There's been lot's of JoeUser buzz about dirty tricks, as we near the election. Tempers are high, and I think we'll all be relieved when the election has passed. And I guess any following fights between the parties regarding recounts, hanging chads, voter intimidation, and voting of the dead. Mrs. blogic's parents live in Pennsylvania, and have had their Kerry signs stolen several times. We've traveled to PA several times, mainly to register voters, and the excitement there is palpable....

The title is from an really interesting article the Guardian is running, on the role of faith in the Bush campaign. Not so much faith in God, as faith in George Bush. I strongly recommend taking a look at it. To me, it sometimes seems that some Bush supporters have an absolute confidence in their rightness that I can't even imagine feeling about my own opinions. Anyway, check it out : First among these taboos is the military. No politician can utter a word that seems to question th...

The following was written by Glen Stassen, a professor of Christian Ethics: I am a Christian ethicist, and trained in statistical analysis. I am consistently pro-life. My son David is one witness. For my family, "pro-life" is personal. My wife caught rubella in the eighth week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is a blessing to us and to the world. [snip] Abortion was decreasing. When Pres...

This piece is by Scott McConnell, one of the founders of The American Conservative : To the surprise of virtually everyone, Bush has turned into an important president, and in many ways the most radical America has had since the 19th century. Because he is the leader of America’s conservative party, he has become the Left’s perfect foil—its dream candidate. The libertarian writer Lew Rockwell has mischievously noted parallels between Bush and Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II: both gained of...

I'm always surprised at how many people use free market theory to argue against taxing the rich more than the poor. These taxation haters scoff at economists who argue that since the wealthy benefit most from civil society, the wealthy should contribute the most to the body that maintains the infrastructure of civil society: the government. The idea that the wealthy don't owe a debt to the government, and the poor, for their wealth is a modern one. I find the modern conservati...

With only two weeks left before the election, both campaigns seem to be drifting. Bush is slightly up in national polls, but Kerry appears to be slighly ahead in the swing states, and hence the electoral vote count. The last two days haven't been dominated by any single issue, and the first candidate to craft an attack with teeth will be in a stronger position next week. The Bush campaign has been hammering on the Mary Cheney story, but I think that's probably a mistake on their pa...

From the Associated Press : BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who refused orders to drive a dangerous route were members of one of a few supply units whose trucks are still unarmored, their commanding general said Sunday. The soldiers, now under investigation, had previously focused on local missions in safer parts of southern Iraq and had never driven a convoy north along the attack-prone roads passing through Baghdad. "Not all of their trucks are completely armored. In ...

I'm sympathetic to the neo-conservative vision. It's a liberal idea -- something that could have been suggested by the Left of the pre-Vietnam War era. The neo conservative vision is sweeping: Democracy spread around the globe, civil liberties established in every nation, decisions made by presidents and parliaments. There would be no more pariah states, embargoes would end, and trade ships would connect the cities of the world. I'm attracted to that vision -- even if I'm not s...

From the LA Times : BAGHDAD — Two suicide bombers detonated explosives-laden backpacks Thursday inside the heavily barricaded Green Zone, killing at least six civilians — including four Americans — in the first suicide attacks within the area that houses the offices of the interim Iraqi government and the U.S. and British embassies. [snip] The suicide bombings were the most deadly attacks inside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, a 4-square-mile compound surrounded by blast walls, concert...

I do a lot of my thinking while jogging in the morning -- up 1st Ave to East 59th St, west to Columbus Circle, and down Broadway to Union Square -- which has the strange result that a lot of my thinking is linked to the music to which I'm listening. Part of my current rotation is Rocky's "Going the Distance", which plays during the climatic fight seat at the end of the movie. As any fan of the movie knows, Rocky isn't focused on actually winning the fight -- his self doubt keeps him fro...

Here are early poll results : A CBS News poll of uncommitted voters who watched the debate named Kerry the winner by 39-25 percent over Mr. Bush, with 36 percent calling it a tie. Fifty-nine percent said Kerry has clear positions on the issues. Before the third debate, only 29 percent of the same voters said Kerry had clear positions. I'll keep looking for other data.

That's not good for Kerry. We'll see if that become a story.

There are two ways to talk about who won the debate: One is to talk about how you would have scored the debate were you a judge. The second is to talk about how viewers and -- once the spin gets going -- non-viewer voters see the debate. I'm always more interested in how the debates will be interpreted by the viewers and other voters. Personally, I've thought every debate other than the first was a draw. That's a copout, I know, but I think the candidates have performed well except for...

I don't mean that in a biased fashion. Bush is coming off well because he's energetic and aggressive. Kerry is performing very similarly to how he has in the previous debate. He's less energetic, but he speaks calmly in a measured voice, and he knows his facts. I've generally assumed one reason poll respondents like Kerry in debates, is that he sounds presidential. I think he's doing that tonight, but Bush's game is on, and I know lots of viewers like that. So, what do viewers like...

Bush looks less angry, and more comfortable than in the last debate. Worlds better than he did in the first. The initial take will probably be that it's a draw. My guess is that overnight polls will show that. Both Democrats and Republicans will think their candidate won, and the number of undecideds has been decreasing for at least a couple of weeks. Conservatives are going to love Bush's performance, and it may boost their turnout. They may have been demoralized, and Bush's stro...