- Richard Greene
- 31 Oct 06, 08:47 PM
George Bush and Dick Cheney have been working overtime (and racking up air miles) to in the final days before the elections, and on Monday they got a gift from an unexpected source: John Kerry.
As the president was telling the good people of Texas that the Democrats did not want to win in Iraq, his former rival was in California insulting the troops.
Or so Mr Bush and his spokesman would have us believe. And when you review Mr Kerry’s comment, it’s hard to argue:
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," he said, eliciting chuckles from the students. (You can hear his words here.)
The president demanded an apology, and some furious also pounced, calling Mr Kerry a disgrace.
Senator Kerry in response, saying he had botched a joke aimed at the president - and that he would apologise to no-one for his criticism. But his tough talk reminded me of an old political maxim: If you're explaining, you're losing.
John Kerry clearly thinks he is going to run for president again in 2008. If he doesn’t have jokes funnier than this, he's going to lose again. And in the meantime, he's not doing his party any favours this year.
Richard Greene is the ±«Óătv News website's Washington reporter
- Claire Bolderson
- 31 Oct 06, 04:50 PM
It was great to see Congressman in action at the last debate of the campaign in Nashville. He's the young black Democratic Party candidate for the Senate in Tennessee, and he could well win.
Ford was relaxed on stage, at times a little cocky perhaps. He managed to get in a few jabs at his opponent , but what was more impressive was the way he finessed his message.
He's selling himself as a conservative on social issues. He's anti-gay marriage and anti-gun control, for example, and he talks passionately about his Christianity. And somehow he manages it wrap it all up in a theme that will appeal to disillusioned Republicans as well as Democrats - the need for change in Washington.
Afterwards, both candidates came into the media room. Everyone descended on Bob Corker because he was first to arrive, but attention quickly shifted to Harold Ford when he came in.
He's definitely today's man, quite charismatic, fast on his feet with questions and never deviating from what by now must be a carefully honed mental script.
I couldn't help wondering, though, what liberal Democrats think about him. At one point in the debate he referred to his support for President Bush's law on military commissions to try terror suspects, acknowledging that some people weren't happy with that.
The woman next to me, a supporter, said loudly and angrily "too right". She'll vote for him, though, because he could help deliver the Senate into Democratic Party hands.
Claire Bolderson presents ±«Óătv radio's World Tonight and Newshour
- The Reporters
- 31 Oct 06, 03:39 PM
Blackwhite: The president's warning that a Democratic victory means defeat in Iraq is a sign that the Republican fear machine is sputtering and grinding itself into incoherent fear-mongering pieces in the final week of this campaign.
Hyscience: The Democrats have somehow forgotten that neither President Bush nor the Republicans are the enemy - the Islamic terrorists that are murdering people throughout Iraq and elsewhere throughout the world are.
No Matter What They Tell Us has a joke about an Indian chief in training to become a member of Congress.
- Claire Bolderson
- 30 Oct 06, 09:16 PM
Reading some of the warnings of impending Republican meltdown next week - coming from both sides I hasten to add - you’d think the party’s core supporters had vanished off the face of the earth.
Well, if rural Tennessee is anything to go by, they haven’t - and contrary to Karl Rove’s greatest fears, many of them will be turning out to vote. People like Janice Bowling, who has stood as a Republican candidate in the past and was busy persuading people to support the Republican candidate for the Senate at a big barbeque competition in .
As far as she, and many others I met there are concerned, the still stands for what they believe in: low taxes, no gay marriage, no abortion and above all belief in God.
As for the war in Iraq, they’re certainly not happy about it, but they don’t blame the Republicans. As one woman told me, it might not be going well, “but that’s to be expected.”
And the scandals amongst Republicans in Congress? It just doesn’t seem to be an issue. In the smaller towns and the countryside, Republicans are more concerned with the character and experience of the local candidates.
Democrats, undecideds and some moderate Republicans may see this election as a verdict on the national leadership of the past five-and-a-half years, but the committed Republicans I met in rural Tennessee do not.
Claire Bolderson presents ±«Óătv radio's World Tonight and Newshour
- Lourdes Heredia
- 30 Oct 06, 04:55 PM
How things have changed since 2004! Iraq was used to win the elections that year. Has it become a liability today?
I feel the new mood everywhere. Last weekend, for example, I saw Heather Raffo's amazing, exquisite one-woman play .
It is the story of different women in Iraq during the first Gulf War, during Saddam's regime and of course, during the actual conflict. It shows the human suffering caused by the war and it has some criticism of the .
I was sitting next to a Mr and Mrs Smith - season ticket holders who said they knew nothing about the play.
When the play ended, half of the audience or more stood up to give a long ovation to the actress. Mr and Mrs Smith stayed in their seats.
Mrs Smith praised the actress's "incredible energy", but added that she did not like the criticism of her president. Her husband found it a little "over the top" to compare the suffering of the women during the Saddam Hussein regime with the suffering of women during this war.
But, even if they didn't like the "message", Mr and Mrs Smith did not walk out on the performance.
Does that mean that they changed their mind? Will the play affect their vote?
I don't know, but what I do know is that the Smiths, like other Americans I know, are discussing Iraq much more now than before. Two years ago, debating the war was considered unpatriotic.
Today, they are at least willing to ask questions about the situation in Iraq.
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- Guto Harri
- 27 Oct 06, 10:14 PM
Forget the economy, Iraq and other major issues in this campaign.
A 32-year-old blonde in Alabama is appealing to the baser instincts of voters.
Hand over $50 to , and she'll apparently hand over a cartoon showing where her political heart lies - literally.
The 's candidate for governor doesn't have the money to launch a credible campaign at the moment, but she is drawing a lot of attention by focusing on her cleavage.
Her campaign is offering T-shirts and marijuana stash boxes displaying her plunging neckline with the words: "More of these boobs" over pictures of other candidates for governor (Republican Bob Riley and Democrat Lucy Baxley) with the words: "And less of these boobs."
"It started out as a joke, Ms Nall told the Associated Press, "but it blew up into something huge".
Guto Harri is the ±«Óătv's North America business correspondent.
- Claire Bolderson
- 27 Oct 06, 04:54 PM
I’m about to set off to cover my seventh US election campaign and right now I wouldn’t put any money on predicting the outcome. I made that mistake (along with the entire ±«Óătv Washington bureau I might add) at my first election - in 1994.
We held an office sweepstake but not one of us predicted the Republican Revolution, as it became known. The lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. The new House speaker, Newt Gingrich, led his troops to Capitol Hill on a wave of protest votes against incumbents.
That was dubbed the year of the “Angry White Man”. I rather suspect that this time around as I travel through Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio I might come across him again.
Angry this time with a -dominated Congress mired in scandal, but also worried about still being at war in Iraq, and anxious about the economic and physical security of his kids.
That’s not to say I’m expecting the Democrats to storm back in. One of the questions I intend to ask of them on my trip: “What are you offering the American people as an alternative?”
Of course, the answer will vary from race to race, and the polling evidence suggests the Democratic Party doing well in a number of places. But it’s a finely divided electorate at a time of tremendous national insecurity, and with less than two weeks to go, I for one am not placing any bets.
Claire Bolderson presents ±«Óătv radio's World Tonight and Newshour
- The Reporters
- 27 Oct 06, 03:09 PM
Washington Post: This year's negative campaign advertising is eccentric, filled with allegations of moral bankruptcy and sexual perversion.
Los Angeles Times: As it looks more likely that Democrats will take control of Congress, pro-business groups have found a sudden urge to donate to their campaigns. (Registration required)
USA Today: Officials are working to avoid a repeat of breakdowns in voting technology that were seen earlier this year.
- Justin Webb
- 26 Oct 06, 10:16 PM
Are the making the same mistake the Democrats did in 2000?
I know plenty of Republican candidates do not want to be seen with the president, and the Democrats have been using the Bush visage in their adverts - but isn't it time to tackle this in a Rovian way and turn the apparent weak card into the Ace?
I remember one trip with President Bush during the 2002 midterms. We seemed to dot around from event to event in a dizzy pace for days, and - apart from lack of sleep and too much fried food - what I recall most strongly was the sheer excitement these events generated.
And the fact (and it is a fact) that the man himself looked a million times better and more comfortable in his own skin in this environment than in he does in DC.
So if I were advising the Republican party - Hell, no, I am advising them - I would say get your man out there and never mind the downside with the moderates and swingers, most of whom anyway. Concentrate on the magical powers he has over the base. If you need them this time, and you do, you need to let them know.
The Gore queasiness about Clinton cost him the 2000 election, and - let's face it - for similar reasons: The party was uneasy about its main asset and refused to overcome that uneasiness even though its core supporters would have loved it. History is repeating itself.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Lourdes Heredia
- 26 Oct 06, 05:04 PM
Immigration stirs so many emotions that it is hard to have a constructive debate about it - just ask , who had a special programme last night on CNN.
It is so controversial that it divides the members of the same party, so it should be no surprise that Congress was unable to come up with a compromise after studying immigration reform for five years.
Hours before Congress closed up shop so lawmakers could focus on getting re-elected, they approved the "", a law which President George W Bush signed today.
Some say that he waited to sign it until just days before the elections - an effort to change the focus from Iraq to security, in order to benefit the Republicans. But I am not sure that changing the debate to immigration will benefit anyone in these elections.
As I wrote in a previous post, this "secure fence act" has been called an "eggshell" law by some experts because they consider it hollow. It does not include enough funds to construct the fence, which will cover only one-third of the Mexican border - and none of the Canadian border.
Some readers said that was irrelevant.
"Why should it include a fence along the Canadian border? Illegal immigration from Canada is simply not a problem," JNG wrote.
Cruzer, another reader, also said there was no need for a fence in the north: "My dear, we don't have 12 million Canadians working in the kitchen."
Well, then, don't you think they should call this law the "Anti-Illegal Immigration Act" rather than the "Secure Fence Act"?
Whatever side you take in the debate, something does have to be done about immigration.
