South End Grounds

Anyone care to lay odds?

Sure Sign of a Loser

According to John Kerry, he lost because "too many people were denied their right to vote."  Several solidly Democratic constituencies were affected.  Among them:  illegal aliens, felons, unregistered voters and dead people.

It seems some Democrats did a little more than kick the tires.

The next time you hear a Democrat bellyaching about election tampering, ballot access or counting every vote, remind them of this.  And then ask them to name one, just one, Republican operative who has been indicted for keeping someone from the polls. 

On the Death of Liberalism In Austin Texas

Andrew Ferguson pens one of the finest pieces of journalism I have read in a long, long time. He writes about the fall of liberalism in Texas, its current state of malaise and how it led to the Dan Rather episode. It's long but the its the best 20 minutes you'll spend today.

Ramesh Ponnuru dubbed President Bush's convention speech "The End of Liberalism." If he leaves the country in the same shape he left Austin, Texas, Ponnuru may be right. We can hope.

Kicking Tires and E. German Judges

Rich Galen kicks the tires on the Presidential candidates. I couldn't agree more. The story of this election might be "Dated Kerry, Married Bush."

There's the George W. Bush I Know

While not a perfect showing, George W. Bush acquitted himself quite nicely during tonight's debate. Steady, resolute and long on the qualities that have endeared him to so many of us. His command of the issues was stronger than he displayed last week. But more importantly he demonstrated the personal qualities that have fueled his Presidency and have made admirers of so many, including myself. He stepped on a few words but that has come to be expected. Yet the lasting image will be the stark contrast that both candidates provided America.

The President did something I have been hoping to hear by calling John Kerry what he is...a liberal. Kerry, while he ran from the label, wasn't shy about proving that it fit. And this is why I am so pleased with how this campaign has played out.

For the first time since 1984, we have a contest between two intelligent men with starkly contrasting views of America and the world she leads. Bush I, Clinton, Dole, Clinton, Gore, and to a lesser extent, Bush II in 2000 dove to the middle. Each time, with the exception of 2000, the country was given a choice between two candidates who worked incredibly hard not distinguish themselves from the other. This year America has a clear choice and I'm confident America will choose well.

Debate Feed

As you watch the debate Thursday evening, tune into the Grounds for live reaction to Kerry's lies, half-truths and flip-flops. No, I won't be live-blogging because I'm no good at that kind of thing. And I have to attend a legislative debate and watch the Presidential affair on the greatest invention since the Thermos, TiVo.

You can follow every Kerryism that comes out of his orange face by watching the live feed shown below. Get your notepads out so you can lambaste your liberal friends around the water cooler on Friday. (I don't get to deal with liberals around my water cooler. I love working in a brokerage house.)

The Kerry Tax Hike

How much more will you pay in taxes if John Kerry is elected and his free-spending agenda is implemented?

Brian Reidl says somewhere between $2100 and $2800 per household per year...on top of his promised tax hikes.

That's unacceptable to me. But if you're okay with it, by all means, vote for John Kerry.

The Smartest Man in France

By way of the Washington Post's David Ignatius, we learn about a French Arabist with a novel question: Are the terrorists losing the war on terror? Gilles Kepel, author of "The War for Muslim Minds", seems to think so. He argues that rather than wage a jihad, bin Laden and those of his ilk have "created chaos and destruction in the house of Islam."

As you watch the Presidential debate on Thursday night, remember Ignatius' words,

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has been toppled; the fence-sitting semi-Islamist regime in Saudi Arabia has taken sides more strongly with the West; Islamists in Sudan and Libya are in retreat; and the plight of the Palestinians has never been more dire. And Baghdad, the traditional seat of the Muslim caliphs, is under foreign occupation. Not what you would call a successful jihad.

If you disagree, by all means, vote for John Kerry.

A Swift Boat Without a Rudder

Dick Morris (no, I'm not particularly a fan) has a nice piece on everything that ills the Kerry campaign. His basic premise is two-fold.

1) Kerry's base is so divided amongst itself about Iraq that it is impossible for him to form a coherent message on the war. The only thing they can agree on is vitriolic hatred for Pres. Bush.

2) The strength of the economy has undermined the only line attack left for Kerry absent a foreign policy message.

At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, this election is O-V-E-R! You cannot reshape a campaign without a message in six weeks, especially a Presidential campaign. But the real money quote from the article is this:

Add to those elements the self-promotion of Kerry’s advisers who cannot keep their mouths shut and insist on grabbing the limelight from their candidate, and you have one of the worst-run campaigns since the time this same team made its national debut: The ill-fated campaign against Bush’s father by another liberal Democrat from Massachusetts, Gov. Mike Dukakis, in 1988.

I hope Democrats nominate Massachusettsites (or whatever they call themselves) every year!