Some Thoughts As We Get Back To Business

Well. It was a short vacation to say the least. (Aren't they all!!!).

We had one correct guess on my last post. The city I visited, as described in my last post, was Cleveland. The Indians, by the way, started their current six-game winning streak the day AFTER I had tickets.

The biggest event on the world stage since my last post, of course, was the foiled terror plot in London.

Naturally the Republicans tried to make the case that Democrats opposing the war are tolerant of terrorism. Dick Cheney, of course, is leading the way in this illogical thinking. And, like Hillary Clinton said while I was away, we can't take anything Cheney says seriously anymore. If we ever did.

The independent candidate for Senator from Connecticut, the self-described loyal Democrat Joe Lieberman, tried to take the same tack as the GOP. Sen. Joe Mentum described his loss at the polls on Tuesday as a victory for those who spread terror throughout the globe.

There is clearly a connection between Iraq and worldwide terrorism, but not the one the Republicans (and Joe Lieberman) are trying to make.

By creating chaos in Iraq we have opened another state as a haven for terrorists and we have stirred anti-American sentiment worldwide to a fever pitch -- prompting more young Arabs and Muslims to take up the cause. If you are looking for a connection between Iraq and terror -- that's it!!

Sen. Joe's political friends are deserting him in droves following his loss Tuesday. And a Zogby poll indicates an overwhelming number of Democrats are happy about that nationwide.

Still, with the GOP fielding a damaged candidate with little chance to win, Lieberman may be appealing enough to Connecticut Republicans and independents to pull off a November victory. It will be a true barometer of the anti-war sentiment in the electorate at large.

Speaking of barometers, there were a few polls out in the last couple of days that paint a dismal picture for Republicans across the country.

Recent polls by Harris and Associated Press-Ipsos indicate there may be a political fault line ready to blow in November.

In the Harris poll, the gap is widening between those who prefer that Democrats win control of Congress and those who would like to see the Republicans remain in charge.

The AP-Ipsos poll focuses more on President Bush and his likely affect on the races this November. Bush's approval rating is down to 33% in that one, and 19% of Bush voters in 2004 now say they will vote for a Democrat in the fall.

Locally, Jonathan Tasini is still trying to get a debate with Hillary Clinton before they meet at the polls in September. Clinton keeps dodging Tasnini's advances.

Since it appears the underfunded Tasini won't get his chance to get his message out by way of a televised debate, I've taken it upon myself to run his series of planned Internet ads. Here's the first in an expected series.

In the attorney general race, Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green have a little TV ad battle going. But they have enough money to get out their message, and NY1 has deemed them worthy of a place on the debate podium, so we'll let you catch their ads, and their acts, on the tube.

More importantly, Cuomo picked up some major endorsements this past week, from the Communications Workers of America (75,000 members in the state) and the United Auto Workers union (50,000 New York members). James Odato of Capitol Confidential is reporting the UAW nod may be a prelude to an endorsement of Cuomo by the AFL-CIO.

Republican Nick Spano, in a rematch with Andrea Stewart-Cousins for his state senate seat in Westchester County, got the nod from the powerful 1199 SEIU health care workers union as well as the New York State Nurses Association.

Endorsements were made in the race for the nomination from New York's 19th Congressional District. They went to John Hall, the singer-song writer who is one of four remaining candidates hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Sue Kelly. Hall was endorsed by the New York State United Teachers and by a former rival in the race, Jim Martorano.

This past week also saw KT McFarland and John Spencer in their so-called debate. From accounts I read, the event was sparsely attended and, not surprisingly, decended quickly from a political debate to a name-calling session. That's about what could have been expected from these two. Sounds like punishment enough, but McFarland keeps putting out press releases calling for another debate or two to subject us to.

And finally, in a sign Tom Suozzi may be about to pack it in, the press releases from that campaign were few and far between this week (a major change from prior weeks). However, Suozzi did reject a suggestion by Democratic state lawmakers that he throw in the towel and put his considerable talents to better use for the party's efforts in November.

Well, that was the week that was. I'm sure I missed some stuff while away. But I hope to be back up to speed starting tomorrow.