Talboito.com

Some guy has posted notes on a Q&A with pollster John Zogby.
He is right about one thing:

* Both candidates get 47% each just for showing up. The election is bigger than the two personalities involved. The 5 or 6% of undecideds are a very fluid group.

And wrong about another:

The 4 million Christian Conservative “myth” [...]

Iran has made its Presidential endorsement.
They want Bush.
Seems Bush is life on easy street:

“We should not forget that most sanctions and economic pressures were imposed on Iran during the time of Clinton,” Rowhani said. “And we should not forget that during Bush’s era — despite his hard-line and baseless rhetoric against Iran — he [...]

Shorter David Brooks:

Kerry isn’t being passive so I will criticize him for being aggressive.

Mr. Brooks also stumbles over an explanation for Bush’s debate difficulties:

The truth, however, is that voters are not idiots. They are capable of independent thought. If you attack your opponent wildly, ruthlessly, they will come to their own conclusions.

Crash! Smash! Splurch!
(”injuring several people”, (sorry))

David Adesnik remains waffley undecided. Nevertheless he gives a tepid nod to Kerry.
Why not be at least lukewarm?

…my most profound concern about Kerry is [not?] his naivete with regard to multilateral diplomacy. Rather, it is his total resistance to making about any positive statement about the importance of ensuring a democratic outcome in Iraq.

I had [...]

A story about electoral misconduct in Belarus exhibits a Dog Bites Man kind of normalcy. Ballots were stuffed. Protestors were arrested. The will of the people was mangled beyond recognition. Etc.
Pretty obvious.
Except, of course, our erstwhile allies in the War on Terror see things differently:

Russia’s Foreign Ministry put its stamp of approval on the [...]

The New York Times retained a hack religion writer named Paul Kengor to counter Donald Suskin’s reality-based critique of President Bush’s governing style.

The fact is that George W. Bush’s foreign policy was defined by Sept. 11, not by his faith. Had it not been for Sept. 11, he would be shaping a presidency around compassionate [...]

Howard Kurtz begins an article on media bias by asking two questions:

Are the media’s truth-squadding troops ganging up on George W. Bush? And if so, does he deserve it?

His subsequent column never answers these questions, so I will in his stead.
Yes and Yes.

Donald suskin has a long article about President Bush’s governing style in the New York Times.
A representative anecdote:

”I don’t know why you’re talking about Sweden,” Bush said. ”They’re the neutral one. They don’t have an army.”
Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ”Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. [...]

Reuters has managed to juxtapose two terribly headlined stories.

Kerry Unfit to Lead Amid ‘Great Threats’, Bush Says
Bush Turned His Back on Middle Class, Kerry Says

I appreciate the purpose of these types of articles. Wire services feel required to provide unfiltered, informative material.
But many, Jon Stewart especially, have observed that acting merely as an amplifier [...]