It has to be done for the people who feel their country - and its expensive social services - are being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants.
It has to be done for the people who live in the shadows, who are human beings and not "illegal aliens" as if they were from another planet.
It is such a complex, deep, emotional problem, that I just wish politicians would not use it in their campaigns. Why don't they use the energy they are spending now on the campaign to come up with reforms in immigration?
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- The Reporters
- 26 Oct 06, 03:45 PM
New York Times: The strain of the race is showing in gaffes and angry words, just when potential voters are paying the most attention.
USA Today: The New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage may give a boost to campaigns to outlaw it in eight other states.
St Louis Post-Dispatch: The Democrats are trying to get sympathetic voters to the polls with another ballot measure in six states, on the minimum wage.
- Katty Kay
- 26 Oct 06, 12:52 AM
Two weeks to go and Washington has election fever. Party strategists, pollsters and journalists are thinking of nothing else.
The world is about to change. Or is it?
I'm starting to get the depressing feeling these much-heralded elections might not change very much at all here in the city of political stagnation.
Democrats can taste victory and are thrilled at the prospect of winning something, anything, after so many years out of power. Desperate to woo moderate voters they promise, brows furrowed with earnest sincerity, that if they win they will not spend the next two years investigating the Bush administration.
Whether those moderates can keep a lid on the likes of , who has already suggested impeachment hearings for the president and would become head of the if the Democrats win, is unclear. The Republicans have certainly used the spectre of endless investigations for their own political means during this campaign.
But that's not what depresses me most. No, it's the lack of ideas and leadership which is really dispiriting this election season.
The Republicans are stuck in the gloom of Iraq and tumbling poll numbers. Policy ideas? You must be joking. It's all they can do to keep off the front pages.
Given the GOP doldrums, you'd think the Democrats could seize on this vacuum of ideas and come up with some eye-catching proposals of their own. I'm afraid not. The Democratic party is an ideas-free zone at the moment. Plenty of criticism, not much originality.
On both sides it's as if the paralysis caused by Iraq has infected all other areas of political life.
If the Democrats win big, the impeachment-wing of the party will feel emboldened. The result: lots of investigation, not much legislation. If the result is close neither side will have the clout to enact radical change. The result: lots of in-fighting, not much law-making.
The time is ripe for a real leader to emerge. For the past couple of weeks I've been asking people in both parties whether they can see any such figure. Is there someone new out there, someone we perhaps haven't heard of yet, who could pull the country out of logjam? So far I've only received sad shakes. No, no-one they can think of.
This 109th Congress has been aptly described as the "" Congress. Its successor could well be the do-less-than-nothing Congress.
Katty Kay is a presenter on
- Matt Frei
- 25 Oct 06, 09:32 PM
You would have to invent if she didn’t already exist. One could not imagine a more convincing candidate for a party running on the biggest issue vexing American voters these days, the Iraq war.
Major Duckworth is a former Blackhawk pilot. Such was her commitment to her unit that she volunteered to serve one more time, against the wishes of her superiors. She has a winning smile, a terrific sense of humour, an intelligent manner and no legs.
She left them on the battlefield in Iraq two years ago when her Blackhawk was hit by a grenade. Yesterday I saw her manoeuvre deftly into a campaign meeting at the . Her new metal legs were festooned with the Stars and Stripes. Next to her was , the actor gripped by the irregular tremors of advanced Parkinson’s (close up the shaking seemed genuine enough, !).
They had come to talk not about Iraq but stem cell research, which I have discovered is one of the main issues motivating swing voters and moderate Republicans to turn their backs on Mr Bush’s party. His veto of federal funding for it has turned out to be a colossal own goal.
As Tammy told us, “I don’t just talk about Iraq" - the prostheses do it for her - “I am here to discuss other issues”. The room was packed and the free media cameras rolled by the dozen.
Contrast that with the campaign event at the Manzo restaurant held by her Republican opponent , affable father of four, lawyer and state legislator with 13 years' experience. It was dark and deserted.
But hang on - Peter Roskam may well win the seat being vacated after 32 years by Rep Henry Hyde. Mr Roskam still has $1m to spend. Tammy Duckworth only has $200,000, even though they both raised the same amount ($2.5m).
He also has the benefit of a dedicated get-out-the-vote effort that knows virtually every potential Republican voter in the 6th District of Illinois by name. Means may still trump message.
Matt Frei is the ±«Óătv's senior North America TV correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 25 Oct 06, 08:37 PM
Our colleagues at ±«Óătv Radio Five Live's Up All Night programme would like to work collaboratively with bloggers, podcasters and ordinary people with a real interest in politics to help them tell the whole story of this election, and cut through some of the stereotypes about the way Americans view the issues.
If you'd like to be part of the programme's efforts to cover the mid-terms, then read the post about what they are hoping to achieve on their blog, then drop a line to upallnight@bbc.co.uk telling them a little bit about yourself.
- The Reporters
- 25 Oct 06, 03:05 PM
Washington Times: Democrats struggle not to be overconfident about the mid-terms, having been surprised by defeats in the last two elections.
Washington Post: President Bush tries to rally his conservative base by inviting dozens of sympathetic talk show hosts to the White House.
Orlando Sentinel: President Bush raised $1m for the Republican National Committee at a private event in Florida - his 44th trip to the Sunshine State as president.
- Nick Miles
- 25 Oct 06, 12:35 AM
At what point does a change in tactics constitute a de facto change of strategy? How does a "goal" differ from a "strategy" or mere "tactics"?
If the stakes weren't so high these questions might all seem a bit pedantic, mere semantics for military training school lectures. But the questions relate to the future course of American military involvement in Iraq, and with the mid-term elections fast approaching there has been an acceleration in the rhetoric coming out of the president's camp.
The spokesman, Tony Snow, has been trying to explain to the Washington press pack how you can change tactics without that having an impact on the US strategy in Iraq. But time and again the press corps has been left confused about what practical changes there will be on the ground.
The rhetorical shift from the president is more stark. For the past year, in the face of bad news from Iraq, he has insisted that America must "stay the course" rather than pull some troops out - a policy favoured by some congressmen which the president has disparagingly called "cut and run".
But now it seems the White House is not going to "stay the course". In a recent primetime television interview, President Bush denied that "stay the course" had ever been his policy. "If what you're doing is not working, change," he said.
All this of course is an attempt to make Washington appear flexible. One commentator said that the White House has realised that it can no longer "shore up a rhetorical Maginot Line that was swept aside long ago".
It's all rather perplexing and it makes many of us who've been following the twists and turns of US policy in Iraq feel as if we've woken from a long dream. There's been a Stalinesque purge of the phrase "stay the course". It has been airbrushed from the official history.
Nick Miles is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Adam Brookes
- 24 Oct 06, 08:59 PM
The US ambassador to Iraq, , and , the commander of US and multinational forces in Iraq, went on air this morning.
Their take on the situation was strikingly different from much of what one hears in Washington. According to General Casey, Iraqi armed forces should be ready to take over responsibility for security in Iraq in 12 to 18 months. According to the ambassador, a "national compact" for Iraq - in essence a new political framework for the country's future - will be in place in a year.
Their assumptions: that the effort in Iraq will continue; that success is still achievable; that the building blocks are being put in place for a "multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian, democratic Iraq". They appeared purposeful and committed.
Meanwhile, told us a couple of weeks ago that Iraq is "drifting sideways", and that the US Congress faces some "tough" choices in the next three months. Washington is fizzing with anticipation over the possibility that the Bush administration will announce a significant change in Iraq policy early in the new year.
Were Mr Khalilzad and Gen Casey put up there for political reasons? Certainly their gravitas and apparent resolve might strengthen the sense among voters that all is not lost in Iraq. And they'll shift the headlines - for today, at least - away from the morose debate in Washington.
Adam Brookes is the ±«Óătv's Pentagon correspondent.
- Guto Harri
- 24 Oct 06, 04:06 PM
Polling day, as we know, is 7 November - and a quick check of the calendar makes it clear that's still a fortnight away.
So imagine my horror, waking up in Texas this morning to see a number of candidates casting their votes on television.
I wasn't dreaming. I just hadn't heard about the "" which began yesterday and ends on 3 November.
Texans clearly have. About a third of them voted early in the 2002 election and more than half did so in the 2004 presidential election.
This time, the numbers could be even greater. In alone, 9,000 people voted yesterday and many more could do so today.
"We no longer have an Election Day, we have an election period," said Republican campaign consultant . "Candidates have to peak and stay peaked for the early voting period."
Democratic political consultant Robert Jara, of Campaign Strategies, agrees.
"You used to build to Election Day. Now you build to early voting. It's like a constant, long-term Election Day".
Guto Harri is the ±«Óătv's North America business correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 24 Oct 06, 03:25 PM
USA Today: Voters are paying more attention to national issues - the war and the economy - than in any previous mid-term election.
Washington Post: Independents are leaning towards the Democrats by a margin of two to one, a poll suggests.
New York Daily News: Hillary Clinton's long-shot Senate rival denies saying she had plastic surgery, while the senator says she was "cute" in high school.
- Adam Brookes
- 24 Oct 06, 12:39 AM
I took my kids to the zoo on a beautiful fall afternoon. It was teeming, Latino families picnicking in warm sunlight, tourists from China waiting for the pandas, a huge church group from the Midwest.
I bought popcorn and we gawped at the elephants.
In the crowd, I caught sight of a young man with a high-and-tight military haircut. He wore the black Iraq veteran's T-shirt. Where his right arm should have been, a stump protruded. He stood stock still for a long time, then wandered away. He seemed utterly alone.
The war spreads across public discussion of these elections like a stain. Yet still, it seems to me, the war has few tangible consequences for most Americans. are down, the Dow is up, American society continues on its vibrant, eclectic way. Unless you are serving, or a member of your family is serving, Iraq is an abstract problem.
Adam Brookes is the ±«Óătv's Pentagon correspondent.
