John's Blog

October Suprise?
Gentlemen, place your bets here on which "October Suprise" might occur. So far, $12 is in the pot.

URBAN vs. RURAL
"The nation has gone through a big sort, a sifting of people and politics into what is becoming two Americas. One is urban and Democratic, the other Republican, suburban and rural.....Urban rural, urban rural, urban rural: say it over and over. That's the big split in American politics, and as Bishop points out, the difference is becoming starker every year."

Framing Kerry vs. Bush
"Kerry isn't a flip-flopper. He simply adjusts his approach to a changing situation as it develops. Bush isn't decisive. He just stubbornly puts forward the same one-size-fits-all solution to every problem that comes his way. It's easy enough for a clever talker to paint flexibility as spinelessness and inflexibility as determination. But clever talkers have been selling us empty promises since man first learned to talk. Clever talk has never solved anything. The world is changing every day. Stubbornness is a liability we simply can't afford."

A strident minority: anti-Bush US troops in Iraq
"Inside dusty, barricaded camps around Iraq, groups of American troops in between missions are gathering around screens to view an unlikely choice from the US box office: "Fahrenheit 9-11," Michael Moore's controversial documentary attacking the commander-in-chief.....The film's prevalence is one sign of a discernible countercurrent among US troops in Iraq - those who blame President Bush for entangling them in what they see as a misguided war."