom the Minnesota Poll tolls

Yesterday’s Washington Post carried a story by Richard Morin with a Minnesota twist: “Don’t ask me.” The story reports generally on criticism and questions about public polls this year, but opens with a protest outside the offices of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: Three dozen protesters gathered outside the Minneapolis Star Tribune building a month ago. They glowered and pounded on the windows. They carried signs calling the newspaper the “Star »

News on Kerry’s Discharge?

I can’t count the number of emails we’ve gotten from readers on the apparent mystery surrounding John Kerry’s discharge from the Navy. There has been suspicion, but no hard evidence, that his original discharge was less than honorable, and that is why he refuses to make his military records public. It appears that the Swift Boat Vets may finally have broken through on this issue: Okay, folks. We got it »

Election predictions

The The Weekly Standard staff has made elections predictions. Right now, Rachel DiCarlo’s predictions sound about right to me. Or maybe Fred Barnes’ if there isn’t too much fraud. »

The Major’s Story

Here is what we know so far about the facts related by Major Austin Pearson at today’s news conference: A U.S. Army officer came forward Friday and said a team from the 3rd Infantry Division took about 200 tons of explosives from the Al-Qaqaa munitions base soon after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell last year. Major Austin Pearson appeared at a Pentagon news conference to say it was his mission to »

Al Qaqaa story to take new direction?

Matt Drudge says that, within the hour, a soldier will tell reporters at the Pentagon that he was tasked with removing explosives from al Qaqaa and that he and his unit removed more than 200 tons. HINDROCKET adds: This could be the death knell for the Kerry campaign. He has staked a lot on this story without having any idea whether it was true or not. If the evidence is »

Fighting words

Before she died, John Kerry’s mother reminded him that it’s all about “integrity, integrity, integrity.” For the Senator, though, intelligence (or its appearance) trumps integrity. Consider this exchange between Kerry and Tom Brokaw: Brokaw: Someone has analyzed the President’s military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do. Kerry: That’s great. More power. I don’t know how they’ve done it, because my record »

How Many Drums of Explosives Were There?

We’re getting a lot of input from military personnel and others on the Al Qaqaa story. We’re sifting through it, asking for more information, and will be posting updates throughout the day. In the meantime, Dafydd ab Hugh does some calculating and concludes that the famous KSTP photos are meaningless: The amount of high explosive that the IAEA claimed to be missing is: 156 tons RDX (141.5 metric tons) – »

Senator Harkin explains

When we last saw Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, he was onstage grinning uncomfortably behind Howard Dean as Dean gave his infamous speech conceding defeat in the Iowa caucuses. Yesterday Senator Harkin reemerged as a surrogate for John Kerry with a column in the University of Minnesota student newspaper, sharing a few neighborly thoughts to guide the university students’ votes on Tuesday: “Why Bush will restart the draft if elected.” Senator »

A word from Kevin Duchschere

I have dealt with many fine reporters at the Minneapolis Star Tribune over the years. Foremost among them in my estimation is Kevin Duchschere. In “A case study,” I wrote here recently about the Mark Kennedy-Patty Wetterling congressional race, basing my comments on one of Kevin’s Star Tribune stories. Kevin has responded to what I wrote as follows (with only his cordial greeting deleted): I saw your commentary on Mrs. »

The joy of defeatism

We frequently hear leftists compare our military situation in Iraq to that of Vietnam, but John Kerry is unique among lefitsts, I believe, in comparing Iraq to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. He did so today in Toledo, Ohio (not in Florida). The essence of the comparison was that, whereas John Kennedy took responsibility (sort of) for the Bay of Pigs fiasco, President Bush refuses to “look »

The Latest Word on Al Qaqaa

Emails from readers today have told us that New York Times reporters, responding to their questions about the Times’ Al Qaqaa reporting, say that they interviewed an officer of the 3rd Infantry Division unit that first occupied Al Qaqaa early in April 2003, and he says that they did not search the facility for weapons. (Boy, would I like to see a transcript of that interview. But, of course, the »

A gun smokes in Minnesota

Minnesota is one of the few states that allows same-day voter registration and has become infamous for its lax same day voter registration requirements. Under Minnesota’s registration law, an eligible but previously unregistered individual may register to vote in his precinct by showing proof of residence in the precinct or, in the absence of such proof, having a voter registered in the precinct vouch under oath that he personally knows »

A word from General Franks

Remarks by General Tommy Franks in introducing the president at Victory 2004 Rally, Westlake Recreation Center, Westlake, Ohio: GENERAL FRANKS: Well, what a treat it is to be in northern Ohio. (Applause.) Indeed, it’s an honor to be standing here today with you. You know, I’m not a politician, but I know what a Commander-in-Chief looks like, and there’s only one on this ballot — that’s George Bush. (Applause.) You »

He can’t take it with him

The Middle East Quarterly has posted a timely first-person account by Issam Abu Issa, former chairman of the Palestine International Bank, on the corruption that permeates Arafatistan: “Arafat’s Swiss bank account.” »

Some Optimism From the Bush Campaign

Via the National Review Online’s Kerry Spot: Just heard from a source close to the campaign, tuned in to the conversations at the highest levels. According to the Bushies, the last few days have seen a huge burst of momentum in their numbers. They think Bush is ahead by a few points nationally. They expect the next round of tracking polls to show a bit of a bump. The internal »

Red State Red Sock

I’ve always been an admirer of Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. In this year’s postseason, he added to his longstanding reputation as a fearless competitor by pitching, very effectively, with a dislocated tendon in his right ankle–an injury that left his ankle soaked in blood as the game progressed. I was glad to learn that even though John Kerry has tried to associate himself with the Red Sox, Schilling is »

The Times Backpedals

Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, gave an interview yesterday to Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post about the Times’ bogus Al Qaqaa story. Backpedaling furiously, Keller said that the piece was rushed into print–my words, not his–because it was “starting to leak on the internet.” Consequently, Keller says he told CBS: “You know what? We’re going to have to run it Monday.” Got that? When the »