- Richard Greene
- 23 Oct 06, 10:25 PM
President Bush is trying to get Americans to on focus the economy, only days after the University of Virginia's popular political science newsletter pointed out how surprising it was that voters are angry at Congress given the record-setting stock market, low inflation and high productivity. (Apparently the president reads the same newsletters I do!)
Conventional wisdom has it that incumbents do well when the economy is strong, and - while there is debate about how many Americans are reaping the benefits of big-picture economic success - gas prices are falling, which should help the Republicans.
Or should it?
Remember, there was shock across the world when President Bush's supporters told pollsters in 2004 that were more important to them than terrorism, the war in Iraq - or the economy.
Only two years later, perhaps the president should not be surprised that his supporters stuck with him when the economy was weak but the Republicans appeared morally strong - and that they have their doubts about the party amidst the current sexual and financial scandals, even if the economy is roaring ahead.
Richard Greene is the ±«Óătv News website's Washington reporter
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 23 Oct 06, 08:02 PM
All you American politicians looking for the right hair, the right suit, the right teeth, forget your fancy Washington image consultants and pay a visit to Bill Graves. He's the barber of - the Democrat trying to dislodge three-term Montana , one of the most vulnerable Republicans this year, thanks - in large part - to his rather-too-close financial relationship with the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
feature Tester - a state senator and farmer - getting his distinctive flat-top hair cut at the Riverview barber shop in the northern town of . When I went to meet the man behind the most famous follicle formation in Montana politics, Bill Graves was full of the joys of election season. He apologised for not having tea and crumpets at the ready, offered to give me and my long-haired producer, Michaela, buzz cuts (we both politely refused) and then reflected on the fact that people were no longer asking for flat-tops - but for "Testers". How about that for mutual advertising?
As the tag line - or buzz line - of the advert makes clear, the cut is all about showing that Jon Tester is someone who "looks like Montana". That's a pretty important quality in a state where you forget your roots at your peril. In a way, the Democrats' most damning accusation against Burns is not that he accepted money (which he later gave back) from a dodgy character, but that this proved he had "gone Washington" - and forgotten the good folk of Montana.
The charge has the potential to undo decades of good work on the authenticity front for Conrad Burns. Although he was born in Missouri, Senator Burns was a cattle auctioneer in Montana and the first general manager of the Billings rodeo, 39 years ago. He was at this year's rodeo at the weekend, presenting an award for rodeo ethics. He got a pretty good cheer from the crowd. No questions here about his ethics - or, indeed, about his Montana credentials.
But there were at the candidates' debate in Great Falls the night before. The senator had a response. He'd travelled back to Montana so much, he said, that Northwest airlines had recently awarded him his 2,000,000th air mile. Oh - and he'd worn out the seat of his trousers (jeans, I'm sure) on those planes.
So, people of Montana: worn-out jeans or a flat-top? The choice is yours.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Katty Kay
- 23 Oct 06, 03:57 PM
Democrats are keeping a close watch on how they play in the South next month, looking for signs the political landscape there could be shifting in their favour. They have been out of favour in the South for ages and sense they could be making inroads into this Republican territory.
First on the Democrats' list of hopefuls is , running for the US Senate in Tennessee. His bid is historic because he could become the first black senator elected from the South. He's personable, moderate and tough on defence, which is essential to winning high-testosterone Southern votes.
But what's really getting Democratic strategists excited about Mr Ford is the nature of his campaign. He is playing the religion card with ease and that's something Democrats realise they have to learn to do to poll well with Southerners. He is running a TV ad recorded in a church and handing out photo business cards with the 10 Commandments printed on the back. OK, it's not very subtle but it does seem to be working.
Add two more close Senate races in Missouri - a border state ( and ) - and Virginia ( and ) and you have mutterings of a new sunny southern landscape.
Less high-profile but perhaps more significant are the gubernatorial races. If things go their way on election night, the Democrats could end up occupying governors’ mansions across the Southern states.
That said, even the most optimistic Democratic strategists concede this doesn't signify an automatic change in the South's political make-up for 2008.
America is still a few election cycles from the day when Southern states will once again back a Democrat who is not one of their own for the White House.
Not since John F Kennedy in 1960 has the party been able to send a Democrat to the White House who did not come from the South.
But could that change next cycle? As one seasoned party operative told me with a broad smile, "Of course if we get a Democratic governor in Arkansas and our candidate in '08, we could park Bill down there for six months. Now that wouldn't be so bad, would it?"
Katty Kay is a presenter on
- The Reporters
- 23 Oct 06, 03:23 PM
New York Times: With many Republicans gloomy about their prospects next month, George W Bush has become the party's optimist-in-chief.
Washington Times: Emotions are running high in Tennessee, where voters could decide which party controls the Senate.
Newsweek: The polls suggest a tidal wave sweeping the Democrats into power, but Jonathan Alter is not convinced it's going to happen.
- James Westhead
- 21 Oct 06, 12:00 PM
A figure I came across tonight suddenly put American spending on elections into a frightening context. We Brits tend to think US politicians raise and spend a scarily absurd amount to get themselves elected. In an earlier blog I mentioned the total had reached more than $1bn for both Republicans and Democrats combined on these
mid-terms. A lot to obtain a satisfactory result on 7 November. Well perhaps not.
Guess how much Americans will spend exactly a week earlier on an equally horrible occasion populated by some equally scary characters. Yes you guessed it - I'm talking about Halloween. Well, according to the , Americans will spend more than $4.95bn - yes billion - on costumes, candy, cards and decorations -that's five times more than they spend on democracy. Now that really is scary!
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Richard Greene
- 20 Oct 06, 08:11 PM
Many Republicans have begun to admit - more or less in public - that they expect to lose a lot of House seats on Election Day, but congressman is not one of them. He is the man leading the party’s fight to win as many House races as possible, and he was in a bullish mood when he appeared at the this week.
Mr Reynolds didn’t just whistle in the dark - he struck up an entire brass band there. He cited races where Republicans were raising more money than Democrats and insisted that the number of races “in play” was far lower than the Democrats suggest.
He also got off the best zinger of the event, lavishing mock praise on his Democratic opposite number for a four-minute run-through of what the party would do if they won power. “Congratulations for the longest presentation I have yet heard on the Democratic plan!” he crowed.
But Mr Reynolds - who is linked via a staff member to the Mark Foley scandal and may lose his own seat next month - did show a few cracks in the cheery facade.
Perhaps most tellingly, after tossing around dollar figures and the numbers of critical districts, he got the date of the election wrong. It’s 7 November - but he said 8 November. Despite his upbeat rhetoric, he may actually be thinking a great deal about what happens the day after the vote.
Richard Greene is the ±«Óătv News website's Washington reporter
- Justin Webb
- 20 Oct 06, 04:56 PM
You join me in the King of Prussia Mall in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where I have just spent an hour outside looking for Republicans.
My producer is rather impressed, I think, that I am able to find shops that appeal to particular political sub-sections of the nation, but my wife has advised me well: these girls are right-leaning. The only problem is they are right-running as well - dashing past me, looking for all the world as if a child molester has just invaded their gently perfumed space.
Nobody wants to talk about politics here. I try my best Hugh Grant English accent, but to no avail. Eventually we give up on Lilly and go for prosperous-looking chaps instead and the Lord smiles on us: We come up with a firm supporter of ("It'd be a sin if he lost," he tells me) and a couple who think the senator is too extreme.
Thus we will illustrate the demise (temporary perhaps) of social conservatism as a political force in Pennsylvania politics. Talking politics with ordinary folk in this country is tough work - a reminder that those of us who are interested (and particularly those who are involved) are a small and atypical group.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 20 Oct 06, 03:47 PM
New York Times: Various factions within the Republican coalition are already blaming each other for next month's expected defeat - a feud one conservative has dubbed "pre-criminations".
Washington Post: The Virginia Senate candidates are getting endorsements from the highest possible backers - George Bush and Bill Clinton.
Los Angeles Times: Republican leaders in California's Orange County are distancing themselves from their own House candidate after he is linked to a racially charged campaign letter.
- Matt Frei
- 19 Oct 06, 08:33 PM
Comparisons with Vietnam have been circling around the Iraq war like linguistic vultures, thanks to a typical Washington chain reaction. Tom Friedman, the respected New York Times columnist who originally supported the Iraq war and has been tying himself in knots ever since, wrote a comparing the dreadful events of the last week with the Tet offensive in the Vietnam War. Fine.
But then ABC's affable asked none other than the commander-in-chief about the comparison, and to everyone's surprise the president - who is supposed to be in a state of denial - almost blithely said: "He may be right…." and then moved on swiftly to firmer ground about al-Qaeda and its desire to see the US quit Iraq.
Vietnam rhetoric is not helpful in the weeks before the mid-term elections. Nor is it accurate. First, there are the differences in casualties. At this stage in the Vietnam war, America had lost about 20,000 men. Iraq has cost the US troops at the last count. But no war, including this one, can be measured solely by the number of casualties. The key equation is the sacrifice of casualties measured against the perceived benefits of the conflict. Is it worth it?
The answer in World War II - in which just over 400,000 Americans died - was clearly yes. Even in Vietnam the withering of public support was slow. It took about 20,000 dead Americans for the public to turn against the war. In Somalia in 1993 it took only 18 dead Americans and two downed Black Hawk helicopters to see the troops heading for their boats.
Remember also that today's US troops in Iraq are professionals - and volunteers. Their tragedies are felt by a relatively small proportion of the population. Vietnam was fought by hundreds of thousands of hapless conscripts who were hopelessly out of their depth in the jungles of South-East Asia.
So here's my conclusion: Yes, this war is unpopular. A solid majority of Americans have lost faith in it and doubt it can be won. And yet there are only a handful of anti-war protesters outside the White House. Jane Fonda is nowhere to be seen and millions have not poured into the Mall to demand that the troops come home. From Hollywood to the Democratic Party to the prevailing opinion in the streets, we are all caught in the headlights: loath to stay in Iraq and afraid to leave.
