by David Remer July 7, 2003  --Political News & Analysis--

Today’s headlines and stories are unusually full of potential presidential election issues in November, 2004. Below are articles that have appeared in the last 24 hours in various media. Potential campaign issues raised are 1) Democrats losing incumbent seats in South, 2) administration allowing changes in Medicaid without following through on quality of care, 3) President Bush to be indicted for war crimes, 4) administration’s attempt to roll back overtime pay, 5) morale of U.S. troops in Iraq waning: death toll growing, 6) former U.S. ambassador employed by CIA debunks Africa-Iraq uranium trade and 6) Unemployment rate grows.

It remains to be seen what role third parties will play in the 2004 elections. There is little doubt the  (Democratic National Committee) is right about having lost votes due to Green Party candidates having drawn them off. With growing dissent between factions of the Republican Party, a similar effect may be felt by the  RNC (Republican National Committee) in 2004. The RNC should be concerned if the American Reform Party,  The Libertarian Party, The Constitution Party, and The Reform Party of the USA are successful in recruiting more voters in 2004 than in 2000, because these parties will drain Republican votes.

Today’s headline election issues follow:

Carl Hulse writes in the NY Times that Democrats have a challenge in the Southeast holding Senate seats, with 2 Democrat seats open due to incumbents running for president and Zell Miller leaving the Georgia Senate seat open. The South was a Bush stronghold in 2000 elections.

Robert Pear of the NY Times writes: "The Bush administration has allowed states to make vast changes in Medicaid but has not held them accountable for the quality of care they provide to poor elderly and disabled people…"

The Japan Times contains an article announcing: "A group of Japanese lawyers unveiled documents Monday "indicting" U.S. President George W. Bush for war crimes allegedly committed against the Afghan people since the United States-led coalition began its antiterrorism campaign in Afghanistan in October 2001."

Bob Herbert of the NY Times writes: "The Bush administration, which has the very bad habit of smiling at working people while siphoning money from their pockets, is trying to change the federal Fair Labor Standards Act in a way that could cause millions of workers to lose their right to overtime pay."

A story by Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Monitor is headlined Fatigued, U.S. Troops Yearn For Home. He writes: "The trauma of this conflict is varied: Soldiers say they have seen remarkable scenes of killing and carnage; others speak of fears they face daily, doing urban patrols against an unseen, ghostlike enemy. Others have been away from home too long, with the absence and new dangers fraying their families' patience."

The BBC news in Britain reports: "Joseph Wilson - US ambassador to Gabon between 1992-95 - was asked by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to check reports that Niger sold Baghdad processed uranium that could be used to make nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

After spending eight days talking to dozens of people in Niger in February 2002, Mr Wilson concluded: "It was highly doubtful that any such transaction had ever taken place."

Ron Scherer of the CS Monitor writes: "Unless the economy improves, Bush will have to run on a record of losing jobs - so far 2.5 million. That would give him the dubious distinction of being behind only Herbert Hoover in terms of job losses."

6:37:39 AM  Google It!