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Citing evidence that senior White House officials are using RNC and other political email accounts to avoid leaving a record of official communications, Chairman Waxman directs the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney ’04 Campaign to preserve the emails of White House officials and to meet with Committee staff to explain how the accounts are managed and what steps are being taken to protect the emails from destruction and tampering. Letter to Marc Racicot http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070326110723-80643.pdf

Interestingly, the newly released book by Edward Klein, "The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President," leaves no one on the fence. Liberal editorials rant about how the former editor of the New York Times' Sunday Magazine, former Newsweek staffer and contributor to Vanity Fair has now shed his Dem credentials and joined the "vast right-wing conspiracy." For example, Tina Brown christened Klein "Ed Slime" and referred to the book as "bio-porn." (As an aside, Klein responded to the New York Post by labeling Brown a "has-been.") Negative comments...

The last battle of the Vietnam War was fought on November 2nd, 2004, as John Kerry was defeated in his bid to become President of the United States by John O'Neill and the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth. What was the battle about? It was a battle to recapture the honor of the Vietnam veterans who served gallantly and heroically in that war. And who were the adversaries in this battle? It was the dishonest old media culture -- CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, and the LA Times, who backed John Kerry’s version of how Vietnam veterans...

I've been browsing the various secretary of state websites for many states, and I have yet to see any mention anywhere of how many write in votes that Congressman Tancredo got in the presidential race. I'd be most interested to see if any of his supporters for write in have any news to share with us?

BERKELEY, Calif. - At the birthplace of the free speech movement, campus radicals have a new target: the faculty that came of age in the 60's. They say their professors have been preaching multiculturalism and diversity while creating a political monoculture on campus. Conservatism is becoming more visible at the University of California here, where students put out a feisty magazine called The California Patriot and have made the Berkeley Republicans one of the largest groups on campus. But here, as at schools nationwide, the professors seem to be moving in the other direction, as evidenced by their campaign contributions...

It took two weeks— and it's still unofficial— but New Mexico's 33 counties have completed their vote-counting from the Nov. 2 election. President Bush is still the winner, although that won't be certified until the state canvass in another week. Meanwhile, contrary to some popular impressions, New Mexico isn't bringing up the rear in the count. Ballots were still being tallied Tuesday in Ohio and Washington and recounts were under way in other states with close races. Colorado was still counting provisional ballots on Monday. - snip- After two weeks of controversy, lawsuits and national scrutiny, New Mexico's vote counting...

Prime time in a big election year is sometimes called the silly season. This year in New Mexico it was ridiculous. Courtroom battles marked the months before election day. On Nov. 2, some 13,000 provisional ballots were cast in Bernalillo County alone, many by people who thought they were registered. More than half of the 13,000 were rejected. Long before the ballot-counting process ended Friday, it was clear that the cobbled-together, contradictory state election code is a loser. Lawmakers should start from scratch and rewrite the code in the next legislative session. It should be easy for citizens to register...

Bernalillo County commissioners agreed to certify election results Friday, 10 days after Election Day, despite concerns that hundreds of ballots were thrown out on a technicality. According to the final tally, John Kerry widened his lead in Bernalillo County by about 1,400 votes. The county's tally now shows Kerry with 132,404 votes to President Bush's 121,610. But the president retains a statewide lead of 6,120 votes in an Associated Press unofficial tally late Friday that did not include final numbers from a few other counties. Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson, said the governor wants to look at...

President Bush will appear at the Lea County Event Center in Hobbs on Monday, October 11. Time has not yet been announced. I have ticket application forms and will FAX to anyone who FReep mails me. However, you will have to return them yourself to the Lea County Republican Headquarters in Hobbs to get the tickets (limit four per form).

Remarks by the President at Victory 2004 Rally Lea County Event Center Hobbs, New Mexico 9:13 A.M. MDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thanks for coming out. (Applause.) It's nice to be back in a part of the world that I know very well. (Applause.) I was raised right around the corner. (Applause.) It's good to be in a part of the world where the cowboy hats outnumber the ties. (Applause.) It's good to be in a part of the world where people believe in their family and their faith and their country. (Applause.) I want to thank all...

