President Bush “had a powerful effect” on New Hampshire’s
Republican primary. Roughly half of GOP voters “had a
negative opinion of the Bush administration, and those voters significantly
went for Arizona Sen. John McCain by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.” Of those with a
“positive opinion of the administration,” 37 percent voted for Mitt Romney.
There was record turnout in yesterday’s New Hampshire primaries.
“With ballots from 12 percent of voting precincts still to be counted, about
453,000 residents had cast votes, breaking the previous primary turnout
record of 396,385 ballots cast in 2000.”
President Bush chastised the “provocative” acts of a few Iranian
high-speed boats that
confronted U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf. According to a video released
by the Pentagon, the Iranian boats swarmed around the American ships, and a man
speaking heavily-accented English threatened, “I am coming to you. …
You will explode
after…minutes.”
With just “two members and unable to muster a quorum,” the Federal
Elections Commission “has decided to offer advice instead of binding
decisions on questions from political campaigns.” The four vacancies are a
result of President Bush’s refusal to withdraw the
nomination
of Hans A. von
Spakovsky, despite
strong
opposition from Congress.
As President Bush arrives in Israel today “to start a tour of six
Middle Eastern countries,” he “has yet to fulfill a key diplomatic
promise to name an envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference,
a promise he made seven months ago.” In a June speech at the Islamic Center
of Washington, Bush pledged to name an envoy to the grouping of 57 Muslim
states.
In a new court filing, lawyers for Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) argue
“that the underlying act” of his airport bathroom arrest “wasn’t
criminal because it didn’t involve multiple victims.” Craig’s lawyers also
claim that hand signals should be considered “constitutionally protected
speech.”
“Faced with recession fears, the White House is considering tax
rebates for individuals to encourage spending and
tax breaks for businesses to encourage investment, according to people
familiar with the matter.”
And finally: Gloria Squitiro,
wife of recently elected Kansas City, MO,
mayor Mark Funkhouser,
recently sent out a holiday letter to her friends and family. But instead of
talking about
her kids or job, she talked about Funkhouser’s prostate exam,
which was “the
highlight of his year.” She also said that watching it was her “biggest
joy.” “I waited in gleeful anticipation,” she wrote, noting “the doctor’s
sausage-sized fingers.” Ever since someone leaked Squitiro’s letter, it’s been
the “talk of the town.”
