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Politics : HOWARD DEAN -THE NEXT PRESIDENT? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: laura_bush who wrote (561)	11/21/2003 9:23:34 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 3079

PHILLY.COM: Poll: Pa. falling out of favor with the president Laura, Thanks for the Krugman link. I want him to be the next Secretary of the Treasury and bring some sanity to Washington. :) ****** Here's an interesting hint that Bush is going to be in big trouble in 2004. He's starting to lose the "battleground" states: philly.com Poll: Pa. falling out of favor with the president By RON GOLDWYN goldwyr@phillynews.com President Bush's popularity in Pennsylvania has dipped by almost one-quarter since April and his prospects for re-election have softened, according to the latest Daily News/Fox Philadelphia Keystone Poll. The president's popularity is actually higher than his job approval rating, which has fallen into negative territory in a reflection of his poll standing nationwide. Asked if Bush "has done a good enough job to deserve re-election," 44 percent said "yes," 48 percent "no." The 4 percent deficit matches his 2000 margin of defeat in Pennsylvania to Al Gore. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who seeks re-election to a fifth term next year, holds substantial leads over little-known Republican and Democratic opponents even though his job approval rating is only 42 percent. U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a lightning rod of controversy for seeking to outlaw homosexuality earlier this year, is viewed favorably by 46 percent - virtually unchanged over the past four years. His term extends through 2006. The president has lost ground in most polls across the country as deaths and difficulties have mounted in postwar Iraq and the economy has struggled. "Pennsylvania still remains to be won by Bush or by his Democratic opponent," said poll director G. Terry Madonna. "It's a tossup, competitive like Pennsylvania always is. But he's obviously weaker than six months ago in the state." In April, as the United States achieved military success in Iraq, Bush was viewed favorably by 63 percent of Pennsylvanians and unfavorably by 25 percent. In the recent poll those figures, which reflect the president's popularity, were 49-40. On job approval, Bush was rated as doing an excellent or good job by 47 percent, but only a fair or poor job by 53 percent. The comparable figures in April were 64-34. Bush's job performance rating varies sharply around the state: 54 percent in the Southwest, 59 percent in central Pennsylvania, just 45 percent in the Philadelphia suburbs and 19 percent in the city itself. Specter was viewed favorably by 46 percent and unfavorably by 26 percent in the latest poll. That's barely any change from the 46-23 percent in the April poll. Specter's job approval numbers waned slightly, from 47 to 42 percent over the same span. Specter leads announced GOP challenger U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey 49-18 percent for next spring's primary, and leads U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, the leading Democratic challenger, 47-25 percent in a potential general election matchup. "Specter's support is broadly based around the state," said Madonna. "He's not a regional figure, he's a state figure. But his numbers are in the mushy middle with the other politicians in the state." The poll of 719 residents taken from Oct. 27-Nov. 16 debunked the idea that Pennsylvanians are part of an "angry voter" trend that helped recall Gov. Gray Davis in California. Only 12 percent said they were "angry voters" while 55 percent opposed adding a recall provision to the state's constitution. The poll has a margin of error of 3.7 percent.

To: laura_bush who wrote (561)	11/21/2003 9:37:23 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3079

Bleak Outlook for U.S. in Iraq Says Blix channels.netscape.com STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - "There's a hatred against the United States and you have 130,000 American troops sitting there as a big target," said Hans Blix as he leaned forward to make his point about the future of Iraq and its military occupation. "The borders, although guarded, are not watertight. Weapons of mass destruction may not be there but conventional weapons are and the U.S. does not have the capacity to guard it all," Blix added. "The outlook is bad." His time over as chief U.N. weapons inspector, he has a bone to pick with those who took the United States and Britain to war with Iraq on claims that Baghdad could wage quick and terrible destruction. "This was the basis upon which the war was sold and justified and today I think no one would say Iraq constituted a danger in the Spring of 2003," said the 75-year-old Swede. Sitting in the Stockholm flat where he has lived for more than 30 years between assignments, Blix now watches Iraq and the Middle East from the sidelines. But he gives notice that far from disappearing into history as a footnote, his voice will continue to be heard. First there is a book he is writing, to be called "Weapons of Mass Destruction," which he says will exhume issues and facts that some might prefer to remain buried. Then there is a new commission against weapons of mass destruction -- paid for by Sweden and supported by international think-tanks -- he is putting together and heading. He says both projects will bear fruit quickly, but his 70,000 word book should appear first and set the record straight about Iraq, at least from his perspective. BOOK DEAL A deal has been signed with publisher Bloomsbury and the manuscript should be finished by the end of the year. "I was one of those who saw so much of what was happening and I have an obligation to write about that," Blix said. "I have a lot of clarifications. There will be lots of interesting things, yes." The Hans Blix you meet at the door of his nondescript 1960s downtown apartment is not the Hans Blix who confidently walked the world stage last year. Every day he was caught in a vortex of lights and television cameras, as the world watched and weighed for nuance his every word on whether his inspectors had found in Iraq horrible weapons -- as it lurched toward war. Then, he was the master diplomat who parried the increasingly strident and irreconcilable expectations of the Americans and Iraqis in a calm and judicial manner. Now, he comes to the front door in cardigan and carpet slippers, comfortable in a home that is large but not lavish. His beloved carpets, from the Middle East to Russia, collected for years as he traveled the world, line the floors and walls. The bookshelves contain well-thumbed copies of Hali magazine, the bible for carpet collectors. The picture is of cozy domesticity. Despite appearances, the former Swedish foreign minister who for 16 years headed the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, remains full of questions and nagging doubts. He says the politicians, in their haste to go to war, did not lie outright to their people, but they distorted facts, ignored evidence and stretched the truth. "As a citizen I am indignant at what happened," he said. He believes the political fortunes of U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are now tethered to what happens in Iraq. "It depends on how it goes. If it continues -- more people are killed --- people will ask what got them there in the first place and why they never found weapons of mass destruction," he said. His tone is measured. The man with a double doctorate from Uppsala and Cambridge universities is known for his cool analysis. But neither is he afraid to take issue with Washington, repeating his view that despite repeated searches by the Americans, every day makes him more convinced that weapons of mass destruction will never be found in Iraq. He also says the Americans are wrong to assume that Iran used a civilian energy program to develop a nuclear bomb -- another point of tension with several European countries. Blix says his new international commission on weapons of mass destruction, announced by Sweden in July, is close to being formed and among the participants will be a leading but as yet unidentified American. The commission will report its findings in 2005 -- but don't expect Blix to be silent in the meantime.