All Blog Posts from Public Eye

‘Tis a banner day for the endless reading of election tea leaves, and plenty of the usual analysts are offering their perspectives – particularly with regard to the most recent little surprises that the last week has brought.

This past weekend was ushered in with news that National Association of Evangelicals’ spokesman Ted Haggard was resigning his post following accusations from a male prostitute who claimed to have had numerous meth-fueled trysts with the pastor. Haggard later admitted to buying meth and receiving a massage from the prostitute, and then on Sunday told members of his church that he was guilty of “sexual immorality.”

The predictions of how this might affect Republicans at the polls are, predictably, mixed. One “conservative activist who describes himself as a former homosexual,” Stephen Bennett, told the Kansas City Star: "Will this affect the elections next Tuesday? ... You better believe it. The more and more hypocrisy I see each day, the more I realize next Tuesday we are going to get exactly what we deserve." In a shocking twist, a Republican pollster disagreed, arguing that conservatives are indeed put off by such news, but not that much: "Are they so discouraged they're going to participate in any movement to have Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi run the country? No."

If Haggard’s woes are affecting your vote, John Dickerson suggests that you e-mail him explaining why (slatepolitics@slate.com) because, writes Dickerson: “I don't think you really exist or exist in large enough numbers to change much on Tuesday.” So take that.

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Well, oops. With just one week left until the midterm elections, John Kerry has given the White House something to talk about other than its unpopular war and those pesky Congressional scandals. As you have no doubt heard by now, Kerry said this to a group of students: "If you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't you get stuck in Iraq." The White House, surely elated to have such a gift fall in its lap, immediately pounced. "The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful," said President Bush. "The members of the U.S. military are plenty smart and plenty brave and the senator from Massachusetts owes them an apology."

Kerry insists his comments weren't an insult – just a botched joke. (He says he left out the word "us" – as in "If you don't you get us stuck in Iraq.") He maintains that he was talking about the president and his administration, not the troops. And, he says, the White House knows as much and are exploiting the situation anyway. Kerry also had some criticism for the press. "This is Swift Boat stuff all over again," he said this morning on "Imus." "Somebody says something, and they get excited and they love and have fun, because oh boy, isn't this good, you've got a controversy. But look behind the controversy. The controversy is based on a lie."

Which raises the question – should it be getting the coverage it is? The story is dominating the 24 hour cable networks and the blogs. It led all three network newscasts last night, and all three morning shows today. The New York Daily News put "Kerry Kalamity" in its cover. All this over a missing "us?" That isn't to say that the press should be ignoring the controversy – thanks to the White House's reaction to Kerry's comments, this is a legitimate, if small, political story. But isn't that about it?

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