On the Campaign Trail

President Bush hits Knoxville for a million dollars and manages to charm the faithful:

Cindy Vanosdale, 40, and Julie Emert, 34, both of Knoxville, joined the crowd after searching 30 minutes for a parking spot. Vanosdale carried a hand-written sign proclaiming “Bush, we love you cause you love Jesus and Israel.”

[Note to self: contact the DNC and urge them to drop the anti-Jesus plank from the party platform.]
There’s a few comments in Howard Dean’s closet which might not play so well in Iowa:

“If you look at the caucuses system, they are dominated by the special interests in both parties,” he [Dean] said. “[And] the special interests don’t represent the centrist tendencies of the American people. They represent the extremes. And then you get a president who is beholden to either one extreme or the other, and where the average person is in the middle.”

and (NY Times):

“George Bush is, I believe, in his soul a moderate,” and adding about those thinking that Mr. Bush’s presidency would be a one-term one, “that is going to be a mistake.”

Elsewhere in Iowa, the latest Survey USA poll shows Edwards surging 7% to 17% over the last month.
Finally, Wesley Clark has picked up a big endorsement:

I’ve never done this before. But life is about taking risks is it not?
I know that people seem to pay attention to everything I do. Big or Small. Ridiculous or Sublime. So I am hoping they pay attention to this:
I am supporting General Wesley Clark for President.
Not only as a “celebrity” but as an American citizen and as a mother. I want my children to grow up with the same opportunities that I had � to know and understand what’s going on in the world and to travel that world safely and with pride.
Now I’m asking you to join me.

Speaking of endorsements, stay tuned to Resonance for a major announcement in the next few days.

Saddam’s Health

At the time of his capture, a lot of hot air was exchanged regarding the fate of Saddam Hussein. Who should try him? Would he be subject to the death penalty?
If this report is true, much of that debate may become moot:

The ousted Iraqi dictator, who is currently under custody with the coalition forces, suffers from cancer of lymph glands, Kuwaiti Al-Anba daily reads, citing an Iraqi official. According to the daily, the disease is in an advanced stage, so doctors predict the former dictator would probably live a couple of years more.
Doctors came out with the fatal diagnosis while making thorough medical checking of Saddam Hussein at his capture near his hometown of Tikrit in December 2003.
Allegations of Saddam’s illness appeared during the military campaign in Iraq last year, when one of his private doctors, residing in Syria, claimed that the former dictator suffered from cancer.

Via TalkLeft.

Left Behind

Oh my:

Mary and Brian Neely claim their son, first grader Logan Neely, was denied a chance to see Bush because he put his head down in class Wednesday. The Neelys said Logan wasn’t feeling good.
They also say the school punished him by sending him home early and denying him the chance to meet the president Thursday.
. . .
Mary says her son has had some minor behavior problems in school, but not for failing to do work. She thinks the school is singling Logan out, on a very big day in his life. “So, we were just kind of upset because he’s (President Bush) here for No Child Left Behind and mine is sitting on the couch today.”

Poor Logan. Apparently his parents didn’t realize that for a mere $1k he could have had lunch with the president in the GOP silver spoon cafeteria.

Lost Ticket Hoax

This is shocking:

A woman admitted through tears Thursday that she lied about losing the winning ticket for a $162 million lottery prize, saying: “I wanted to win so badly for my kids and my family.”
Elecia Battle, 40, is dropping her lawsuit to block payment of the 11-state Mega Millions jackpot to the certified winner, her lawyer Sheldon Starke said.
“I wanted to win,” Battle said. “The numbers were so overwhelming. I did buy a ticket and I lost it. I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize.”

Notwithstanding this woman’s criminal history, I don’t think we should be too hard on her. If she lost a ticket, there was a 1 in 80 million chance that it could have been the winning one. I think she was entitled to a lawsuit to prove that her ticket wasn’t the 1 in 80 million.
As it turns out, I also badly want $162 million for my family, laid-off policemen, the homeless, cancer patients . . . but mainly for myself. Where do I sign up for lost and found lottery tickets?

Political Theology

If this is an example of how Howard Dean is going to talk about his religion, perhaps he shouldn’t be doing it:

“The overwhelming evidence is that there is very significant, substantial genetic component to it (homosexuality),” Dean said in an interview Wednesday. “From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people.”

I’m not sure where homosexuality falls in the nature versus nurture debate, but the fact that it exists doesn’t mean that God approves of it. Humans are capable of doing plenty of things which God probably didn’t intend for them to do.
I do give Dean credit for being honest in discussing the role religion has paid in his political decision making:

In the interview Wednesday, Dean said that he does not often consider his religious views when making policy. “I don’t go through an inventory like that when making public policy decisions,” he said.

That’s the approach officeholders should have. Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, I don’t think such an admission will be very helpful to his campaign.

No Free Speech Zone Here

I made my way over to the GeorgeWBush.com official blog for the first time today to see what it said about his Knoxville visit. I see that fund raisers aren’t “fund raisers” in Bush’s world; they’re “luncheons” or “receptions.”
I wanted to leave a comment wishing my president well, but there’s no comment feature available. I guess the secret service must have determined public feedback is a threat to Bush’s re-election security.