Provisional ballots in Bernalillo County are being rejected at a rate higher than earlier estimates. And that makes it even more unlikely that John Kerry can overtake President Bush in New Mexico. As of Tuesday evening, Bernalillo County election officials working under the watchful eye of Republican and Democrat observers had reviewed about 9,000 of the approximately 13,000 provisional and in-lieu-of ballots cast in last week's election. Here's an approximate breakdown so far: 3,000 have been accepted and will be counted; 4,000 have been rejected and won't be counted; 2,000 are undergoing further review; The rest have not been reviewed....

SANTA FE— Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron on Monday asked the state Supreme Court to set aside two recent court rulings that allow the disclosure of information about provisional ballots cast in last week's general election. "I need uniformity for the state," Vigil-Giron said at a news conference. The petition was filed Monday and seeks a court order vacating the rulings of District Judges Robert Robles of Doña Ana County and Louis McDonald, who issued the Sandoval County court order. It also asks the court to stay the rulings until it makes a final decision. The court has not scheduled...

Northern New Mexico's counties with large percentages of Hispanic voters remain a firm Democratic stronghold, last week's presidential election results show— but at least two northern counties didn't deliver as well for John Kerry as expected. Republican George W. Bush improved his numbers over those of the 2000 election in both Rio Arriba and Guadalupe counties, contributing to a lead of about 8,500 votes... in New Mexico's still-incomplete vote tally. Kerry's share of the vote in Rio Arriba— where more than 70 percent of the population and 80 percent of registered voters are Hispanic— was the smallest for a Democrat...

ALAMOGORDO — In a town where business marquees proudly welcomed the president on Sunday, George Bush promised a crowd of cheering supporters he would protect the nation's families. "All progress on every other issue depends on the safety of our citizens," Bush told about 10,000 people gathered in a field at Alamogordo High School. "The terrorists who killed thousands of people are still dangerous and determined to attack us again." Bush talked for about 35 minutes on family themes and attacked his opponent, Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry, for not understanding the nature of the war on terror. Bush repeated...

Here are final unofficial vote tallies, released Friday afternoon. President, Bernalillo County John Kerry: 132,404 George W. Bush: 121,610 Ralph Nader: 1,462 President, statewide: John Kerry: 370,457 George W. Bush: 376,577 Ralph Nader: 4,059 Source: Bernalillo County Clerk's Office, The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry has conceded, President Bush has laid out his plans for a second term and New Mexico still does not know who won the election in the sparsely populated state. New Mexico is the only state that does not have a clear-cut winner in the presidential vote, and state officials were red-faced over the slow count. The state had vowed to speed up counting ballots after it took about a month to tally the vote in the 2000 presidential race, where Democrat Al Gore beat Bush by 366 votes. Bush has...

Today is the deadline for counties to complete their canvass of last week's election, and the clerk of the most populous county in the state aims to meet that deadline. "I'm optimistic," Clerk Mary Herrera said. "If I have to be here 24 hours a day by myself entering (data), I'm going to do it." About 85 percent of the canvassing process was completed as of Thursday afternoon, county officials estimated. The hand tally of provisional ballots was expected to be done by this morning. Other remaining work included data entry and running reports on election results. The county canvassing...

Less than 12 hours after the laborious examination of provisional ballots from the Nov. 2 election was done, Bernalillo County's protracted vote-counting process hit another obstacle: the computer system crashed. That meant election workers lost valuable time, with the deadline for finishing the count just more than a day away. The Veterans Day holiday threw another problem into the mix, making it difficult for election officials to find computer technicians. "The network has been down all morning. I can't input results into the computer," Elections Bureau Administrator Jaime Diaz said. "It means time. We're losing hours in the day. "It's...

If New Mexico is leaning red, it's not because the state is any closer to declaring a presidential winner. It's because some New Mexicans are embarrassed about how long it's taking to get the votes counted. Again. "It's embarrassing to know this state has not been able to count all it's votes," said Tom Torres of Edgewood. "It's not like this is a surprise. We saw it last election." In the 2000 election, it took about a month for the state to determine that Al Gore had defeated President George W. Bush by 366 votes. Election officials said they are...

Could more than 19,000 uncounted ballots reverse President Bush's current advantage over Democrat John Kerry in New Mexico's presidential vote count? It's unlikely, even in a best-case scenario for Kerry, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc. "It doesn't look like the math is there for Kerry to reverse the outcome of the election," said Sanderoff, whose firm conducts polling for the Albuquerque Journal. The Associated Press called the race for Bush on Wednesday, but votes are still being counted in New Mexico on Friday, three days after the election. Bush's margin has been been narrowing. The president...

Here are highlights (not a complete summary), with more details next to photos. Saturday: The First Couple campaigned in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida. The twins stumped together for their dad in New Jersey. Vice President Cheney took the campaign to Pennsylvania. Sunday: President and Mrs. Bush attended the Church of the Epiphany in Miami with presidential brothers Jeb and Marvin. He campaigned in Florida with retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of Operation Desert Storm, and with Jeb. Monday: President Bush launched a six-state, 19-hour day of final campaigning, saying he was energized by his supporters and confident he would...

E-mail to Candidate Kerry #19 From: James (Cooter) Thompson re: Summing Up Dear Senator Kerry: The other day, we—meaning I and Jack Boudreau and Armen Yazoo—were headed back to Daryl's Bait Shop from a car parts swap meet over to Shelby when your name came up in the conversation. We been sending you e-mails concerning your campaign since back in May. It would've pleased us greatly if you had acknowledged our help, but we can understand you been busy cruising the country trying to generate some enthusiasm for your candidacy. So we ain't offended by your silence nor even by...

MADISON, Wis.-- Andy Hall's class in reporting in the journalism department of the University of Wisconsin invited Lucian and me to visit Thursday morning. The class decided at the beginning of the semester to devote the fall to reporting on efforts to increase the youth vote in Madison for this election. Their stories were due Thursday, and they generously shared their findings with us, so we can share them with you. Some highlights: - Out-of-state students could have a big impact on the election. This was the subject of a report by Cary Dohman, 21, a senior, who noted the...

After days of trying to make political hay over lost Iraqi explosives, the Democratic ticket turned Friday to an FBI probe of Halliburton as evidence of Bush administration special favors to special interests. President Bush was campaigning with actor-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We need a president and a vice president of the United States who consistently stand up for the interests of the American people, and that's not what we're seeing right now," Democratic running mate John Edwards said on CBS Friday morning. Edwards was even more pointed Thursday night when he told 3,000 people at a Davenport, Iowa, rally, "You...

Inexplicably abandoning his campaign duties, the President went to Vienna today. Oh wait, that's Vienna, OHIO!!! He also campaigned in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Sen. Zell Miller joined the Bushes. Speaking to the Association of the U.S. Army's 50th Annual Meeting and Exhibition at the Washington Convention Center today, Defense Secretary Rusmseld said President Bush had failed to taked action in Afghanistan and Iraq; terrorists were emboldened and it made the world a vastly more dangerous place. Oh WAIT!!!! The reporterette's notes were faulty. That should read: Speaking to the Association of the U.S. Army's 50th Annual Meeting and Exhibition at...

We keep hearing how close the election is going to be. As close or closer than 2000, if that's even possible. And with election lawyers for both parties crawling all over Florida, Ohio and other battleground states, both parties assume it will be tight. But stop for a moment and think about it. That this election may be as close as the last is a stunning fact. How can two elections that have been nothing alike produce such a comparable result? How could two campaign seasons that focused on such radically different issues leave the electorate just as evenly divided?

Is it just me or is the thought of Christopher Reeves widow out campaigning with Kerry just a week and a half after his death a bit ghoulish? I feel and hope there is voter backlash against this grave dancing, Edwards was bad enough saying Kerry will make the crippled walk again, but to have a widow out campaigning just ten days after her husbands death is very sickening and smells of a Wellstone moment in the making.

Tuesday and Wednesday, President Bush campaigned in Florida, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. He signed a bill Monday requiring the federal government to study the potential for adding historic Manhattan Project sites, including the nuclear reactor at the Hanford site in Washington State, to the national park system. Laura Bush campaigned in Pennsylvania Tuesday and presented the "Preserve America History Teacher of the Year" Award in New York the same day. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday said that about 60 million doses of influenza vaccine combined with an ample supply of antiviral medicines puts America in a strong position to...

Saturday the First Couple campaigned in Florida. Sunday they attended St. John's Church in DC. Today President Bush signed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, met with the US Olympic and Paralympic Teams at the White House, took press questions aboard Air Force One, and campaigned in New Jersey, joined by Bernard Kerik, former NYC police commissioner. The president's parents joined those in Texas who are casting their ballots early. Enjoy your daily dose of W @ Sanity Island.

