Thursday, August 26, 2004

POLITICS -- All We Have to Fear is the Next 67 Days

Campaign Cash Report. Senator John Kerry has raised a record amount of money among Democrats -- $233 million. Compare that with Vice President Al Gore’s $50 million in the last election. The amount is still shy of President Bush’s $244 million. (Bloomberg)

Cashing in on Campaigns. In and election this tight, every vote counts -- and every vote is valuable. So James Pengo of Elyria, Ohio, put his vote up for sale on e-bay. Figured he'd develop his own platform for dealing with the economy. Openning bid was $50. e-bay caught the criminal act and canceled the bidding. Representatives from the Bush and Kerry camps carrying large suitcases of money to Ohio could not be reached for comment.(USA Today)

Having It Both Ways. In a half hour interview with the New York Times, President Bush dismissed any idea that John Kerry lied about his Vietnam service. Then the President refused again to condemn the ads that claim Kerry lied about his Vietnam service. Was that a “flip-flop?” (NYT)

Book on It. Political books promise to be big bestsellers through the election. Book tours are taking on a campaign swing mentality to cash in before election day. (Seattle PI)

Politicians Encourage Plagarism. Some political websites go so far as to create ‘cut-and-paste’ sections that allow supporters to build letters to the editor of their local papers. A recent survey of such letters found 20 in different papers with the same complex phrasing. Both the Bush and Kerry campaigns are doing it. Senator Joseph Biden has got to be saying, "Why didn't I think of that." (WashPost)

The Naked Truth. The tourism folks in New York City were offering discounts to thattractions around the Big Apple for all the Republican National Convention delegates coming to town. They’ve now pulled one attraction: Naked Boys Singing – a play featuring naked boys singing. (USA Today)

Kinda Like “Grand Theft Auto” – But Probably More Violent. Bush and Kerry slug it out in a new video game – one of several cashing in on the Presidential race.

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