This is the world post 9/11. We are fighting a "global war on terror". Polls show that most Americans believe the stakes of abandoning Iraq are too high, that the US has a responsibility to try to fix the problem -"we broke it, we own it!" - and that abandoning it could fuel a regional war with even more dire consequences. So the pain threshold in Iraq is surprisingly high, especially if it's not your child getting killed.
Matt Frei is the ±«Óătv's senior North America TV correspondent.
- Lourdes Heredia
- 19 Oct 06, 05:02 PM
Making assumptions can be dangerous. Recently I made a big one and it was a Hispanic student, Lorena, who told me how wrong I was.
I asked her how the heated would affect her vote - and got an earful in response.
"I am fed up with stereotypes. I do not care a bit about immigration issues. I am a US citizen and I am very proud to be here.
"I don't care too much about one law or the other. That wouldn't change my life or my family’s opportunities. I am a second-generation [American] and frankly, I might feel sympathy for the [new immigrants] who are struggling, but… not really," she said.
Like many other voters, Lorena is more concerned about stuff that affects her everyday life. She doesn't like the anti-immigrant rhetoric and wouldn't vote for representative or a senator who says she, or her parents, do not have the right to be here.
But when she chooses her candidate it is more about "bread-and-butter" issues. Is she going to be able to get a proper education? Are her parents going to have a good health insurance when they're old? Are her kids going to be able to go to school and be safe?
According to the last research conducted by the , the Hispanic share of the total US electorate is expected to grow this year to 8.6%, compared to 8.2% in 2004 and 7.4% in 2000.
That means this year there will be between 10 and 12 million registered Hispanic voters – more than enough to make a difference in the election (and if you have any doubts, just ask .)
Many Hispanics are swing voters, so both parties have to try to attract them – but neither party should think immigration will be the issue that will swing the Latino vote their way.
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- The Reporters
- 19 Oct 06, 03:49 PM
USA Today: Old-fashioned television advertising remains the "nuclear weapon" of politics, campaigners say, even in a multi-media age.
Washington Times: Conservative voters may stay at home on Election Day, disillusioned with both President Bush and Congress.
New York Times: Election officials across the country are bracing for confusion due to new voting machines.
- Justin Webb
- 19 Oct 06, 10:55 AM
A visit to Philadelphia to witness the bare-knuckle fight to keep one of the best known social conservatives in the Senate. is in trouble and has the slightly haunted look of a man who doesn’t quite know where it all went wrong.
We hear him on conservative talk radio in the car with the host praising him for his lusty singing from the conservative hymn-sheet but the man himself, on a crackly phone line, is lukewarm in response. The reason perhaps: we catch up with him in Philadelphia (no conservative bastion, let's face it) where a new-look Rick is talking about his ability to keep jobs and work across party lines. Abortion: unmentioned. Gays: unmentioned. Iraq: unmentioned.
Still he has my vote on one count - after the event he stood and took my questions about whether the social agenda was done for, with good humour and good grace. A lesser man, faced with a ±«Óătv reporter with an off-message agenda, would have walked off. He answered four questions politely and fully. Good for him.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Katty Kay
- 18 Oct 06, 09:19 PM
2006? Forget it - 2008 is what major conservative donors are really worrying about, and they don't like the way their party is heading. Some of the biggest Republican donors are concerned that if the GOP loses the House in November it will boost chances of winning the presidential nomination in two years' time and they do not like the senator from Arizona.
Why not? Well, they just don't trust him on their core values, as one conservative Republican put it to me. Conservatives believe Mr McCain will say whatever is need to get elected but won't really represent their interests on social issues if he makes it to the White House.
But the same donors are in a fix right now. They can't see anyone else out there to get excited about.
The man they like best is . His politics seem most similar to theirs but they are genuinely concerned that the party's base, the Christian evangelicals, will never vote for a Mormon, which Mr Romney is.
Back to the mid-terms. If the Republicans lose control on Capitol Hill, the hunch is that the party will be so desperate to get back into power that stalwart Republican voters will decide to back a winner even if he's not a true conservative, and that's John McCain. Remember the 2008 campaign begins on 8 November, so watch where those donors put their money.
Katty Kay is a presenter on
- James Westhead
- 18 Oct 06, 06:57 PM
The has arrived - plus a few thousand more in the last 24 hours - but why the virtual silence from the White House on the matter?
Perhaps one reason for the coyness is political - just who are these extra Americans? "It's only a few weeks before an election when illegal immigration is a high-profile issue and they don't want to make a big deal out of it," William Frey, a demographer at the told me.
It's certainly true that many of the new Americans are not cute little babies. Immigrants - illegal or otherwise - make up roughly 40% of the expansion. And that's something Republicans, to use my favourite current Americanism, are "conflicted" over.
The Commerce Secretary , himself an immigrant from Cuba, says the Bush administration isn't playing down the milestone. "I would hate to think that we are going to be low key about this," said Gutierrez, whose department oversees the . "I would hope that we make a big deal about it." But when pressed the only celebration his department organised was some cake and fruit punch for census staff.
It's a shame in a way because the immigration sensitivity overshadows the real reason for this extraordinary growth, unmatched by the shrivelled, ageing populations in the rest of the developed world. That is simply that Americans have more babies than Europeans.
Mr Frey says he's not sure why - it may be their greater religiosity, a lingering frontier spirit or simply greater optimism about the future. It's that attractive optimism that means the melting pot is getting bigger but also getting more mixed. Politically sensitive perhaps - but uniquely American too.
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- The Reporters
- 18 Oct 06, 03:35 PM
Washington Post: Both Republicans and Democrats wonder what would happen if Democrats take control of Congress next month, leaving George W Bush a lame duck.
Washington Times: Top Republican strategist Karl Rove is not worrying about that possibility.
NPR: Voters say corruption is among the most important issues in determining how they will vote in November.
- Andy Gallacher
- 17 Oct 06, 09:37 PM
By the time I've stopped several people in , Florida, I have learnt a couple of things about Mark Foley. Firstly, just about everyone likes him and secondly, he is gay. None of this stopped Mr Foley serving six terms in the House of Representatives, and why should it?
But e-mails to teenage boys are a different matter, as I found out when I visited the chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican party. Walking inside the opulent doors of Sid Dinerstein's house in West Palm Beach Gardens is like strolling on to the set of Dynasty or Dallas.
Mr Dinerstein describes himself as a close political friend of Mark Foley's. But even a few days after the scandal broke, he was in no doubt about where he stands on the ever-widening e-mail debacle: "Mark betrayed the trust of the voters and supporters in this district and represented a threat to children.
"That was the hardest part - getting over your personal knowledge, association and friendship with him and recognising the greater obligation to protect the community and not defend the indefensible and make sure he's out of Congress."
Tough words from Mr Dinerstein, but he is a hard man when it comes to politics. He is well aware that this could be an issue that may lose his party a lot of votes in a that was considered safe, but he is willing to make the necessary sacrifices if needed.
"We actually trust the voters, and if they decide that we as a party haven't earned their trust enough to re-elect us then we'll work hard in the next two years and win back that seat. And if we lose the Congress, we'll win back the Congress."
Sid Dinerstein is the sort of man the needs. He's a no-nonsense campaigner and true believer in conservative values. As I leave his excellent hospitality, he shakes my hand with the energy of a 20-year-old man, the kind of energy that he, and his fellow Republicans, may need in the coming weeks.
Andy Gallacher is the ±«Óătv's Miami correspondent.
- Jonathan Beale
- 17 Oct 06, 06:11 PM
In Britain, it was who fuelled the debate about a withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq "sometime soon". In America it's former Secretary of State James Baker who is now signalling the need for a change of direction.
In the words of Sir Richard it has caused a bit of a "hullabaloo" and to be honest has resulted in some fairly ludicrous headlines - such as claims that the Baker Commission is about to call for a large-scale pull-out of US troops or that America is about to ask Iran and Syria to take over. That would be a bit hard when you've labelled one a part of an "" and blamed the other for starting the war in Lebanon and accuse both of being a "".
The fundamental point, though, is that - who won't publish his commission's finding until after the mid-term elections - is making life difficult for the president ahead of those very same elections. President Bush has already had to telephone Iraq's prime minister to reassure him that America is not about to desert his country.
Clearly this is a debate that the Bush administration would have preferred to have after the mid-terms. The public discussion of the "options" already leaked to the media can hardly help a president whose one strategy so far has been to "stay the course" and "get the job done". Clearly it's a strategy that has not been working and suggest that most Americans already have worked that one out.
None of the "options" leaked would be easy pills for the president to swallow. Just talking to Syria and Iran would go against Mr Bush's policy of isolating those countries. Ditching democracy for stability would undermine the administration's central plank of "spreading freedom". And pulling out any troops without improvement would be interpreted as more "defeat" than "victory".
But these are early days and it's hard to see James Baker stabbing the knife into the president's back. After all, he was the man who helped secure this president's victory in the disputed election of 2000. Expect some of these recommendations to be "toned down" when they're published in December.
Jonathan Beale is the ±«Óătv's State Department correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 17 Oct 06, 02:59 PM
Philadelphia Inquirer: The suspicion of corruption in Congress spreads as the FBI raids the home of the daughter of a congressman in a tight re-election battle.
Associated Press: Not only Republican representatives are facing sleaze allegations - a top Democratic senator is under fire as well.
New York Times: Unlikely as it seems, a top White House official is a hero to a six-year-old girl in Kansas - as well as being a key fundraiser.
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 16 Oct 06, 10:38 PM
A friend of mine who first covered Virginia politics more years ago than he'd care to remember refers to six-term as a "walking political encyclopaedia". But when I hooked up with him at the weekend, he was more like a walking lollipop-and-dog-biscuit distributor.
