2004 Presidential Election
There will be a one-hour debate Sunday. CBS News, WCBS-TV and the New York Times are sponsoring a one-hour Democratic debate. CBS' Dan Rather will moderate with questions also coming from WCBS and Times reporters. Television stations in the following cities will carry the debate live from 11:00am-noon (either on its CBS or UPN affiliates).
NHPrimary.com "Front-runner John Kerry maintains a commanding lead over rival John Edwards among likely voters in Democratic primaries in California, New York and Ohio next week, according to statewide polls released Wednesday."
Maryland is shaping up as a close race between John Edwards and John Kerry, according to the Daily Kos.
Cindy Rodriquez writes that President Bush is supporting the constitutional ban on gay marriage as a smokescreen to draw voters attention away from his record, in her column in today's Denver Post [February 27, 2004, "Real issues? Bush prefers to distract"]. Says Rodriquez, "In the end, states will have to make their own decisions about marriage rights - something politicians shouldn't even be sticking their noses into. The amendment won't pass. Bush knows that. But it'll be a protracted and heated debate, one that'll win him points with conservatives, and keep important issues from the news pages for months to come."
The creator of the amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman was originally proposed by Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO).
Reggie Rivers is arguing that a constitutional amendment is the wrong approach in his column in today's Denver Post [February 27, 2004, "Marriage amendment must be defeated"]. Says Rivers, "Before we allow the president's inflated claims to lead us into yet another battle, let's pause to consider the facts. Even if you don't believe that the basic civil liberties of gay people should be protected, you should oppose this amendment. The original Bill of Rights and most of the 17 amendments that followed were designed to protect individual citizens from two powerful entities: the government and the majority...President Bush and other conservatives complain that activist, unelected judges are legislating from the bench and forcing their will on the majority. They suggest that politicians should pass the laws that are popular with the people and judges should not thumb their noses at the majority. This is a red herring, because our system virtually guarantees that judges can only strike down 'popular' laws. Politicians generally are not trendsetters. When they pass a law, it's usually in line with the prevailing public mood on the issue. That means that 'unpopular' laws (those that are not supported by the majority of the public) are not likely to pass. Since judges can only rule on issues that have been signed into law, anytime they overturn a bill they're likely to be going against popular opinion. They're not 'activists' - they're just doing their jobs." Rivers goes on to discuss John Stuart Mill and his essay On Liberty.
Update: Daily Kos: "Get yer polls right here! Got a slew of them. The first is a yummi poll, from the Arizona State University, showing Bush losing to both Kerry and Edwards in this crucial swingstate. 2/19-22. MoE 4.7%."
Update: Taegan Goddard: is reporting that President Bush will start running television ads soon. He's got $150 million to use so far in his campaign for reelection.
5:59:37 AM 
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