Even the Austrailians are getting in on it now...
Bush endures final insult as poll looms
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent
November 07, 2006
IN the last hours of the campaigning for the mid-term congressional elections President George W. Bush took Air Force One to western Florida yesterday to suffer an embarrassment rare in the stage-managed theatrics of a US president.
Mr Bush landed in Pensacola, in northwestern Florida, to stump for Charlie Crist the Republican governor campaigning to replace Mr Bush’s brother Jeb. But Mr Crist didn’t show.
In a sign that the US is already looking to the 2008 presidential elections, Mr Crist snubbed Mr Bush at the last minute and instead made sure he could get to Jacksonville - on the other side of the state - to get the imprimatur of Senator John McCain, the current front runner for the Republican presidential ticket.
“Tomorrow you get to vote for a new governor, and I strongly suggest you vote for Charlie Crist to be governor of the state of Florida," Mr Bush told Mr Crist's supporters. "He's experienced, he's compassionate, and he'll work hard on behalf of all the citizens of this important state."
Wherever he is.
Democrats had a field day. Karen Thurman, the state Democratic Party chairman, said: "Charlie Crist and President Bush say, 'stay the course,' but clearly Charlie Crist has 'cut and run' from the president today."
Voting starts in America tonight for the mid-term elections and first results are expected tomorrow around midday AEDT. While polls indicate some tightening in favour of Republicans they remain well behind.
In generic polls on which party Americans would vote for in Congress, Democrats hold an average 11.5 per cent spread and a poll from cable channel Fox News today indicated the spread had blown out to 13 per cent. If that holds, Republicans face a massive electoral rout.
Apart from strategists inside the White House virtually no Republican pollsters are expecting the party to hold onto the House of Representatives. Democrats need a 15 seat swing to take back the house and as of last night looked to be on pace for a minimum 20 seat gain to as many as 40 according to some pollsters.
In the Senate, Democrats need six seats and depending on the poll, the party leads in six Republican held seats and all of its Democrat races. But four Republican held seats remain within the margin of error and could swing either way.
In the end control of the Senate is likely to come down to Democrats, against the odds, pulling out shock wins in the conservative southern states of Virginia and Missouri.
But Democrats were taking heart in the fact never in history has the House of Representatives flipped to another party without the Senate flipping too.
Pollsters are anticipating that the 2006 congressional election will be a “wave” election in which national issues swamp the incumbent Republican party which has held control of the House of Representatives since 1994.
The Iraq War has dominated the campaigns, along with a number of Congressional scandals which has allowed Democrats to gain some traction with the line that the party was going to clean-up Washington’s “culture of corruption".
Mr Bush traveled to 10 strong Republican states in the final days of the campaign notably steering clear of battleground states and instead focusing on shoring up Republican candidates suddenly finding themselves in tough races. Democrat strategists say some 50 Republican House seats are competitive, while only listing two of their own as vulnerable.
The President’s mission to stir up the base and ensure Republicans get out to the polls is part of the party’s famed “turn out the vote” operation that has helped them win the last two Presidential elections.
But now there are formidable headwinds, namely Mr Bush’s approval rating continuing to lag at below 40 per cent tied with a 29 per cent approval rating for his handling of the War in Iraq.
Mr Crist’s snub follows dozens of Republican candidates distancing themselves from the White House, including campaign advertisements touting their independence.
The Crist campaign said it made a calculated decision.
"My job is to make the best decisions to make sure that Charlie Crist wins on Tuesday, and that's my focus, and that's why we've made the decision," said Mr Crist’s chief of staff George LeMieux.
He said his absence had nothing to do with the president's popularity but that he aleready had strong support in Pensacola and felt his time could better be used elsewhere.
Mr Crist himself offered: "I'm glad he's come to our state, but I've got to get around Florida."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20715822-2703,00.html
Bush endures final insult as poll looms
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent
November 07, 2006
IN the last hours of the campaigning for the mid-term congressional elections President George W. Bush took Air Force One to western Florida yesterday to suffer an embarrassment rare in the stage-managed theatrics of a US president.
Mr Bush landed in Pensacola, in northwestern Florida, to stump for Charlie Crist the Republican governor campaigning to replace Mr Bush’s brother Jeb. But Mr Crist didn’t show.
In a sign that the US is already looking to the 2008 presidential elections, Mr Crist snubbed Mr Bush at the last minute and instead made sure he could get to Jacksonville - on the other side of the state - to get the imprimatur of Senator John McCain, the current front runner for the Republican presidential ticket.
“Tomorrow you get to vote for a new governor, and I strongly suggest you vote for Charlie Crist to be governor of the state of Florida," Mr Bush told Mr Crist's supporters. "He's experienced, he's compassionate, and he'll work hard on behalf of all the citizens of this important state."
Wherever he is.
Democrats had a field day. Karen Thurman, the state Democratic Party chairman, said: "Charlie Crist and President Bush say, 'stay the course,' but clearly Charlie Crist has 'cut and run' from the president today."
Voting starts in America tonight for the mid-term elections and first results are expected tomorrow around midday AEDT. While polls indicate some tightening in favour of Republicans they remain well behind.
In generic polls on which party Americans would vote for in Congress, Democrats hold an average 11.5 per cent spread and a poll from cable channel Fox News today indicated the spread had blown out to 13 per cent. If that holds, Republicans face a massive electoral rout.
Apart from strategists inside the White House virtually no Republican pollsters are expecting the party to hold onto the House of Representatives. Democrats need a 15 seat swing to take back the house and as of last night looked to be on pace for a minimum 20 seat gain to as many as 40 according to some pollsters.
In the Senate, Democrats need six seats and depending on the poll, the party leads in six Republican held seats and all of its Democrat races. But four Republican held seats remain within the margin of error and could swing either way.
In the end control of the Senate is likely to come down to Democrats, against the odds, pulling out shock wins in the conservative southern states of Virginia and Missouri.
But Democrats were taking heart in the fact never in history has the House of Representatives flipped to another party without the Senate flipping too.
Pollsters are anticipating that the 2006 congressional election will be a “wave” election in which national issues swamp the incumbent Republican party which has held control of the House of Representatives since 1994.
The Iraq War has dominated the campaigns, along with a number of Congressional scandals which has allowed Democrats to gain some traction with the line that the party was going to clean-up Washington’s “culture of corruption".
Mr Bush traveled to 10 strong Republican states in the final days of the campaign notably steering clear of battleground states and instead focusing on shoring up Republican candidates suddenly finding themselves in tough races. Democrat strategists say some 50 Republican House seats are competitive, while only listing two of their own as vulnerable.
The President’s mission to stir up the base and ensure Republicans get out to the polls is part of the party’s famed “turn out the vote” operation that has helped them win the last two Presidential elections.
But now there are formidable headwinds, namely Mr Bush’s approval rating continuing to lag at below 40 per cent tied with a 29 per cent approval rating for his handling of the War in Iraq.
Mr Crist’s snub follows dozens of Republican candidates distancing themselves from the White House, including campaign advertisements touting their independence.
The Crist campaign said it made a calculated decision.
"My job is to make the best decisions to make sure that Charlie Crist wins on Tuesday, and that's my focus, and that's why we've made the decision," said Mr Crist’s chief of staff George LeMieux.
He said his absence had nothing to do with the president's popularity but that he aleready had strong support in Pensacola and felt his time could better be used elsewhere.
Mr Crist himself offered: "I'm glad he's come to our state, but I've got to get around Florida."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20715822-2703,00.html