He - or at least, his minions - had bags of both as he toured the , one of those made-for-campaign-season local fairs where candidates shake so many hands that you half expect the less experienced ones to begin giving the dog biscuits to the children and the lollipops (or "suckers", as they're known in these parts) to the… well, you get the point.
Thankfully, Congressman Davis stuck to the "four legs cookie, two legs lolly" rule, as you'd expect from a seasoned campaigner who successfully ran the Republicans' House election effort in 2000 and 2002. That experience has made him very sensitive to the national mood - and he knows the current one isn't good for his party.
Although his Northern Virginia district hasn't made it onto the growing "endangered" list, he predicts that the Republicans could lose as many as 30 House seats next month - double the number the Democrats need to get a majority.
Yes, he reminds you that at this point six years ago, the New York Times was (incorrectly) predicting a Democratic congressional victory, but he also acknowledges that an unpopular president and an unpopular war have made the atmosphere particularly "ugly" for Republicans this time around.
"I'm not a pessimist," he says, "I'm a realist."
There's a lot of realism in Republican circles these days. Fred Barnes - executive editor of that publication at the intellectual heart of conservatism, The Weekly Standard - predicts a "GOP debacle" in .
Scaremongering to get out the vote or genuine despair? The latter, I'd say. And while there's still hopeful Republican talk of an "October Surprise" - that semi-mythical, election-changing event - at this point, it would be a pretty big surprise if the Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Justin Webb
- 16 Oct 06, 08:33 PM
I have not seen this list - full disclosure here on the lack of first-hand reporting - but a couple of Republican politicos I have talked to have mentioned an internal document which suggests that the has now given up on 12 of the in-play midterm congressional seats. (Given that you have enough interest to read this blog you probably already know that 15 losses would result in a Democratic party victory next month.)
Apparently the name of the candidate in each "lost" seat has a G next to it - as in Gone. Of course it isn't that they want to bin these fine men and women - they just the advertising necessary to keep them in play. In other words, this is an economic rather than a political decision.
How much fairer is the where, with Stalinist attention to detail, district (constituency) spending is limited to virtually nothing, local TV advertising is banned (yes banned!) and politics is considered a better determinant of the outcome than economics. Not freer - fairer!
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Matt Frei
- 16 Oct 06, 03:36 PM
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been rebooted by his advisers with results that should make other Republicans blush with envy. Six months ago it looked as if the Terminator would indeed terminate at the gubernatorial elections this November. He was in the mid 30s in the approval poll ratings.
Now he has soared back into the upper 50s. In the musty library of the I sat down with his key campaign guru Matthew Dowd to discuss the reversal of fortune. Two years ago the affable Mr Dowd helped to get George W Bush re-elected. Then it was all about mobilising the Christian right-wing base of the Grand Old Party and despatching them on a crusade to the polling booths.
Now the new mantra is to rediscover the fuzzy centre. "Americans hate this partisan bitterness, they hate extremes", Mr Dowd - who looks more like a pop producer than a political consultant and is also advising Sen John McCain - told me. "They feel more comfortable with leadership from the centre".
This is especially true in California, where Arnie has realised that he can't govern without the support of the majority voting block, which happens to be Democratic. Hence a $37bn grant for education, roads and other infrastructure projects, a state grant to conduct stem cell research and Kyoto-style caps on greenhouse gas emissions, which have impressed voters in California and upset GOP party hacks back in Washington.
"I always knew Arnie was a closet Democrat", one of them told me. "Look, he's married to - a Kennedy - and he hired Susan Kennedy - no relation but a Democrat - to be his chief of staff."
If it were a country, California would have the world's sixth-biggest economy. So if Green is the new Red - I'm talking about the colour codes of American politics of course, where, somewhat confusingly for Brits, Red is the colour of the right - then Washington better take heed.
But it's not just a few hand-picked centrist policies that are making a difference. Like dozens of other Republican candidates, he has kept his distance from an increasingly toxic president. Two years ago he appeared on the stump for W in Ohio. Recently when Mr Bush was on a visit to California, Arnie shunned the commander-in-chief for a meeting with the other George making the headlines - George Clooney.
The governator has also learned to say the hardest word. He has shown contrition for his mistakes and it has worked. Mister Universe has become a "girly man", and much of touchy-feely California is impressed. As Mr Dowd put it to me with a twinkle of irony: "My recipe for success: I would get a politician to make one big mistake a week and then apologise for it."
Matt Frei is the ±«Óătv's senior North America TV correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 16 Oct 06, 03:14 PM
Los Angeles Times: The threat that one of the Senate's most socially conservative Republicans may lose his seat has turned into "four-alarm fire for conservatives".
New York Times: Meanwhile, Republicans have all but given up on another embattled senator and are shifting money and energy elsewhere.
Washington Times: A hard-line immigration control group has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting candidates, much of it through private companies with ties to a well-known conservative activist.
- Jonathan Beale
- 13 Oct 06, 10:10 PM
The Abramoff lobbying scandal continues to wreak havoc among Republicans. Ohio Congressman has now pleaded guilty to corruption charges in connection with Abramoff's dodgy business dealings.
He accepted free meals, tickets, hospitality - including an all-expenses-paid golfing trip to Scotland - in return for political favours and influence for Mr Abramoff and his clients. He has yet to give up his seat in the House of Representatives, but that will come soon.
Congressman Ney's other claim to fame was for calling for "french fries" to be renamed "" after France deserted America in the run up to the Iraq war. It's his betrayal though that will be felt harder among the Republicans of Ohio.
Having said that, the Abramoff lobbying scandal is currently making much less of a political impact than the saga involving Representative - who sent sexually explicit emails to male pages. One politician's (admittedly hypocritical) private life is apparently more shocking than one who is found to be lining his own pocket!
But we haven't heard the last of Jack Abramoff. His name may still haunt Republicans in the days to come - not least because he's still awaiting trial and his reach went beyond just one greedy congressman.
Jonathan Beale is the ±«Óătv's State Department correspondent.
- Justin Webb
- 13 Oct 06, 06:50 PM
There is something healing about America. A trip to the of Minneapolis reminds me of this.
I am here to interview who will almost certainly be the country's first Muslim congressman, but before seeing him I had a chance to meet some of the surprisingly diverse set of people he will represent.
Many Minneapolitans don’t come from these parts. Some are Muslims fleeing war in east Africa, doubly out of place in a part of the world where freezing snow attacks you from a near horizontal angle (yes, in mid-October) and the prevailing religion is Lutheran Christianity.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am sure plenty of east African inhabitants of Minneapolis are miserable, noticing that a culture based on moose fancying and wood carving is not one over which they feel any sense of ownership.
But plonk them down in Europe and the chances are they stay miserable, and stay alienated, and their kids stay that way as well. Plonk them in Minneapolis and transformation is possible.
Omar from Somalia escaped from war and now. He speaks broken English but fluent Arabic; he gets his news from .
And yet Omar says he is thankful for the opportunities given to him. His daughter went to college in Minneapolis and is now a translator. She has, he says in a matter-of-fact-way, not had time to get married yet.
Bingo - Americanisation has begun. If she does get married and have kids they will eat Somali food but think American thoughts.
And America will gain another generation of hopeful people, for whom life is an upward curve.
One thing that might make them hopeful is the fact that the next Democratic congressman here is likely to be of their faith: the first Muslim ever to serve in the House of Representatives.
Some people say Keith Ellison, an African-American who converted to Islam in his teens, is a phoney, a man who espouses kind, gentle, inclusive politics while harbouring the prejudices of his more extreme co-religionists, particularly against Jews.
But it occurs to me that the Americanisation of values is at work here too: Mr Ellison could not get elected if he said Israel should be destroyed or homosexuals should be stoned.
His supporters – some of whom may well believe those things – will not get them from their man.
So Muslims are on the way to getting representation and a voice in Congress. But to get those things they are having to bow to the highest of American values: tolerance and individual freedom.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 13 Oct 06, 02:22 PM
Bloomberg: The decision not to run for president in 2008 by former Virginia Gov Mark Warner - seen as one of the Democrats' most plausible alternatives to Hillary Clinton - may reflect the New York senator's overwhelming early edge.
Chicago Sun-Times blogger Lynn Sweet: President Bush stands firm with the embattled speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, who is under fire for his handling of the Mark Foley page scandal - but do either of them have any coattails to ride?
MSNBC: A guilty plea being filed today by a congressman - to be followed by a court date for a former White House official - will keep disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the news less than a month before elections.
- Matt Davis
- 13 Oct 06, 10:34 AM
Both President Bush and his wife Laura turned up - separately - in St Louis, Missouri on Thursday - where an increasingly is raging between Republican Senator Jim Talent and his feisty Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill.
Mrs Bush was attending a private fundraiser for Mr Talent, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who, records show, has voted with the president some 94% of the time.
It was the popular First Lady's third benefit gig for Mr Talent this year, a sign perhaps that the senator is feeling pressure from Ms McCaskill's campaign to woo some of the Republican-leaning social conservatives in rural parts of this Bible Belt state.
The president, meanwhile, was speaking at a renewable energy conference.
It wasn't a campaign speech, but the president name-checked Mr Talent, and his vision of corn and soy beans being used as the raw materials by future energy producers hit the spot with the Missouri farmers in the audience.
"We should put a couple windmills in Washington DC," quipped Mr Bush, to some laughter.
No word though from either of the Bushes on Mr Talent's recent comments in a TV debate with Ms McCaskill, which - with the president's ratings withering on the vine - were seen as an attempt by the senator to distance himself from the White House.
Asked - on NBC's Meet the Press - how he would rate the president, Mr Talent said: "History judges presidents. History is going to say there were some things he did that were right and some things he did that were wrong."
He added - much to Ms McCaskill's amusement: "Certainly he's going to end up better than Jimmy Carter, probably not as good as Ronald Reagan."
Matt Davis works on the world desk of the ±«Óătv News website.
- James Westhead
- 12 Oct 06, 07:53 PM
Sex and money - two essential ingredients in the best political dramas, and this mid-term election is proving no different. We have certainly heard plenty about the first, given former congressman Mark Foley's internet intercourse with teenage boys.
