mr-knowitall's diary

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I can summarize briefly: Kerry accuses Bush of hiding a secret plan to send call up more reservists after the election. He claims Bush wants to wait till after the election, and then spring it on the military, and that Bush is out of touch, doesn't he really know what's happening, and that he should stop being in denial.

Secret plan, John? Is the President also posed before the United Nations, left pinky pointing astutely to the corner of his mouth demanding 1 Kahjillion Dollars, or he's going to liberate another country? Who's out of touch? You can't even get your position on Iraq solidified. The nerve of that guy.

The White House denies the accusation, spokesman Steve Schmidt said, "John Kerry's conspiracy theory of a secret troop deployment is completely irresponsible, "John Kerry didn't launch this attack when he spoke to the National Guard because he knows they know it is false and ridiculous."

Even if we assume it's true, shouldn't Kerry and the Democrats be applauding it since one of their complaints is that we are understaffed in Iraq.

There's not a lot I can say about this that hasn't been said. There are many who claim that it shows the clear bias in the liberal media, that Dan Rather has been exposed and a partisan hack, or that CBS 60 Minutes was simply duped.

My opinion? I can't really speak for Dan Rather and what his motivations are. Many feel that he is so institutionalized as a media elite that he really doesn't know the difference. This is what I tend to believe. I do think in light of the overwhelming evidence regarding the disposition of the Killian Memos that CBS is foolish to stand by them, and judging by the recent ratings drop they've had; people are letting their sentiments be known.

One thing is clear because of all of this: CBS, NBC, & ABC are no longer the forces they once were in the media. The new media is taking over. It's an interactive media where many voices are heard, and we are part of it here. It's an exciting time we live in.

One thing I want to post here is that there is yet another contradiction, and yet another source CBS is ignoring. Read the article, it speaks for itself. (See Article)

This is an interesting contrast to the Kerry Campaign. What's not pointed out in the article is the reason why the Associated Press is able to sue the Pentagon under the 'Freedom of Information Act' is because Bush signed a 180 Form the releases his right to privacy regarding those records. This is a clear indication that he has nothing to hide.

The contrast? John Kerry has yet to sign a 180 Form releasing his military records.

A New 527 Destine to Drag the Kerry Camp to Further Depths. (See Article)

Three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while seated on the shoulders of her father, Phil Parlock, after having their Bush-Cheney sign torn up by Kerry-Edwards supporters on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va. Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards made a brief stop at the airport as he concluded his two-day bus tour to locations in West Virginia and Ohio. (AP Photo/Randy Snyder)

Those big, bad, mean democrats. Poor Sophie... This poor girl is going to have nightmares about democrats for the rest of her life.

My problem is not with the results of the poll, just the way it data is presented.

The Poll was done two parts: 1st over a 3 day period (9/8-10) and then over a four day period (9/11-14). The first poll resulted in a 54%-38% Bush lead, and the second resulted in a 47%-46% Bush lead.

Now, they should never have divided the data up. The results would be a lot more believable if it were taken perhaps at 1 to 2 week intervals, but this was done over 7 consecutive days. To further confuse things, there was nothing of significance that happened between between the two samplings that could have caused the gap to close so suddenly. My analysis concludes that the two samplings should be combined; thus resulting in a 50.5%-42.5% Bush lead.

This also makes it more consistent with the Gallup Poll that shows Bush up 54%-40%. The Rasmussen Poll is even beginning to show some widening.

Since two weeks before the GOP Convention, Kerry has been slipping. I personally don't believe it has as much to do with Swift Boat vets as much as it has to do with people getting a better look at John Kerry. We look at George W. Bush, and we've had 4 years to judge him, and like him or not, you know he says what he means, and has convictions that he holds to. Most polls show that this is a perception that is held by more than 60% of likely voters. This is what is hurting Kerry. While many may feel that they would to see some else leading the country, they overwhelmingly are saying they don't want that person to be Him.

Kerry was a virtual unknown outside of Massachusetts and political circles until earlier this year. Many were eager to see someone new, and were willing to give Kerry a chance; ergo he lead in the polls through most of summer. Now we are seeing him seriously slip in states that are traditionally democrat strong holds: Minnesota, New Jersey, and even New York. If that is the case, I can only imagine what's happening in key battleground states. (well, I know... and it's all good too)

I know that earlier this year I predicted Bush to win, but I have to admit that there was a point where I was beginning to doubt he would. I'm still not confident of this hopeful eventuality, but I am feeling better, and there is a lot of hard work left to do. And as Sean Hannity said today we should be acting like we are 5 points behind, and stay that way until after the election.

Al Gore's former campaign manager Donna Brazille said that John Kerry has been behind before, and has come from behind to win. I think that a viable opinion, and it should serve to Bush supporters as a reason not relax and coast into November. To do so would certainly be folly.

However, Mr. Kerry did that in one the most liberal states in the union. He has a lot of ground to cover, and by most standards, he's seriously hurting right now. His recent campaign actions speak directly to that. He's already bringing out the race card claiming that republicans are plotting to deny blacks the right vote.

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