Coyote Gulch

Saturday, October 9, 2004

Howling at a Waning Moon - Wangari Maathai
Bob Whitson: "Kenyan human rights and environmental activist Wangari Maathai who was named as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2004 said, 'It cannot get any better than this -- maybe in heaven.'"
2:50:13 PM

Denver November 2004 Election
Early voting starts October 18th, 15 days before the election. If you're having trouble making up your mind, send me email, I'll help you out.
Robert Cringely: "The trend in U.S. elections that concerns me the most is voter apathy. Fewer of us are voting each election, and young people are especially unlikely to vote. There is no dispute about this situation, and all sides are affected." Here's the link to the Vanishing Voter Project.
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff is endorsing Ken Salazar for the U.S. Senate [October 9, 2004, "Ken Salazar for U.S. Senate"]. From the editorial, "We have 18 reasons for supporting Ken Salazar's quest to become Colorado's next U.S. senator. They are the 18 years he's been in public service in this state. During that time - first as legal adviser to Gov. Roy Romer, then as head of the Department of Natural Resources and finally as attorney general - Salazar has consistently displayed the sort of pragmatic, sensible judgment that will serve him well in the nation's capital. Salazar is a Democrat, yet over the past two decades he's worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to discover solutions for water-parched communities, create a statewide system to preserve open space, upgrade standards for police training, defend Colorado in legal conflicts with neighboring states, shore up crime victims' rights, institute a statewide registry for sex offenders, and promote many other overdue reforms. Unlike some officials in his position, he also hasn't hesitated to speak out in favor of more openness in the legal system - such as criticizing a judge's refusal to release the autopsy of Dylan Klebold and, more recently, disputing a decision restricting the state grand jury from reporting its conclusions in the University of Colorado recruiting scandal."
Ken Salazar leads Peter Coors 46% to 44% according to a recent Denver Post/Channel 9 News poll, according to the Denver Post [October 9, 2004, "'Close race,' but Salazar has edge"]. From the article, "If the election were held today, 46 percent of the 630 respondents said they would vote for Salazar, and 44 percent said they would vote for Coors. That is within the poll's 4 percentage point margin of error. Nine percent said they were undecided, and 1 percent supported other candidates. The poll of randomly selected registered voters was conducted Oct. 4-6."
The Rocky Mountain News has a nifty Ballot Builder application on their Election page. Denver voters that would rather just download the sample ballot can go here.
The Rocky editorial staff is endorsing Carl Erickson for RTD in disrict E [October 9, 2004, "The best choices for RTD board"]. None of the other Denver candidates have any competition.
Pete Coors and Ken Salazar squared off in a debate at Channel 9 studios yesterday, according to the Denver Post [October 9, 2004, "Senate candidates debate taxes, business burden"]. From the article, "Tax policy was one key point of difference in the faceoff, with Republican businessman Coors saying that [base "]tax cuts are working[per thou] and allow businesses to hire more people. Democratic state attorney general Salazar, meanwhile, said he would focus on reducing taxes on the middle class as senator...A new Denver Post poll shows Salazar holding a slim lead over Coors among likely voters. If the election were held today, 46 percent of the poll's 630 respondents said they would vote for Salazar, and 44 percent said they would vote for Coors."
Here's an article about Amendment 36 from the Denver Post [October 8, 2004, "Top Democrats mum on Amend. 36"]. The amendment would divide Colorado's electoral college votes based on the popular vote for the president.
1:00:37 PM

2004 Presidential Election
Here's the debate coverage from the Denver Post [October 9, 2004, "Testy tussle in St. Louis"]. From the article, "In a heated debate rematch, Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Friday night of transforming huge budget surpluses into massive deficits with tax cuts for the rich during wartime. Bush said Kerry would have to raise taxes on middle-class Americans to pay for $2.2 trillion in new spending programs."
The Rocky Mountain News is running a short article about Senator Kerry and his visit to Colorado [October 9. 2004, "Kerry thinks state will swing his way"]. From the article, "Republicans, relax: John Kerry says you'll see him and Ken Salazar together soon. He also says President Bush's failures on education, health care and the environment have helped make Colorado competitive this election. And he's bummed he couldn't fit a bike ride into his three-day trip to the state."
Mike Littwin analyzes last night's debate in his column in today's Rocky Mountain News [October 9, 2004, "Littwin: Bush comes out fighting - or just 'frightening'"]. He writes, "In the first debate, John Kerry needed to make the case, before 60 million viewers, that he wasn't the caricature the Republicans had tried to make of him. In the second debate, George W. Bush had to make the case that he was ready to fight to keep his job. Whoever you think won this one - and the winning and losing of these things always take days to determine - it's hard to see how you wouldn't want to watch the third and final presidential debate this Wednesday."
The Denver Post fact checks the candidates in last night's debate [October 9, 2004, "New format plays loose with facts"].
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff reviews last night's debate [October 9, 2004, "Bush regains ground in 2nd round"]. They write, "Friday's presidential town hall debate gave the candidates a last shot at tackling national security and the war in Iraq (since the next forum in Tempe, Arizona, focuses entirely on domestic policy). After a feeble performance last week, President Bush regained some lost ground by effectively drawing a sharp contrast between his record, vision and skills and those of his opponent. Though sometimes way too testy, in overall style and substance Bush still dominated the evening, most notably on the issue of Iraq and the war against terrorism. Unlike like last week's match, this time the president succeeded in putting the ongoing war in a broader context: Iraq, he said, is part of a global security strategy that, beyond pre-empting terror at its source, envisions the spread of freedom as an antidote to hatred and tyranny...To be sure, Kerry had his moments, but none were convincing enough to keep the president down. Which is why the third round promises to be all the more important."
Electoral-vote.com: "The first poll on the second debate shows the results much closer than debate #1. According to a Gallup poll of 515 registered voters, Kerry won by 47% to 45%. When asked if they felt more favorable about the candidates after the debate, 38% were more favorable to Kerry and 20% were less favorable. For Bush the figures were 31% and 20%. For a challenger, these are good numbers. Historically, when an incumbent is running for reelection, the undecideds typically don't like the incumbent but are not sure if the new guy on the block is up to the job. His task is to convince them he can do it. In the past, the undecideds have ultimately broken 2 to 1 for the challenger."
"Although there are several state polls, many are older than the current poll so they are added to the allpolls.csv list but do not change the spreadsheet or the map. The only change to the map today is in Colorado, which goes from a tie to Bush, 52% to 44%, according to Survey USA. Kerry remains above the magic 270 votes in the electoral college for the moment."
Denver Post: "President Bush leads Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry in Colorado with the support of 50 percent of the state's likely voters to Kerry's 41 percent, according to a new Denver Post poll."
More debate coverage from the Denver Post [October 9, 2004, "'Same old back-and-forth meanness'"].
TalkLeft: "Debate: Blogger Reaction."
12:46:48 PM

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