The indefatigable Bush and Cheney families and some of their friends continue campaigning as the president readies for the final debate tonight, perhaps known in the Bush-Cheney 04 campaign as Creamed Kerry on Toast. Descriptions of who, what, when, and where accompany the photos. Well we know the Why. Enjoy your daily dose of W @ Sanity Island!

Saturday the First Couple traveled home to Crawford, where the president prepared for the final debate with the junior Senator from Massachusetts. In his weekly radio address, President Bush said, "As your President, I have led this country with principle and resolve. We have confronted historic challenges and built a broad record of accomplishment." Vice President and Mrs. Cheney campaigned in Ohio and New Jersey Monday. Focusing on the west, the president campaigned in New Mexico and Colorado today. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island!

You are invited to attend the 3rd District Dialogue Mrs. Winsome Earle Sears and Mr. Bobby Scott will discuss the issues that are prevalent to voters in Virginia’s Third Congressional District. Crime, employment, education, military, healthcare and economics are among the many issues that will be discussed. When: Monday, October 11, 2004 Time: 7:00 PM Where: Stuart Gifted Center 411 Virginia Avenue Norfolk, VA Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the issues for yourself. This event is sponsored by the Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League of Norfolk. For more information, please call 757-533-5581 or 804-648-8211.

WAUSAU - In his eighth trip to the Badger State since spring, President Bush asked thousands of his faithful supporters at Marathon Park on Thursday for Wisconsin's help as Election Day nears. Bush's Boeing 757 airplane landed around 2:40 p.m. at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, and with surgical precision, the president greeted local Republicans, including Jim Jacobson of Horizon Development Group and Gerald Whitburn, president and chief executive officer of Church Mutual Insurance Co. in Merrill, before jumping in an armored limousine for the 15-minute drive to Wausau along a deserted Highway 51. Accompanying the president was National Security...

Over the next few days, Winsome will be hitting the communities with her message of hope, accountability, and servant hood. She invites you to join her at the following events: Friday, October 8 at 7:00 PM: Special Reception Honoring Winsome Earle Sears The Home of Governor Jim and Roxane Gilmore 8105 Spencely Place, Richmond, VA Saturday, October 9 at 7:00 PM: 8th Annual Chinese American Legislative Forum Chinese Community Center 722 Newtown Road, Virginia Beach, VA Monday, October 11 at 7:00 PM: 3rd District Dialogue with the Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League Stuart Gifted Center 411 Virginia Avenue, Norfolk, VA Tuesday,...

The President campaigned in Pennsylvania and Michigan today. The White House provided this Link to the President's achievements, stating that Bush's "first term has been among the most consequential and successful in modern times." The Cheneys campaigned in Tallahassee. There are some late photos from yesterday of Laura Bush campaigning in Reno and Milwaukee. I must comment on the fact that Yahoo is posting hideous photos of the Bushes and Cheneys on their web site, the more so as November 2 draws near. QUOTE: Commending the US House of Representatives for rejecting the bill sponsored by Democrat Charles Rangle, called...

Saturday, from his radio address, President Bush said,“Next week, in Iowa, I will proudly sign the Working Families Tax Relief Act. This bipartisan law is good news for America's families." He campaigned in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Sunday the First Couple attended St. John’s Church in Washington, DC. Monday he signed into law the Working Families Tax Relief Act which will give 94 million Americans a lower tax bill next year, including 70 million women and 38 million families with children, and campaigned in Iowa with some “Ask President Bush " rallies. Enjoy your daily dose of W @ Sanity Island!...

A flaming vanity, but worth the observation. Before anyone throws themselves off the Coit Tower because of that bogus Newsweak poll, I would strongly recommend that you do the following. Watch where the Bush people are placing their new ad buys. If the Bush folks are placing Ad buys in Gore states, the strategic situation hasn't changed. If Bush is buying ads in Texas and Oklahoma, we're dead. So far as I can tell, Bush's new "Global Test" commercial is slated for the Gore 2000 battlegrounds. That indicates to me that Bush's internal polling still has him in a...