What about the second? Well, the scale of spending required in even a mid-term US election is quite staggering to an outsider like me. I was astounded to hear that even - the Bush spinmeister - has personally raised $12 million by appearing at 92 Republican fund-raisers over the last few months. That is a record for a mere White House staffer and surely confirms him as among the most celebrated political strategists in US history.
Yet even his contribution is dwarfed by that of his boss. President Bush has managed to rack up $185.7 million at 77 such events. You wonder how they've found time to govern the country. However unlike in past elections, this time the Democrats aren't too far behind. Indeed according to the very useful website , which tracks such things, the two parties are almost neck and neck with around half a billion dollars each in the kitty for this election.
That may sound like good news for the - and it is - but whatever problems the are having with sex, never underestimate the "incumbent factor" with money. In other words, it costs a lot more to win a seat than it costs to keep it!
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Nick Miles
- 12 Oct 06, 05:27 PM
Politics is anything but predictable. Just a couple of weeks ago, the issue that most pundits and hacks thought would dominate the upcoming elections was .
Then came Foleygate, the Foley Affair, call it what you will - the lewd e-mails and messages sent by now ex-congressman James Foley to teenage boys. It is haunting Republicans. The is digging into which senior Republicans knew about it and what action they took, or failed to take.
Everybody it seems - but mostly politicians and journalists, of course - is trying to work out what impact this could have when voters go to the polls in November. Well, over the last few days the have come out since the scandal broke.
Republicans shouldn't read them before going to bed.
Take a poll by the Opinion Research Corporation. It asked voters whether the Foley matter has made them less likely to vote for Republican candidates for Congress this year. Almost a third said it had.
A Gallup poll revealed that more than half the people it questioned thought senior Republicans had sat on information about the Foley emails for political purposes.
Of course it's one thing to take the moral high ground when you're asked a direct question by a pollster. In the privacy of the polling booth, voters may take a more pragmatic line. Never forget that more than 90% of incumbents get re-elected and most people vote on local issues. We're all watching the polls but know they've got to be treated with a healthy degree of scepticism.
Nick Miles is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- The Reporters
- 12 Oct 06, 02:59 PM
New York Times: The fallout over ex-Rep Mark Foley and his e-mails to teenaged pages may be affecting a race in Ohio - where other scandals are already hurting the Republicans.
Washington Post: Cartoonist Tom Toles jabs at how the Foley scandal is threatening to drag down House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Chicago Tribune: President Bush makes his first public appearance with Mr Hastert since the Foley scandal broke.
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 11 Oct 06, 10:43 PM
A shocking statistic from the latest. Only 30% of African-Americans think that their votes will be counted correctly - down from 47% at the last election.
Lingering doubts about how votes were tallied in and in seem to have been compounded by recent academic studies, questioning the security of some of the being used next month.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Jonathan Beale
- 11 Oct 06, 04:19 PM
I have just returned from a week of travelling the Middle East with US Secretary of State . About as far removed as you can get from the mid-term elections. Or is it?
While Washington was abuzz with the sexual peccadilloes of Congressman Mark Foley, Rice was in Baghdad dealing with an issue that's likely to have a bigger impact come 7 November. Even the most upbeat Republican would have to acknowledge that the Iraq war is not going according to plan.
The US Secretary of State was there in effect to read the riot act to Iraq's political leaders. She was telling them that they had to urgently get a grip on the spiralling sectarian violence; that Americans would not tolerate "watching Iraqi killing Iraqi" on their TV screens. This on top of a leading Republican senator - - warning that the Iraq war was "drifting" and (Secretary of State to Bush 41) suggesting that there may be other options rather than "staying the course" or "cut and run".
The trouble is that whatever the White House's frustrations over Iraq, it can't change policy just ahead of an election. That would look weak. The hope among Republican strategists is that if Iraq is wrapped up in the broader war on terror under the banner "America is safer" then the worsening violence in Iraq can be overlooked. The question is: will the strategy work?
Jonathan Beale is the ±«Óătv's State Department correspondent.
- Justin Webb
- 11 Oct 06, 03:32 PM
Sorry to go back to sex but my attention is caught by the website of the Republican congressman . Under the heading Children Should be Safe In Congress (any takers for the idea that they shouldn't?) Mark writes: "I am disgusted with the actions of Rep. Foley who should be condemned and then prosecuted."
Eh?
I should declare an interest here: Back in the days when Mark and I looked like page boys and sex did not involve electronic devices (well, not often) we were classmates at the world's finest institution of learning, the . But I could have sworn he went to law school after his sojourn in London and assuming that he concentrated just a little did he not learn that to condemn and then to prosecute is an unusual approach to natural justice.
Of course he did. But on this sex scandal issue such considerations are thrown out of the window as sanctimonious politicos on either side of the divide (the Democrats' adverts are even worse) vie with each other to hate Mark Foley more. I write this in the knowledge that Mark Kirk is a decent amiable reasonable American (in fact I harbour a genuine and not entirely impartial desire that he one day makes it to the White House and I hope he will still have me to tea) but this story has unhinged even the sanest.
Just a thought: Congressional pages must be at least 16 - which is also the age of consent in DC. And a further thought: just what is "internet sex"? An oxymoron if ever there was one.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 11 Oct 06, 03:28 PM
LA Times: Rural areas of Missouri and other states in Bush country could hold the key to a Senate turnover for Democrats. ()
The Hill: White House politico Karl Rove has raised more than $12 million for GOP candidates this election cycle. ()
Pew Research Center: Turnout in the 2006 mid-term elections may well be higher than normal, given the level of interest expressed by voters in the latest polling. ()
- Andy Gallacher
- 10 Oct 06, 07:33 PM
"I don't know about her politics, but she looks good on a horse." Not the kind of response you hope to get when covering the mid-terms, but that was the answer from one lady I stopped in the street in , Florida.
She was talking about , the Republican candidate made famous when she was in charge of the Florida recount during the 2000 election.
To many Democrats she is the Devil incarnate, but at the time Republicans made her the darling of the GOP. Now as a Republican running for Senate - without the support or encouragement of either the president or the outgoing Florida Governor Jeb Bush - she seems to be out on her own. But that is not likely to discourage a woman like Katherine Harris.
Despite jokes about her make-up, tight sweaters and high staff turn-over she is pushing on. The Sunshine State is never a boring place when it comes to politics and it certainly seems that rings true for these mid-term elections.
Andy Gallacher is the ±«Óătv's Miami correspondent.
- Matt Davis
- 10 Oct 06, 02:48 PM
If you are looking for mid-term elections websites, then is a veritable cornucopia. It provides links to more than 1,000 election sites, including the and a fair sprinkling of the .
Matt Davis works on the world desk of the ±«Óătv News website.
- The Reporters
- 10 Oct 06, 02:28 PM
Washington Post: Republican campaign officials say that they expect to lose at least seven House seats and as many as 30 in the 7 November mid-term elections. ()
New York Times: The Mark Foley scandal is hurting Congress's image and the war on Iraq continues to take a toll on President Bush, according to the paper's latest poll. ()
USA Today: The Foley scandal has reinforced public doubts about Republican leadership and pushed Democrats to a huge lead in the race for Congress, the latest USA Today/Gallup Poll suggests. ()
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 9 Oct 06, 09:32 PM
If the main consequence of the is to drain the energy from the Republicans' socially conservative Republican base and increase the number of what the influential conservative strategist, , has called "embarrassed Republicans", the party may be casting around for other issues to get the voters to the polls.
Could illegal immigration play that role? It was about eighteen months ago that a man called Tim Donnelly predicted it would - as we stood together on Arizona's border with Mexico. He is - or, at least, was a "" one of those private citizens (dubbed "vigilantes" by President Bush, much to their anger), who decided to take border protection into their own hands.
He was convinced that the swelling numbers of illegal immigrants would swell the ranks of Republican voters this November. I remember his parting words. "Immigration", he said in a confident tone, "will be the next abortion." Idle talk - or reality?
Judging from a few recent trips to different states, the issue is resonating far more loudly across the country, than the amount of national media coverage being given to it would suggest. By derailing the president's call for a comprehensive immigration bill - and, instead, pushing through new - House Republicans essentially won the pre-election argument. But will that be enough for them to win the election?
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- The Reporters
- 9 Oct 06, 02:22 PM
New York Times: The Mark Foley controversy has diverted attention from another major Washington ethics scandal - the influence peddling involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. ()
LA Times: In the ballot box fight to preserve the toughest abortion ban in the nation, the talk is not of a foetus' right to life, it is of a woman's right to motherhood. ()
Washington Times: A Missouri Republican senator tries to distance himself from President Bush in a TV debate, in which he and his Democratic opponent argue over Iraq and stem-cell research. ()
- Justin Webb
- 9 Oct 06, 01:11 AM
is a busy man - I wonder why? The guy who led the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994 and then lost the plot bigtime, is back. I know this because I went to see him the other day and witnessed a politician in demand.
"Hi I'm Newt!" is his cheery greeting. But having put the visitor at ease Newt is unavailable for smalltalk - as we prepare to record his thoughts his mind was on his schedule and his young assistants are darting in and out of the board room with new and ever more complicated travel arrangements for the next month. He answers my questions but his mind is in Texas or Missouri or - most likely - the studios of .
He's charming enough and cogent enough but there's something dessicated about his reasoning: He calls for the Republicans to go back to offering what he calls "big ideas" to solve the America's problems, as if those ideas could be taken from the (think tank) shelf and simply rolled out.
He also compares George Bush to (prompting me to think though not say, "I knew Lady Thatcher, Lady Thatcher was a friend of mine, and Senator you're no...")
Newt's view by the way is that a period in the wilderness sorting out some big ideas and licking wounds and doing what political parties do in these circumstances is NOT what true republicans should be looking for after 7th November.
