Monday, September 04, 2006
Good News Gets Better - GOP In Disarray
Midterm Elections
The thought of November 7th, when midterm elections will be held, is making Republican Congressional candidates lose sleep. They thought they were invincible and their egos made them act at times like kings, at times like clowns (the posturing about Freedom Fries and Freedom Toasts, for example). Now they are looking at the handwriting on the wall. Their prospects are dismal. But they wrote the book on dirty tricks and they have the money for a blitz of ads; negative ads work. Then there are expectations that the Bush administration will pull a rabbit out of the hat -- an October surprise. Could happen but even that might not enable the Republicans to retain control of the House. Dan Balz and David Broder in the Post: "Facing the most difficult political environment since they took control of Congress in 1994, Republicans begin the final two months of the midterm campaign in growing danger of losing the House while fighting to preserve at best a slim majority in the Senate, according to strategists and officials in both parties."
Labor Day 2006
*****
Over the summer, the political battlefield has expanded well beyond the roughly 20 GOP House seats originally thought to be vulnerable. Now some Republicans concede there may be almost twice as many districts from which Democrats could wrest the 15 additional seats they need to take control. President Bush's low approval ratings, the sharp divisions over the war in Iraq, dissatisfaction with Congress, and economic anxiety caused by high gasoline prices and stagnant wages have alienated independent voters, energized the Democratic base and thrown once-safe Republican incumbents on the defensive. As the campaign season begins, Democrats are trying to guard against premature celebration, even as their prospects are brighter than most ever imagined. Republicans are hoping for some outside event that would show the president and their party in a better light -- a spate of good news from Iraq, a foiled terrorist plot or an unlikely break in the deadlock over immigration on Capitol Hill. |
Labor Day 2006
Remember the Veterans. "Healing War Wounds",an article by Karen Breslau in Newsweek describes radically new approach to rehabilitation of injured soldiers. "To address the problem, the military has adopted a holistic mind-body approach, deploying a fleet of experts ranging from orthopedic surgeons to therapists to work on the wounded. Doctors insist on group therapy to help cope with the guilt that often dogs survivors who have lost—or left—comrades on the battlefield. Of special concern are the service members, like Smith, classified by the Pentagon as "severely injured"—having lost limbs or eyesight, or suffering burns, paralysis or debilitating brain injuries that will not emerge fully in some cases for years. "Technology has advanced to the point where we can salvage patients who would not have survived before," says Lt. Col. John McManus of the Army's Institute for Surgical Research in San Antonio, Texas. "The bigger test is psychological. Can we restore a life worth living?"
Iraq War - the tolls: U.S. Soldiers
September 1/3,2006: 10 - Total todate 2652
Injured 10782 (as updated by DOD Aug.30,2006)
Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties
Iraq War - the tolls: U.S. Soldiers
September 1/3,2006: 10 - Total todate 2652
Injured 10782 (as updated by DOD Aug.30,2006)
Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties
