Notes For Sunday, December 29, 2002

"GRAHAM'S PROBLEM, GRAHAM'S OPPORTUNITY". This from Pundit Watch: "David Brooks of The Weekly Standard, appearing on The News Hour, noted a possible problem Senator Bob Graham (D, FL) might face as a presidential candidate:

People don't like anal retentives for some reason. They're prejudiced against them.

Graham keeps voluminous daily diaries. On the plus side, however, Brooks offered this:

Bob Graham has been on the Intelligence Committee, has articulated positions on Hezbollah, knows how to spell Hezbollah, which is more than most Senators do."
3:25 PM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

NEW LINK. Added the Wyeth Wire to our list of political web logs. A reminder to those who have not done so already, please check out Blog Soup; that is, if you enjoy the combination of great writing and politics. 9:14 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

CLAUDE KIRK MAKES CASE FOR BIRTH CONTROL. "They are all the children of my loins," says former repub Gov Kirk of the current Florida GOP. 8:16 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

MORE ON THE GRAHAM THING. In what could be the opening wind of a Graham for Prez micro storm, The Florida Times Union and the Miami Herald puff a Graham run at the Dem Prez nomination. Miami Herald political writer Peter Wallsten writes that "Graham capable of making a stout run for president". Both pieces follow BillCotterell's December 26 column about not underestimating a Graham run at the nomination.

Among Wallsten's points:

- Graham is the only legislator in the group of potential candidates to vote against President Bush's resolution for war with Iraq; and with "the public increasingly divided over what to do with Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda and the North Korea nuclear crisis feeling scarier than Iraq, Graham's poignant criticism that the president has lost focus in the war on terrorism could have resonance."

- "And as the most-popular Democrat in the nation's most-populous swing state -- home to presidential sibling Jeb Bush and the place where the whole deal was decided in 2000 -- Graham could make a strong case that he's best situated to kick Bush where it would most hurt."

- "[T]hose who knew Graham and have spoken to him in recent days say that if he announces in January or February that he is running for president, that is indeed what he will do. They say that Graham, the former state legislator-turnedgovernor-turned-senator, has the clearest campaign message, centered on economic and national security, and by far the longest resume of the bunch."

Along these same lines, the Orlando Sentinel published a guest column "Bob Graham for president -- why not?" 7:55 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

SUNDAY EDITORIAL SURVEY. Not much overtly political material in the editorial pages today.

- The Penasacola News Journal takes Gov Bush to task over his hipocrisy over trade with Cuba. They write: "We just wish they had been honest about it all along, and hadn't felt the need to use the issue for political gain."

- An interesting piece in the Tallahassee Democrat on our Gov copying his brother's faith based initiative.

- The Florida Times Union editorializes in favor of a Graham run for Prez (discussed above). 7:33 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK - RAGGED RECOVERY 0R NO RECOVERY AT ALL. "Ragged recovery is the best South Florida can hope for", warns the Sun-Sentinel. It all depends on whether there is a "war" with Iraq. "'To the extent that occurs it will hinder tourism, and certainly tourists coming by air,' said economist Hank Fishkind, who serves on the Gov.'s Council of Economic Advisers." Of course, compounding all this is the state budget crisis. 7:22 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]