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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (597096)	7/30/2004 1:35:49 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Hah! Exactly as I thought. What a liar. You claimed Rasmussen called the election with no evidence at all and when called on it, claimed it was "just a joke." Friggin' liar. Then you claimed no reputable polster would call the race so soon and when shown an allegedly reputable polster doing just that, you claim it is news and that he is right. Hey champ, is you IQ so deficient that you can't enjoy a little humor? You really need to chill.........you're looking pretty silly right about now!

To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (597096)	7/30/2004 1:36:18 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

<font color=brown>Its the economy, stupid!<font color=black> ****************************************************** Oil Hits Fresh Highs on Supply Fears** Fri Jul 30, 2004 08:59 AM ET (Page 1 of 2) Related Articles U.S. Refineries Seen as Less Likely Attack Targets By Meg Clothier LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices hit fresh record highs on Friday on fears of a disruption in supplies from world number two exporter Russia and doubts over oil cartel OPEC's ability to make up for any shortfalls. OPEC is pumping at more than 95 percent of capacity, the highest for a quarter of a century, giving it little room for maneuver in an emergency. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) struck $43.34 a barrel, the highest in its 21-year history on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was last trading at $43.20, up 45 cents. In London, Brent crude (LCOc1: Quote, Profile, Research) scaled heights not seen since the Gulf War, peaking at $39.90, before trading at $39.67. Oil staged its first assault on historic highs on Wednesday after news Russian oil giant YUKOS might face a ban on oil sales while courts try to enforce a multi-billion-dollar tax debt. Prices retreated after Thursday's reprieve by the justice ministry allowed YUKOS to keep pumping, but the market remains on edge over the company's fate. "There's a sense with YUKOS of postponing the inevitable. YUKOS's financial problems will get worse in the coming weeks and the market is very nervous that we will see some of its 1.7 million barrels a day shut in for some period," said Steve Turner, an oil analyst at Commerzbank Securities. YUKOS has said the company could collapse by mid-August because of a freeze on its bank accounts and assets, adding that its rail shipments of oil, which make up a quarter of its total sales, could be affected soon. YUKOS, whose former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky is on trial for tax evasion and fraud, pumps a fifth of Russian oil. IRAQ VIOLENCE FEAR Traders also remain wary over accelerating Iraqi oil flows after repeated export disruptions this summer. Continued ... reuters.com

To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (597096)	7/30/2004 2:16:45 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 769667

White House forecasts record budget deficit Fri Jul 30, 2004 01:07 PM ET By Anna Willard and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday the federal budget deficit will grow to $445 billion this fiscal year, a new record likely to fuel election-year wrangles about President George W. Bush's economic policies. The figure, released in the White House's mid-session budget review, is well above the 2003 shortfall of $374 billion, the previous record in dollar terms. But it is $76 billion less than the $521 billion forecast for this year by the White House in February. A top official from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said recently that CBO is expecting a shortfall of less than $450 billion for the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. The Bush administration also revised up its projections for the economy from February's forecasts, saying it expected real gross domestic product growth of 4.7 percent this year, slowing to 3.7 percent in 2005. The White House in February forecast 2004 growth of 4.4 percent and 3.6 percent next year. It now expects an average unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in 2004, down from a 5.6 percent prior estimate, and it saw this rate declining to 5.3 percent next year. The projections of faster GDP growth this year came just hours after the government said real GDP slowed to an annualized growth rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter, from 4.5 percent in the first three months of 2004 after consumer spending growth dipped amid high energy prices. The figures, which were released a day after the Democratic convention and as Bush began a month of intense campaigning ahead of the Republican convention, gave ammunition to both sides in the fiscal policy debate. RED INK Democrats seized on the record deficit number to back charges that Bush's huge tax cuts are to blame for turning the surplus he inherited into red ink. "Anyway you slice it, a deficit exceeding $400 billion a year is bad news for the country," said Tom Kahn, Democratic staff director for the House Budget Committee. "In just three years the administration's failed budget policies have converted record surpluses into the biggest deficits into American history." But Republicans argue that the lowered deficit projection shows Bush has made progress toward his goal of halving the deficit in five years. They also say the recession in 2001, the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have unavoidably increased spending. A stronger economy has lifted tax revenues in recent months and contributed to the downward revision in the budget gap. However, costs for the Iraq war have been higher than expected. Lawmakers this month approved an extra $25 billion request for the 2005 fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1 but the Pentagon has said it may need to dip into that money before the end of the current year. Bush is expected to ask for a larger sum when the election is over. The White House missed its July 15 deadline for releasing the report. The budget update comes as the Bush campaign works to refine a second-term economic agenda for the president to roll out in coming weeks. Conservative Republicans are pressing Bush to make an overhaul of Social Security a key campaign theme. But some Republicans said the anticipated large cost may weigh against giving it heavy emphasis in the campaign. (Additional reporting by Alister Bull) reuters.com