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January 31, 2005 -- WHEN the British ul tra-liberals in the pre- Tony Blair Labor Party published their lengthy election manifesto in the late 1980s, the radical document so explicitly spelled out their defiance of English public opinion that a Tory politician called it "the longest suicide note in history." Now, in choosing their new national leader, the Democratic Party is publishing a much more succinct suicide note. It reads "Chairman Howard Dean." There is a school of thought among Democrats that by embracing policies and programs deeply at variance with what most Americans think will enhance the party's electoral...

John Hawkins: Hillary Clinton, who looks likely to be the Democrats' candidate in 2008, is staking out a strong anti-illegal immigration position. Do you think that could be a potent issue for her, especially if the GOP runs a candidate like John McCain who's soft on illegal immigration? Dick Morris: I think it is a risky position since she needs to regain the Hispanic vote that Kerry lost. Gore carried Hispanics by 30 pts but Kerry won them by only 10. That change accounts for half of Bush's gain over 2000. But Hillary wants to move to the center and...

The indictment of Hillary Clinton's 2000 campaign-finance director, David Rosen, may pose a threat to the senator's presidential bid. For now, the federal indictment is focused only on Rosen, but it is not hard to see the process creeping up the campaign food chain to the senator herself. At issue are the expenses the campaign incurred in an August 2000 fund-raiser for Hollywood glitterati. Rosen was indicted for claiming that the event cost $400,000 when, federal prosecutors allege, he knew the actual cost to be $1.1 million. Under federal campaign-finance rules, the Clinton campaign was obliged to pay for 40...

September 29, 2004 -- OFTEN debate coaches pester candidates with detailed advice as a confrontation approaches. With mammoth briefing books, they cram facts, figures and the nuances of positioning into the candidate's head. But George W. Bush should need none of this prep. To win Thursday's debate — decisively — all he has to do is state his position on the issues of terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran and the myriad threats we face. Bush enters the debate empowered by three fundamental facts: * Virtually all of his own voters agree with his positions on these vital issues. *...

THE ANTI-WAR TURN IS A LOSER BY DICK MORRIS September 23, 2004 -- STUNG by criticism that his campaign lacks direction and focus, Sen. John Kerry has chosen to base his candidacy on an all-out assault on President Bush's record in Iraq — indeed, opted to move to the left decisively and attack the war head-on. Liberals will cheer Kerry's new-found decisiveness, but it opens the way for Bush to deal him a counterstroke that can all but end this election and finish off Kerry for good. Kerry's right flank is now gapingly vulnerable to a Bush attack. According to...

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Why shakeup won't save Kerry Posted: September 21, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Dick Morris © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com John Kerry's recent shakeup of his campaign illustrates his larger problem: He is playing a simple game of checkers, while President Bush is playing a subtle game of chess. Edging aside Bob Shrum and promoting former Clinton spokesmen Mike McCurry and Joe Lockhart to key positions in the campaign replaces a flawed strategist – Shrum – with two able, but limited, tacticians. Both McCurry and Lockhart are good at handling evolving crises and keeping the media well fed and happy. But...

Dickie Morris, on Hannity, said: 1) Kerry is stuck in Vietnam because he can't talk about anything else. 2) He brought in all the Clinton people but, as if to anticipate a "see: this means Hillary is going to come in," he said, that "none of these people were there when Clinton had to get re-elected in 1996." They are all people who "play well to the base, but do nothing for crossover voters." In short, Kerry is still trying to shore up his base. 3) Kerry has HUGE problems with the base, because no matter what position he takes...