Ashcroft Quits Top Justice Post; Evans Going, Too

The New York Times > Washington > Ashcroft Quits Top Justice Post; Evans Going, Too

Now I'm certainly glad to see this guy go, get a load of what he said:

The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.

Seriously? Do you believe this nonsense?

No Surrender

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: No Surrender

After two days of listening to this "mandate" and "political capital" nonsense, it is clear to me that Bush intends to try and run us over with his agenda. And I intend to keep fighting it.

We are the 49% of voters who do not want Bush in office, and we should not allow ourselves to be bullied into accepting the theories of a powerful mandate, political capital, or cultural shift. We must continue fighting.

Krugman agrees:
President Bush isn't a conservative. He's a radical - the leader of a coalition that deeply dislikes America as it is. Part of that coalition wants to tear down the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt, eviscerating Social Security and, eventually, Medicare. Another part wants to break down the barriers between church and state. And thanks to a heavy turnout by evangelical Christians, Mr. Bush has four more years to advance that radical agenda.

Democrats are now, understandably, engaged in self-examination. But while it's O.K. to think things over, those who abhor the direction Mr. Bush is taking the country must maintain their intensity; they must not succumb to defeatism.

President Bush's News Conference

The New York Times > Washington > Transcript of President Bush's News Conference:
"You ask, do I feel free? Let me put it to you this way. I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That's what happened in -- after the 2000 election. I earned some capital. I've earned capital in this election, and I'm going to spend it for -- for what -- what I told the people I'd spend it on, which is -- you've heard the agenda -- Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror. "

Do you believe this guy?

A mandate?

Washington Times: President Bush clinched a second term yesterday after Sen. John Kerry decided against forcing a dramatic political standoff, clearing the way for the Bush team to declare a mandate for four more years.

Times-Picayune: Emboldened by substantial gains in Congress, Republicans declared that Tuesday's election gives them a mandate to push a more conservative agenda.

Yahoo! News (AP): The White House claimed a second-term mandate Thursday for President Bush's agenda to keep taxes low and revamp Social Security, appealing to Democrats to help bridge America's political divide after a bitter election.

At 51% of the popular vote, no one should be claiming a mandate. One state made the difference. One. But don't expect the Administration to see it any other way. And they'll be selling it to us to justify pushing through their agenda.

The New York Times reminds us, though: Four years ago, according to Vice President Dick Cheney, when Mr. Bush lost the popular vote and seemed to be in a position where consensus-seeking was a given, White House officials thought about taking a compromise centrist route for "about 30 seconds" before grabbing their old partisan agenda and running with it. In his speech yesterday, Mr. Cheney stressed the president's mandate. Given the way Mr. Cheney behaved during the first term, it's unnerving to imagine what he may have in mind now.

Friedman's blue

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Two Nations Under God

Thomas Friedman sounds blue.

Is it a country that does not intrude into people's sexual preferences and the marriage unions they want to make? Is it a country that allows a woman to have control over her body? Is it a country where the line between church and state bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers should be inviolate? Is it a country where religion doesn't trump science? And, most important, is it a country whose president mobilizes its deep moral energies to unite us - instead of dividing us from one another and from the world?

Well...

I'm not really sure what happened, but I'm not happy about it. Is it possible that Bush had the country scared enough that we don't dare vote for anyone else or face the wolves? Or are we really becoming a Christian country? The real problem is that Bush will think he was right. He will believe that his policies are the right ones and he will continue this "stay the course" nonsense. He will have control of the House and Senate and will push through any bit of right wing nonsense they want. He has no need to move to the center. He didn't believe in governing from the center last time and now with a majority of the vote we can look forward to a return of the Federal Marriage Amendment, Rehinquist and maybe another couple justices will retire, there will be more destructive environmental bills like "Clear Skies" and "Healthy Forests." It's bad.

So, what went wrong? The exit polls tell us that the youth vote didn't turn out. Didn't turn out. Voter turnout was up, but it turns out that they were all Christians voting for Bush. And the Right will tell us that this is the way the country is going, that the Michael Moore and Howard Dean left is just an over-represented minority. And maybe it's true if we can legislate discrimination in however many states last night.

Oh, but maybe it's too close to call? Sure, sure. Count for every vote. Fight for every vote. But I'm not holding my breath. Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell is no trustworthy sort, but I don't know the details so I'm not counting on it.

Hooray for small victories: Ken Salazar won the Senate race in Colorado.

Vote, vote, vote, vote

Okay, vote, but only do it once.
Today is the day. This is the day I've been looking forward to for quite a while. It is our chance to let the President and the world know what we feel about the man and his policies. And it's close. And that makes it incredibly important that we all get out there and vote. In fact, do more than that. Get on the phone and call every one you know and make sure they get out and vote. Remind them to remind their friends. I know that after months of the most despicable political ads that we just want to be done with it, but we have the responsibility to vote. This election is much too important to stay home.

I'm looking forward to a long night of watching unreliable reporting from the media tonight. If we've learned anything over the last few weeks, it's that we can't rely on polls. So why should we rely on polls tonight. We're not going to know until they really start counting. We should all cross our fingers that it's not close.