Vera Drake: A Cue from The Passion of the Christ
The Un-voters
Who are the 45 percent of Americans who are eligible to vote but don't? Pollster Peter Hart knows. He tells us that they're not shirkers of civic duty. Instead, many think they just don't know enough about the candidates. "They don't feel that they're adequate" enough to choose, he said. And, "a lot of people are content with their life" without politics.
Roadie rags
What's hot in political fashion? The new black coats that Bush staffers are sporting on the campaign trail. They're embroidered with a logo of an interstate highway sign emblazoned with "W 2004" and the words "Road Crew" below. Underneath is a royal blue fleece liner embroidered with a presidential seal. "You wouldn't believe how warm they are," says Bush spokesman Scott McClellan. Insiders tell us that message maven Karen Hughes loves to wear hers on Air Force One.
Have gun, will vote
One reason polls might show Sen. John Kerry doing well with men is all those newspaper pictures of the candidate hoisting a shotgun. We're told that labor officials are putting even more pictures of sportsman Kerry in factories and other workplaces. "Those pictures," says our labor insider, "tell guys not to worry about their guns."
Image trouble
The most effective TV ads in the presidential race probably were not a product of either campaign. Analysts suggest that the most powerful came from the independent, left-leaning Media Fund, with its hit on President Bush 's ties to the Saudi royal family: two ads showing the prez and a Saudi leader holding hands. To test the ad, the Media Fund took the pulse of voters in St. Louis before and after the ads had aired for a week. Pollster Fred Yang found that the head-to-head matchup between Bush and Sen. John Kerry swung 9 percentage points to Kerry. The ads also hurt Bush by boosting the perception that he's tied to Big Oil.
Insourcing jobs
That jobs outsourcing issue wouldn't be so bruising to President Bush if he had paid attention to his business pals. That's because business owners are finding they can keep jobs in the United States if they get included in one of the nation's many foreign-trade zones. In the first study of its kind, the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones found that companies covered by the designation employ 338,000 workers and export $19.8 billion in goods a year. The zones, started under the New Deal, level the playing field with overseas competitors by cutting taxes and tariffs to encourage imports and exports. The Ford Motor Co. is one example. After the company won trade-zone status, the study said, it scrapped plans to send its Ohio engine-manufacturing business to Britain. "You bet it saved jobs," said trade consultant Roy Knapp.
Alternative medicine
The folks at GOP opposition research didn't just laugh when Teresa Heinz Kerry said white raisins, soaked in gin for 14 days, soothe arthritis pain. They decided to test the remedy. "We've got Sun-Maid white raisins soaking in Gilbey's," an insider told us. "It should be ready just in time, the day before the election," he said. "We'll need 'em."
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With Julian E. Barnes and Angie C. Marek
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