10/29/02
Broke, and ready to puke
It might just be fundraising-letter hype, but the treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, Andrew Tobias, is warning donors that his party is broke as it readies a last-ditch effort to elect Democrats in the midterm elections. "The DNC is all but out of funds," he pens. Clinton ally James Carville, in his own fundraising letter to Democrats, says that's enough to make him sick. "Do you remember," he writes, "how you felt on election night in 1994 when you learned that Newt Gingrich was the new speaker of the House and the Republicans had won. I remember how I felt sick to my stomach." Fast-forward eight years, he says, and Republicans stand ready to repeat next week, if they can win the Senate and keep the House. Adds Tobias: "Imagine Trent Lott back in control of the Senate, working with Tom DeLay in the House as the only checks and balances on John Ashcroft, and the lifetime judicial nominees President Bush will send for confirmation." Who knows if their pitch will work, but it sure sounds like an emergency. "My job," writes Tobias, "is to look at the bottom line. And right now the bottom line is this: Without the last-minute support of loyal Democrats like you, our candidates may not have the backing they need to win." Read the letters here:
• Andrew Tobias
• James Carville

10/24/02
Out on the town with Bubba
In all his years as president, Bill Clinton loved a night on the town in the hippest new restaurants. And that hasn't changed. In Little Rock last weekend, he buzzed the latest rage, the Living Room, and asked for a table near the windows. Clinton said he was bringing 11 guests in after an 8:30 a.m. church service, reports our Suzi Parker. Since the table he wanted was full, the hostess asked the party to move, and they did. Once there, Clinton had to step away to use his cellular phone, and customers report that he waved at passing cars while talking. Friends say the visit proves to Arkansas skeptics that Clinton plans to spend lots of time in Little Rock as he works to build his presidential library and museum.

10/17/02
What if the House GOP loses?
It's an unlikely "what-if" scenario, but should the Democrats win back the House in the elections next month, the GOP may react with a leadership purge. Now, let's be clear. Most polls show the House Republicans keeping control, and maybe even adding a few seats to their slim majority. But if that changes, look for House Speaker Dennis Hastert and probably the incoming majority leader, Rep. Tom DeLay, to find themselves on thin ice as punishment. Those following House leadership moves say the winner of any internal fight could be Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the well-liked and well-connected chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee. "You could call him," says one insider, predicting Boehner's new title, "Mr. Minority Leader."

Boehner's web site: http://johnboehner.house.gov/

Boehner's committee site: http://edworkforce.house.gov/

10/16/02
It's Clinton vs. Bush in Arkansas
An election-eve showdown between President Bush and his predecessor Bill Clinton occurs in Arkansas over the next three weeks as both sides fight it out in the tight races for senator and governor. Clinton returns to Arkansas this weekend to help old pal Jimmie Lou Fisher close the gap on Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is running for re-election. Bubba plans to attend a Fisher fundraiser Sunday at the home of Kaki Hockersmith, the former interior designer in the Clinton White House. Republicans say so what: The money won't help Fisher because all the airtime for TV ads has already been purchased heading into the November 5 election. But they still worry that Clinton could be just what Fisher needs to take the governor's mansion, and Clinton returns on the Sunday before the election to help Fisher campaign. Bush, reports our Suzi Parker, plans to hit the state right before the election to help embattled Sen. Tim Hutchinson in his race against Democrat Mark Pryor. Unclear: Will Bush also campaign for Huckabee? Republicans say both elections will test the ability of Bush to carry his team over the finish line–and put an end to the political influence Clinton has held in Arkansas for 20 years.

10/10/02
Bush is copying Clinton
First it was Baylor University. Now it's officials from Southern Methodist University who have trucked to Little Rock seeking advice from organizers of the Bill Clinton presidential library and museum about hosting the George W. Bush presidential library. Baylor, SMU, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M are campaigning to snare the 43rd president's library and are looking for tips as they map out the educational, tourism, and economic development parts of their proposals. And Clinton library organizers say the Bush teams are checking out just how the latest library was put together.

10/8/02
Advisers try to anchor Bush
Republican political advisers tried to block the Bush administration's effort to help settle the labor differences between West Coast longshoremen and shippers. While President Bush decided to intervene in the dock shutdown showdown, insiders say they wanted him to wait until after the November elections. "All that will do," says one adviser, "is stir up the union base and we don't want to do that." The fear is that union workers might use any Bush bid to get workers back on dock during a negotiation "cooling off period" as an excuse to portray the Republicans as antiunion. That, say political advisers, could lead to a large union vote on Election Day for Democratic candidates.

10/3/02
No Bush tears over budget mess
Earlier expectations that Congress would return in late November for a lame-duck session to complete work on the 2003 budget are fading as more and more Republicans suggest waiting until after the New Year. Some say Congress might not pass the budget, which was supposed to kick in on October 1, until February or March. And the White House says it doesn't care. The reason: To keep the government operating, Congress would pass a bill to continue spending at current rates, not the higher amounts pushed by Congress. Office of Management and Budget Director Mitchell Daniels calls those fattened budget bills "a vehicle to smuggle in extra funds." And if Congress wants to wait a few more months before passing legislation to boost spending, he wouldn't complain.

10/1/02
Write-in campaign for Bob Smith
When Sen. Bob Smith called Rep. John Sununu to concede the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary last month, Sununu wouldn't take the call. The straight-talking and eccentric Smith, 61, who temporarily left the Republican Party in 1999 to run for president as an independent, was so offended that he's refused to take calls from Sununu, 38, ever since. With just a month to go before the general election and GOP unity critical for victory, the situation has Republicans worried. While Sununu leads Democrat Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in the polls, Republicans want Smith out promoting the guy who beat him, reports our Margaret Menge. The New Hampshire GOP hopes to bring Smith back into the fold and unite the party at the Republican Octoberfest fundraiser at the Manchester Country Club on October 19. "This is one party, and we're going to bring in the welders. We aim to cement it, to bring it together," said Hillsborough County Republican Chair Maurice Goulet. New Hampshire Republicans unwilling to say good-bye to Smith have started a write-in campaign to re-elect Smith in November, making the task of party unity that much tougher.

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