Washington Whispers
It Looks as Though Girls Really Do Rule
Feminists hopeful of an election blowout this week want to replace that old T-shirt slogan "A Woman's Place is in the House And Senate" with something simpler: Girls rule; boys drool. Ellen Malcolm, head of the Democratic-women-focused EMILY's List political action committee, says 2006 should be the year women break through the political door and get ready for a march to the presidency. Expecting a House Democratic takeover, Malcolm says the elevation of Rep. Nancy Pelosi would ease voter concerns about women in top jobs. "Having Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House is going to send a very wonderful lesson to the American public that women can be strong, they can be tough, they can be effective, and they can lead this country."
Whom Do You Like? Bloggers vs. Rove
Political bloggers finally get a chance to prove whether they're as good as White House election guru Karl Rove. A new site, predict06.com, has set up election pools for some of the most popular blogs to make their election predictions. While the bloggers as a whole believe the Democrats will take the House but not the Senate, liberal Daily Kos sees a Democratic sweep while conservative Redstate sees only GOP majorities. But partisanship has its limits. Even Daily Kos users are going with Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman over Democrat Ned Lamont.
The Quayle Choice: a Youth Thing
Scoff all you want, but we've always had a soft spot for maligned former Vice President Dan Quayle. See, his was our first big national campaign to cover, and he always had good barbecue on his jet. But we're still learning why former President George H. W. Bush picked him. Thanks to Doro Bush Koch's new book, My Father, My President, we find out from Bush and Quayle that it was strictly a youth move. "I wanted somebody young," says Bush. Quayle says, "I don't think your dad's told anybody how it came down to [former Sen. Bob] Dole and myself, but that's my guess. It was a generational choice. I've always compared it to what Eisenhower did in picking Nixon."
With Alex Kingsbury and Will Sullivan
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