Touring the area damaged by Hurricane Jeanne, and traveling to Florida and preparing for the first debate (in Florida), are the topics today. Here's an interesting caption from Yahoo: "As voters are swamped by a blizzard of rival surveys in the final weeks of the presidential campaign, pollsters themselves are facing increasing questions about their methodology and accuracy, with some polls showing widely divergent results." The Cheneys campaigned in Minnesota. Enjoy the daily dose of W @ Sanity Island!

Based at Prairie Chapel Ranch, the president is preparing for the first debate with the sometime Senator, John Kerry, this Thursday, and campaigning. SATURDAY: In his weekly radio address, President Bush said, "This week, I was honored to welcome the Prime Minister of a free and sovereign Iraq to the White House." SUNDAY: President Bush said he had no regrets about his 'Mission Accomplished' speech on Iraq in May 2003 and would do it all over again if he had the chance, according to excerpts from an television interview released on September 26. As Vietnam veteran Tommy Franks wrote in...

The President campaigned at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA. Word gymnasts in the Bush-Cheney 04 Campaign created a new ad showing the opponent windsurfing, with the narrator saying the Democrat's positions on Iraq, education and health care shift "whichever way the wind blows." CBS continues in meltdown status, having asked former US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and AP Chief Executive Lou Boccardi to do an internal probe of the 60 Minutes forged documents report against the president. Enjoy your daily Dose of W @ Sanity Island.

Back in the Day, after Kerry's coronation in Boston, he maintained his "tough guy" image by saying that he would have taken down Saddam. Now he has changed to a Pacifist approach to the war. It was all a Tragic Mistake. The clueless BushHitler rushed into war without a plan to end the war and, worst of all, without the French. Now we are paying an intolerable price in lives because of BushHitler and his patrons at Halliburton. So, next year, we'll bug out faster than a herd of young boys from Michael Jackson's Neverland estate. It's another Vietnam and...

Moderator: Please excuse this post if it is in the wrong place. I've been talking with alot of friends and family, etc that are for Kerry/ against Bush, but with no real basis for their stand. These are good people, but for whatever reason they just haven't really thought things through. I also know that they trust me and they know that I pay close attention to the issues. I've been working on "fixing" them by getting them to investigate the truth . The reality is that most people are too busy, or lazy or ignorant to actually do the...

The latest issue of "Section 9" is up. I have a comments thingie below my posts. Tell me whatcha think. It's my take on where we stand strategically as we go into the last month of the election. Be Seeing You, Chris

I've been watching John Kerry pretty closely. One thing I've said for some time is -- he is no Algore, thankfully. Gore was famous for the crazy things he said: inventor of the internet, the movie "Love Story" was based upon his marriage, and the list went on and on and on. To this point in time, although John Kerry has run a pretty lame campaign and made some pretty unwise decisions (in my opinion), he hasn't risen to the level of Doofus that Algore did early on. Until last night. Last night on Fox News, in an attempt to...

Saturday, September 11, the President and First Lady, on the South Lawn of the White House, stood with White House staff, members of Congress, and families of Sept. 11 victims in silent remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . They were joined by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife. President Bush delivered his radio address from the Oval Office with relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Sunday he visited the Russian Embassy in DC with the First Lady, where he signed the book of condolences for victims of the school hostage seizure. He attended...

On Saturday the First Family (including the twins) campaigned in Erie, PA; and Kirtland, Chagrin Falls, and Broadview Heights, OH. On Sunday the President campaigned in Parkersburg, W.Va., and went bike riding at the Secret Service facility in Beltsville, MD. Monday, he campaigned in Poplar Bluff, Missouri (MO). (He may have more campaigning scheduled for this evening.) Enjoy your three-day Dose of W @ Sanity Island.

Found this flash game online. It's a fun simulation where you act as campaign manager for Bush or Kerry, deciding which states the candidates are going to to spend time and money attempting to sway. It's pretty darned addictive! Play Campaign Trail 2004

It's not even Labor Day, but we already know what will be the "seminal issue" of this election. No, it's not health care, education, jobs or the economy. It's not even the war in Iraq. It's John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam. That is now the No. 1 issue on cable television and rightwing talk radio, the subject of a new book, "Unfit for Command," and the target of an anti-Kerry commercial sponsored by a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. It is the most vile, despicable brand of politics we've ever seen. Bombarded with so many lies,...