Rehnquist Scandal: Bush Denies Wrongdoing - "Gov. Jeb Bush denied Wednesday that his brother's administration stalled a federal audit during his re-election campaign because it showed the state taking $3.5 billion too much from Washington and Florida cities and counties. 'If the implication was somehow this was a politically motivated deal because there was a campaign, it is just wrong; it's not true,' Bush said on CNN's "Inside Politics." See "Bush denies favoritism in audit delay".
The Governor's office's explanation: they "requested the audit delay only because the state was looking for someone to succeed the retiring Herndon, not for any political reason." We'll explore that claim in detail over the weekend; suffice it to say that it's inconsistent with the evidence.
Graham - Bill Cotterell observes: "The people and timing of the 2004 primaries augur against Florida for the second presidential race in a row. Bill Bradley had already dropped out by the time Florida voted last time, so Al Gore's celebration at Leon High School was fun, but politically insignificant. Next year, Florida votes on March 9 with Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. That's a good test of "Sunbelt" appeal, important to any Democrat challenging Bush, but probably too late to make Sen. Bob Graham much more than an attractive running mate. Florida votes seven days after the most super of Super Tuesdays. California, New York, Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont all have primaries on March 2 and Hawaii, Indiana and North Dakota are thinking of having their caucuses on that date."
And I've Got A Bridge For Sale - "Sen. Bob Graham said Wednesday that White House officials, after months of discussions, had agreed to follow Florida's nonpartisan process for selecting nominees to be federal judges, prosecutors and U.S. marshals." Miami Herald story.