2004 Presidential Election
Tonight is the first debate between John Kerry and George Bush. The Denver Post says that the stakes are high going in to tonight's confrontation [September 30, 2004, "It's high noon in Miami"]. From the article, "President Bush has traveled the country for months, telling preselected crowds of adoring supporters that the war in Iraq is a winning chapter in the struggle against Islamic terrorism. But tonight Bush must share the stage, and a national television audience, with Sen. John Kerry - the man who wants his job and is trying to make this election a referendum on the administration's failures in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the first time in the modern presidency, the Republican and Democratic candidates are expected to clash in debate over the conduct and wisdom of a war while U.S. troops remain locked in combat...The first of three scheduled debates between Bush and Kerry will begin at 7 p.m. MDT at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. Bush strategist Matthew Dowd predicted that 50 million Americans could tune in to watch tonight's 90-minute session. In past election years, the first debate usually drew the biggest audience of the series. The vice presidential candidates - Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Sen. John Edwards - will use a similar format in Cleveland on Tuesday. The presidential candidates will then engage in a town-meeting forum in St. Louis, on Oct. 8 and in a final debate on domestic issues Oct. 13 in Tempe, Ariz."
Air Force Reserve officials in Colorado have discovered more documents related to President Bush's National Guard service, according to the Denver Post [September 30, 2004, "More Bush service records turn up"]. From the article, "The White House and Air Force Reserve officials in Denver were scrambling Wednesday to explain the sudden appearance of a record written and signed by George W. Bush resigning from the Reserve in 1974 because he had 'inadequate time' to fulfill his duty obligations. The document surfaced Wednesday afternoon and was released Wednesday night. A White House spokesman said that the Department of Defense apparently had had the record since it was filed in November 1974 but that it had somehow failed to provide it in February when the president ordered that all of his service records be released. Earlier in the day, Defense Department officials denied knowledge of the document's existence. It was later confirmed by a spokesman at Denver's Air Reserve Personnel Center, then by the White House. The emergence of the new document raises questions about what else might surface in the five weeks before the Nov. 2 election. In February, Bush ordered copies of all his records released to the public."
Electoral-vote.com: "Today is D-day. The first debate is tonight and may determine the result of the election. It will take a number of days to get any polling data though. Kind of makes today's polls irrelevant."
Taegan Goddard: "President Bush 'has a 5-percentage-point lead' over Sen. John Kerry among likely voters, 'but nearly one-fifth say the candidate debates that begin tonight could affect their decision,' a new Los Angeles Times poll has found. Bush leads 51% to 46%, with both men 'holding at least 90% of the voters from their own party.' (See the extended poll analysis.) However, Bush 'still faces widespread doubts about many of his central initiatives. A narrow majority says the situation in Iraq was not worth the war, and a solid plurality believes that the president's policies have hurt, rather than helped, the economy. These doubts could provide the senator from Massachusetts with openings in the campaign's final weeks.' The latest Harris Poll shows Bush with a two-point lead over Kerry among likely voters, 48% to 46%. Here are the latest state polls: Michigan - Kerry 48, Bush 46 (Free Press - RV); Michigan - Bush 50, Kerry 48 (Free Press - LV); North Carolina - Bush 52, Kerry 43 (Mason-Dixon); Virginia - Bush 49, Kerry 43 (Mason-Dixon); Connecticut - Kerry 50, Bush 44 (Quinnipiac)."
6:40:35 AM 
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