That trendy view on the right of the party - let the Democrats faff around as bosses in congress for a couple of years while we have a punch-up and emerge the stronger for it - is not Newt's. He's too much of a real politician, a seeker after power with a purpose, to be seduced by his fellow rightists. He wants the Republicans to win and the Democrats to lose. From this big idea all others must flow...
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Lourdes Heredia
- 6 Oct 06, 09:26 PM
President Bush said today that "you cannot kick 12 million people out of your country", at a ceremony celebrating the . He was referring to the 12 million illegal immigrants, mainly Latin Americans, who already live in the US. As he soaked up the applause, I wondered if no-one realised that Congress has the last word on immigration policy.
It is pretty clear that legislators believe tough immigration policy will get them votes, judging by the last-minute law they approved, authorising construction of a 700-mile fence on the US-Mexico border.
By the way, the , has been called the "eggshell" law by some experts because they consider it hollow - it does not include a fence on the Canadian border or appropriate the money to build one. Nor have legislators resolved the long debate over what to do about people without papers already living here.
"We must remember that in order to secure our borders, in order that we fulfil our heritage, immigration reform has to be comprehensive in nature", said Mr Bush. After his speech, the president listened patiently, next to the Spain's , to some romantic music in Spanish.
As I listened to the singer's words, "Besame, besame mucho" (kiss me, kiss me for a long time), I could only feel that the political strategists are right to think that voters do not care too much about details.
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- The Reporters
- 6 Oct 06, 03:15 PM
ABC News: Conservative activists are beginning to discuss the Mark Foley scandal as indicative of a GOP that has become too tolerant of gays in their midst. ()
USA Today: The race for control of the Senate is tightening, according to USA Today/Gallup polls in six key states. ()
Washington Post: The GOP's showing in the mid-terms may be hurt as polls indicate support dropping among evangelical Christians. ()
- Justin Webb
- 6 Oct 06, 12:32 AM
This is a trap for the Democrats: the case against the Republicans looks so bad, so utterly unanswerable, that the pressure is on the Democrats to win big in the elections on 7th November.
If they fail to deliver they surely go up in flames - this view confirmed to me a few minutes ago in a conversation with a former staffer in the Clinton White House who added these prophetic words: "Never underestimate our ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
The fact is that the Democrats are not exactly cruising ahead through the force of their arguments or the huge attractiveness of their policies. They are at the moment the beneficiaries of a series of mess ups on the other side - as put it: "This is the worst thing to happen to the Republicans since last Thursday..."
Before the last presidential election I remember someone saying that by the time Karl Rove had done his work no-one would know whose side John Kerry fought on in the Vietnam war; at the time it seemed implausible but...
Well watch out for the same again - I predict that the Democrats will get the blame for this in the end and not quite know how to avoid it.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Guto Harri
- 5 Oct 06, 04:10 PM
He packed a big punch in the ring and was as renowned for his soundbites as his boxing. would be useful in any fight. And the heavyweight legend has just entered the arena of the mid-term elections behind the Michigan governor .
She is seeking to overturn the state's ban on stem cell research which many believe could help to find a cure for Parkinson's Disease which the former boxer is suffering from. Ali and his wife Lonnie have issued a statement saying the state's laws are too restrictive, that the governor has been hindered in her efforts to attract stem cell researchers and businesses.
Her team point out that her republican opponent opposes embryonic stem cell research. Though he supports testing on adult stem cells.
Guto Harri is the ±«Óătv's North America business correspondent.
- Lourdes Heredia
- 5 Oct 06, 04:01 PM
President Bush has just signed a that includes the funding needed to build several hundred kilometres of fence along the Mexican border.
The Democrats insist the Republicans are using the immigration issue to win votes, but the bill to build the fence was voted through by two thirds of the Senate, including senators from the Democratic Party. One of the Latino senators told me they have to "protect" the vote of the constituency. So, who can accuse Mr Bush of playing politics now?
The problem is that both parties have long-promised to do something about illegal immigration; that not only affects the conservative base of the Republican Party, but also the Latino community living legally in the US. For them, as surveys show, immigration is the most important issue facing this country.
They might not be a majority right now, but they have lots of power in key states. In California alone there are a million US-born children of immigrants aged 18-24 who, if mobilised, could change the course of the 2006 mid-term elections. Something to think about it, isn't it?
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- The Reporters
- 5 Oct 06, 03:53 PM
New York Times: When it comes to sexual scandal, American voters tend to be more rational than American politicians, the paper's leader column says. ()
The Washington Post: In Media Notes, the Post's Howard Kurtz takes an in-depth look at the cloak and dagger machinations behind the breaking of the Mark Foley story. ()
National Review: A round-up of political tidbits from the bi-weekly magazine's constantly updated website. ()
- Nick Miles
- 4 Oct 06, 02:08 PM
The mid-terms are a political battle that are being waged as much over the internet as in the mainstream media.
This year the internet site , where millions of video clips are posted and viewed every day, has become the site of choice for disseminating embarrassing information about Congressional candidates.
Take, the Republican senator from Virginia, , who's up for re-election. He recently slipped up in front of a Democratic party activist of Indian American descent who was videoing his speeches. Mr Allen addressed him directly and called him "macaca" which is a type of monkey and also a racial slur. The video found its way from YouTube to the national television networks. Senator Allen' s lead has shrunk considerably.
YouTube is an equal opportunity vehicle for embarrassment, it's not been kind to George Allen's opponent, either. Anybody wanting to see Mr Webb's views on women in the military dredged up from almost thirty years ago ( he said and that "being at a naval academy was a horny woman's dream") can do so on the site.
YouTube and the plethora of new political blogs here mean there's a dizzying array of political content on the Web.
, from George Washington University, a long-time watcher of the interplay between politics and the internet told me that campaigners are finding it increasingly difficult to manage bad news. "Anybody who thinks blogs aren't influential is out of touch with reality" she said.
Nick Miles is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- The Reporters
- 4 Oct 06, 02:02 PM
The Washington Post: As far back as 1995, some "pages" were warned to be aware of the actions of disgraced Republican congressman Mark Foley. ()
The New York Times: Republicans are weighing whether House leader Dennis Hastert can survive the Mark Foley scandal, as fallout from the affair puts the pressure on party leaders. ()
Reuters poll: Democrats lead Republicans in 11 of 15 crucial races in the 7 November election to decide which party controls the US House of Representatives. ()
- Justin Webb
- 3 Oct 06, 04:23 PM
Over lunch in - a Capitol Hill favourite of impecunious interns and parsimonious correspondents - a fine chap who covers Congress for one of America's greatest newspapers told me the other day what these elections mean to him: misery.
You see the kind of folks who care - really care - about the mid-terms this far out from the vote are barmy partisans who spend the whole day surfing the net looking for bias. They dissect my friend's copy and challenge every supposed deviation from total impartiality (of which they know nothing and everything) with lengthy rejoinders and demands for clarification.
All of it proof - my newspaper friend acknowledges gloomily - that this November 7th is a REALLY BIG DEAL. Sure a few conservative Republicans are licking their lips and looking forward to the exquisite pain of defeat, the better to prepare for the libertarian future, but most see a Democratic victory as just that, a Democratic victory. And they don't like those words.
From the Left the feelings are even more intense: this is after all the last chance they have to poke the eye of the president, metaphorically speaking, and a failure now would surely call into question their capabilities given all that has gone awry for this White House and for the Republicans generally.
Watch this space: it's going to get mighty rough, and we ( as we are affectionately known) are in the firing line.
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- James Westhead
- 3 Oct 06, 03:51 PM
How bad can it get? For the Republicans, could the first day of the mid-term election campaign really have been any worse? Well perhaps if they were caught sending sexually explicit emails to underage children and then trying cover it up. Whoops... That is what former congressman Mark Foley and his party's leadership are actually accused of.
When confronted with the unwholesome internet messages Mr Foley had sent to teenagers, the disgraced representative resigned and checked himself into the current refuge of choice for scandal-struck politicians - the .
The big political question - as with any major scandal - is who will have to resign next to make it all go away? One possible GOP lightning rod is the House speaker, . It is he who seems to have been alerted to Mr Foley's peculiar behaviour some months earlier, failed to act on it, then denied he knew about it, then admitted he did but lamely defended his inaction. In the words of a stinging editorial from this morning, "Mr Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation…. that must examine his own inept performance." Not exactly a vote of confidence from a conservative Republican paper.
Even more alarming for Republicans is the possibility of more e-mail revelations . This was hinted at last night by ABC investigative reporter , who broke the original Foley-gate story. He said that he'd been contacted by a large number of other "pages" - the teenagers who help out in Congress - with further allegations against other members.
Much of it will turn out to be uncorroborated 'noise', but there's no question the whole of Washington is churning around the clock with rumours and anxieties about where - and who - this sleazy scandal will strike next. Perhaps day two could turn out even worse than day one after all.
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Matt Frei
- 2 Oct 06, 11:30 AM
I'm the ±«Óătv's senior North America TV correspondent. Before taking up this post, I was the ±«Óătv's Asia correspondent - based in Singapore and Hong Kong - a post I started just before the handover to China.
I first joined the ±«Óătv in 1986 shortly after leaving university, where my first job was in the German section of the ±«Óătv World Service, before moving to English language current affairs from 1987 to 1988. From 1992 to 1996 I was the ±«Óătv's correspondent in southern Europe, based in Rome.
I've witnessed many dramatic events, including the fall of Berlin Wall, and I've reported on the intifada and the first Gulf War as the London foreign affairs correspondent.
I was born in Germany, though my family moved to London when I was 10. I read History and Spanish at Oxford University, and graduated in 1986.
Matt Frei is the ±«Óătv's senior North America TV correspondent.
- Justin Webb
- 2 Oct 06, 11:15 AM
I'm ±«Óătv radio’s chief Washington correspondent, and also a television anchor (currently to be seen in the US on the evening News on stations).
