The Week Ahead

I’m back from vacation (family wedding with a sidetrip to DC) and am able to give to you all, once again, a handy-dandy list of things to keep an eye on as the month of July ends and the August begins.

Here you go…

A constant at this time is keeping an eye on the battle in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah. It’s starting to erode Bush’s goals in the mid-East, it’s starting to have a more profound and harshly-viewed impact on civilians, and The Jerusalem Post has thrown out a concept that suggests the U.S. is prodding Israel to attack Syria. (Again, no side-taking, just a reminder to not let this situation fall into the background)

Keep an eye on Karl Rove. He’s on a direct heading for an implosion. Want an example? During a commencement speech at GWU graduate school of political management, Rove tore-into the media for playing a “corrosive role” in politics by ‘focusing on process, not substance.’ (Uh, yeah… sure. I think Mr. Rove may be living in an alternate-universe. And not the same one as Rummy…

Keep an eye on the number of U.S. Troops in Iraq. They’re supposed to be going down, right Kemp? Well… no. Last week the number of troops went from 127,000 to 132,000 according to The Financial Times of London as the US “quietly reversed its goal from whittling down troop numbers in Iraq before the mid-term congressional elections in November.” (Nice… playing politics with the lives of our soldiers… isn’t that such a Republican thing to do?)

Pay attention to more falling numbers for Dubya as a CBS News/New York Times poll shows that 60% of Americans believe that our “fearless” leader is not respected by foreign leaders. (Wow, that almost seems impossible following his performance at the G8 Summit… a shoulder rub here, a swear word there… I never would have thought that Americans would believe other leaders don’t view him with respect. For those of you who couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic…). Plus he’s losing his focus.

Pay attention to Congress as they resume talks about a minimum wage hike and the fate of the estate ta— what’s that? They’re gone?? They left DC for the rest of the summer, leaving those and other items dangling in the breeze?? No, I can’t accept that… they wouldn’t do that to the American public that they work for… (Again, For those of you who couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic…)

Keep your eyes on Ann Coulter’s syndication royalties. Fast on the heels of her column being dropped from daily papers in Augusta, GA. and Cedar Rapids, IA. A weekly newspaper in Greensboro, N.C., is also dropping her column, using reader feedback in support of the decision, as its basis. (Ms. Coulter, allow me to offer you some free future career advice; VH-1’s ‘Surreal Life’ is always hiring for their next season… or maybe you could be Flavor-Flav’s new squeeze…)

Pay attention as the United Nations decides to get involved in some U.S. internal haggling as the UN states that the District of Columbia should have a voting member of Congress and says not doing so shows an enourmous inconsistency with international law. (Uh…sure. Good to know the UN is getting involved in the affairs of the World that are important, and leaving the trivial things – like Iran, North Korea and the mid-East— space to sort themselves out. Wow… am I in a very sarcastic mood this afternoon or what??)

Don’t take your eye off of Tom DeLay or the GOP for a minute, lest they pull some more slight of hand attempts. A federal appeals court in New Orleans is the latest venue for the legal wranglings over whether Tom DeLay should remain on the ballot this November as the Republican nominee in Texas’ 22nd District. (Of course he should stay on the ballot; as a punishement if nothing else. DeLay’s ego prevented him from stepping out of the primary in time for the GOP to pick a potential candidate, so let his name hang in the wind of embarassment…)

Keep your eyes on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at all times as he disapears at will. Remember months and months ago when the good senator was pushing for campaign finance reform? Well, there’s a new bill out there, almost identical to McCain’s version of last year… but his name is “conspicuously absent” from it. (Hmmmm…. Sounds like the act of someone gearing up for a possible presidential run in 2008 to me…)

Don’t take your eyes off the Katherine Harris campaign for a minute, or you might miss something downright hilarious. Ms. Harris is a popular subject here at TBWA (and everyt other Liberal site), and this one just adds to the saga that is her senate campaign. The Associated Press has tracked down a letter from the Florida state Republican Party, signed by Party Chair Carole Jean Jordan, and sent to Ms. Harris in May, that promised her absolutely no support from the party and urged her to drop out of the race. The letter states: “Katherine, though it causes us much anguish, we have determined that your campaign faces irreparable damage. We feel that we have no other choice but to revoke our support.” (All I can say to that is ‘ouch’… and hah hah hah hah hah)

Keep your eyes and ears on the mid-term election as we reach the 100-day point. Only 100 days until the mid-terms, and the Democrats are starting to pull even and/or pull ahead of some GOP opponents.

That’s all we got, take ‘em as you will…