Breaking Through The Analysis

From the Sep. 28 Washington Post, explaining why Bush leads in the polls:

Bush's relentless attacks on Kerry have badly damaged the Democratic nominee, the survey and interviews showed. Voters routinely describe Kerry as wishy-washy, as a flip-flopper and as a candidate they are not sure they can trust, almost as if they are reading from Bush campaign ad scripts.

Because, of course, Bush supporters can't think for themselves.

But Kerry's problems are also partly of his own making. Despite repeated efforts to flesh out his proposals on Iraq, terrorism and other issues, he has yet to break through to undecided voters as someone who has clear plans for fixing the country's biggest problems.

This tortuous description of a candidate having no clear position on major issues, also asks why undecided voters can't decide whether to support a candidate who is -- indecisive. D'oh!

The article also goes on to state that Bush is a "polarizing figure." Translation: if I don't like your positions, and you're ahead of my candidate (this is essential), then you're a polarizing figure.

If Kerry were way ahead of Bush, neither Bush nor Kerry would be described as polarizing. And of course, Kerry does not now meet either of the requirements of their definition. He cannot. Which is their dilemma.

Is It Over?

Now that CBS has confessed (after 12 days) that the TexANG memos were bogus, and that the source was a disgruntled Guardsman, is the story over?

I mean, it's plain that CBS hopes the story will die on the vine (does anyone really believe Rather's claim that an internal investigation is under way?), and other big media outlets will turn to other stories, as the memos are now "old news." Yawn.

After all, how many still care about Sandy Berger? Remember him? Stolen and lost classified documents?

So Burkett knows where the documents came from. But he's not saying. Never mind that at least two federal felonies were committed (falsifying governement records, wire fraud), and that withholding this knowledge makes Burkett complicit, another felony. And what about election tampering? Libel and slander?

Does the law mean anything any more? Does anyone care?

Casual or Connected?

Has anyone noticed that the stock market and GOP election polls seem to be tracking together?

At the beginning of the year, the market was taking on bearish signs as the polls showed Kerry and Bush in a dead heat, and began declining seriously after the DNC in July, with the the DJIA falling below 10,000 as Kerry took a slight lead.

But once the Kerry bounce failed to materialize, and the Kerry-Edwards lead began to wane, the market began climbing again, and began a rally after the RNC, while the Bush bounce exceeded expectations.

Are investors gaining confidence with the prospect of a GOP victory? Or is it really improving economic news that propel voters to favor the incumbent?

Memo to File