Before arriving in Washington I spent three years as the ±«Óătv’s Europe correspondent, based in Brussels, Belgium. Before that, I had stints as a roving foreign correspondent - during which I reported from the first Gulf War, the war in Bosnia, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first democratic elections in South Africa, and even a coup in the Maldive Islands.
I've also been employed by the ±«Óătv as an ambassador for the organisation, holding public meetings and chairing question and answer sessions.
Beyond the ±«Óătv, I'm a regular commentator on US/European affairs on , , and the show on .
Finally, I was educated at Friends’ School Sidcot and the (graduating in 1983 with an honours degree in economics).
Justin Webb is the ±«Óătv's chief North America radio correspondent.
- Jamie Coomarasamy
- 2 Oct 06, 11:00 AM
I have a degree in modern languages (Russian and French) from Trinity Hall, Cambridge and I began my ±«Óătv career as a locally hired fixer/producer in Moscow in 1991 (just after the August coup).
I stayed in Moscow until January 1994, covering the events surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union - mainly for the ±«Óătv, but also as a freelancer producer/reporter. I worked in the World Service TV newsroom in London for much of 1994, before being sent back to Moscow as staff producer.
I spent a further three years there, producing and reporting - covering events such as the first war in Chechnya and President Yeltsin's dramatic re-election campaign in 1996. From the end of 1997 to the middle of 1999 I was the ±«Óătv's Warsaw correspondent, covering central Europe.
I then worked for three months as a London-based reporter on the Today programme, before being posted to Paris as a ±«Óătv correspondent there. I spent four years in France - covering events such as the long-running row between the UK and France over the Sangatte refugee camp and the 2002 presidential election, which saw the far right leader Jean Marie le Pen make it to the run off with President Chirac.
I then worked as a reporter on Newsnight, before moving to London to be Europe reporter for 's The World Today in 2003. I was sent to cover the last few weeks of the 2004 US Presidential campaign and - since January 2005 - I've been Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv World Service radio; reporting on everything from presidential and congressional politics, to space shuttle launches and Oscar ceremonies.
I'm married with two children.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Jonathan Beale
- 2 Oct 06, 10:45 AM
After university and working for an MP in the UK, I joined the ±«Óătv as a trainee reporter in 1989. My ±«Óătv career started in local radio and regional TV, before I joined ±«Óătv London and south east as the regional political correspondent.
I also spent two years in Brussels as the ±«Óătv's regional Europe correspondent and Europe political correspondent, before returning to London to become one of the ±«Óătv's political correspondents at Millbank. I've also presented political programmes, such as The Westminster Hour on ±«Óătv Radio 4.
Jonathan Beale is the ±«Óătv's State Department correspondent.
- Andy Gallacher
- 2 Oct 06, 10:30 AM
Over the last 10 years I've covered various world events for the ±«Óătv, including the attacks of 11 September and the war in Iraq. Now, my focus is the southern states and the Caribbean. I travel around extensively, reporting on a wide range of issues for radio and TV.
I was born in London - though raised in the north of England - and have a degree in journalism from the University of Sheffield. I was a member of the armed forces before joining the ±«Óătv.
Andy Gallacher is the ±«Óătv's Miami correspondent.
- Lourdes Heredia
- 2 Oct 06, 10:15 AM
I've worked for the ±«Óătv since 1997, and, amongst other things, I was the bilingual reporter in Buenos Aires during the build-up to the Argentine economic crisis that consumed four presidents in less than a month.
I was born in Mexico, but earned a degree in communications in Japan and then later lived in Spain, where I gained a masters degree in law.
Lourdes Heredia is Washington correspondent for the ±«Óătv's Latin American service.
- Guto Harri
- 2 Oct 06, 10:00 AM
I'm based in New York, and since moving to the US last year, I've travelled extensively around the country, focusing on business and economics.
Before that, I was based in Rome, after spending more than a decade covering UK politics. As chief political correspondent, I followed UK PM Tony Blair around the world, and accompanied him on a number of visits to Washington and Camp David.
I was born in Cardiff and read politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University before joining the ±«Óătv.
Guto Harri is the ±«Óătv's North America business correspondent.
- James Westhead
- 2 Oct 06, 09:45 AM
I've been based in Washington, reporting on the US for the ±«Óătv, since November 2005. I'm the late reporter here in the bureau, so I'm responsible for overnight coverage on ±«Óătv World Service radio, World TV, and the UK TV and radio morning programmes.
My previous role was in London, where I was the ±«Óătv's education and family correspondent for the One & Six O'Clock News programmes. Before that, I specialised as a health correspondent, working first for ±«Óătv regional TV in London and then for ±«Óătv News 24 when it launched in 1997.
I started my broadcasting career as a reporter with ±«Óătv Radio Kent in 1990.
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Nick Miles
- 2 Oct 06, 09:30 AM
I joined the ±«Óătv in 1992, after studying modern languages at Manchester University.
My ±«Óătv career started as a reporter for Radio Five Live, before working as a ±«Óătv 'stringer' in Peru in 1997, covering the hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence.
I then worked as a producer at the ±«Óătv World Service for three years, before moving to Mexico as the ±«Óătv Latin America correspondent in 2001. During that two-year posting, I covered the ongoing political turmoil in Venezuela, including the attempted coup against President Hugo Chavez and the two-month long national oil workers strike. I also reported on the political transition in Haiti that marked the end of President Aristide's time in office.
I moved to Washington in June of this year, after two years spent in South Africa covering stories in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya.
Nick Miles is a Washington correspondent for ±«Óătv News.
- Claire Bolderson
- 2 Oct 06, 09:20 AM
I present the World Tonight on Radio 4, as well as the ±«Óătv World Service programme Newshour.
I covered my first US election in 1994, when I was a ±«Óătv Washington correspondent, and I've reported on every election since. I also makes regular visits to the US for other stories, and have also reported from Africa and South East Asia. My recent assignments in Europe included coverage of the Italian and the German general elections.
I began my broadcasting career in Indonesia, where I reported for the ±«Óătv and the Financial Times for two and a half years, spending time also in Singapore, Malaysia and Burma. I came to the ±«Óătv via the World Service newsroom after taking a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford.
Claire Bolderson presents ±«Óătv radio's World Tonight and Newshour
- Adam Brookes
- 2 Oct 06, 09:15 AM
I report for ±«Óătv TV, radio and online on US national security.
Before coming to Washington, I reported from China for six years as the ±«Óătv's Beijing correspondent, and from Indonesia as Jakarta correspondent. Reporting assignments have taken me to Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Burma and many other countries.
I've a degree in Chinese from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, and have been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University.
Adam Brookes is the ±«Óătv's Pentagon correspondent.
- Matt Davis
- 2 Oct 06, 09:00 AM
I work on world news for the ±«Óătv News website. Previously, I was the website's Washington correspondent, covering a range of stories from Beltway politics to Hurricane Katrina and the Michael Jackson trial.
I'm currently working in DC in the run-up to the US mid-term elections and, like US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, I'm an avid squash player.
Matt Davis works on the world desk of the ±«Óătv News website.
- Katty Kay
- 2 Oct 06, 08:45 AM
I anchor the evening bulletins of ±«Óătv World News. We reach viewers around the world and an increasing share of US audiences on PBS and ±«Óătv America. The programme gives a half-hour window on the day's events from a global perspective.
I started my ±«Óătv career in Zimbabwe, reporting for the Africa service of ±«Óătv World Service radio, which gave me a sense of how important our language services are to the millions who rely on them around the globe. I went from Africa to London, where I got my first staff job with the corporation at Bush House in London. From there it was on to Japan as Tokyo correspondent.
After three years in Tokyo I landed in Washington where I have lived since 1996. I took some time out of the ±«Óătv to have children and to work for the Times of London in their Washington bureau. Print was a good education but I soon realised I prefer broadcasting. I returned to the ±«Óătv as an anchor in 2004.
I also appear regularly as a commentator on NBC's Sunday programmes, The Chris Matthews Show and Meet the Press, and on NPR's Diane Rehm show.
I was brought up in the Middle East as the daughter of a British diplomat. I studied French and Italian at Oxford, juggle journalism with raising my four children and spend what free time I have skiing and kite surfing.
Katty Kay is a presenter on
- Richard Greene
- 2 Oct 06, 08:40 AM
I began my career as a journalist in Prague, where I lived from 1991 to 1999, working both on the staff of the weekly Prague Post and as a freelance. I covered President Vaclav Havel, including his trips to the Middle East and Balkans, as well as city politics, theatre, music and film.
I came to the UK to study international relations at the London School of Economics in 1999, and joined the ±«Óătv News website in 2000 after I graduated.
In my time at the ±«Óătv I have written about everything from combat stress among Iraq veterans to film and baseball (the hopeless, hapless Chicago Cubs remain my first love).
After a one-year career break spent studying Russian and drinking tea in Azerbaijan, I spent 2004 focused on the US elections, mostly from London but also on a two-week road trip around the country.
I moved to the US in April of this year (coming “home” for the first time in nearly 15 years) for a one-year posting as the News website’s reporter/producer in the Washington bureau. I am married with two children – the younger of whom launched only days before this blog.
Richard Greene is the ±«Óătv News website's Washington reporter
- The Reporters
- 2 Oct 06, 08:35 AM
This blog is written by reporters working for ±«Óătv TV, radio and online. Here's a brief summary of who they are, and links to more info.
- The Reporters
- 2 Oct 06, 08:00 AM
This blog will cover the 2006 US mid-term elections, featuring contributions from reporters from across the ±«Óătv, along with your comments and questions.
Comments on this blog will be moderated. When you submit a comment, we will read it and decide whether to publish it. We aim to include as many comments as we can, but we won't publish any which are abusive, are inappropriate on the grounds of taste and decency, or which appear to be part of a concerted lobbying attempt. There's more on our moderation policy in these . Comments should be based around the original post and subsequent discussion.
For comparison purposes, here are links to some of the rules applied by our contemporaries - , , and in the USA, and and in the UK.
The ±«Óătv is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
