- If Graham were the Democratic nominee for president and the election were held today, he would lose to President Bush 51 to 39 percent, according to the poll. . . .
- [I]n Florida only 47 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of Graham -- down from 60 percent in February 2001, well before Graham took on Bush. . . .
- Graham, the only senator in the race to vote against the resolution that gave the president the authority to go to war with Iraq, has suggested the administration embellished the facts to justify its case. Graham's stance has some centrist Democrats fearing the party risks alienating more moderate voters, a worry Coker said is underscored by the poll results. 'He's picked a risky issue to take on Bush,'' [Mason-Dixon Polling & Research managing director Brad Coker] said. `And he may be paying a price for it.'"
Thereafter, on Thursday, August 21, the Orlando Sentinel published an editorial, "Bow out, Bob Graham", urging Bob Graham to drop his presidential bid. The editors argued that "in refashioning himself as a Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Graham has moved away from the moderate, bipartisan approach he has successfully followed in Washington. His shifts to the political left and partisanship during the campaign already have alienated political moderates in Florida." An AP wire story pursued a similar theme this weekend: "Graham's Campaign Worries State Democrats".
In a column today, political pundit Brian Gleason contends Graham is not doing either himself or the Democratic party any good by staying in the race. Gleason writes that "a leftward lurch during his campaign has caused his approval rating to fall faster than President Bush's own re-election chances. Graham went from 60 percent approval in February to 47 percent in August. And whereas two recent polls show Bush losing to any Democrat by up to five points, Graham would lose by 14 points."
Also today, in an analysis of this "Graham should drop out boomlet', the Miami Herald considers the argument that "Graham's talk of impeaching Bush over his potentially misleading assertions about weapons of mass destruction could hurt him in a state where both the president and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, are popular." In response to critics, the Graham campaign asserts that "despite Graham's dropping popularity, even the Mason-Dixon poll made it clear he remains a heavy favorite to win reelection to the Senate if he chooses to run. 'This is an academic discussion, because Bob Graham expects to win the presidency,'' said Mo Elleithee, a Graham spokesman. 'The people of Florida know Bob Graham, and they love Bob Graham and they know that he has served them well.'" We'll have to see.
Corporate Voucher Scandal -The state Department of Education Monday started an internal investigation into how an Ocala man received the department's approval -- contrary to its own rules -- to solicit and distribute "hundreds of thousands" of dollars for private school vouchers. And the state Senate president said Monday Florida's various voucher programs are so riddled with problems that laws to clean them up should be passed in the next special legislative session -- possibly this October. "Senate chief wants voucher laws tightened".
Must Read -Two recent columns criticizing Florida's failed oversight of Gov. Bush's voucher programs have led some readers to complain that I am hostile to all vouchers. Far from it.
In fact, two years ago I proposed vouchers for students having trouble fitting in at regular public schools. I called them SCRAM Grants, which public schools would hand out to Students Committing Repeated Acts of Mindlessness. The idea was to force discipline problems out of public schools and into the private arena, thereby leveling the playing field between public schools that have to take all comers and private schools that get to pick and choose. Hey, we all know private schools are better, so I'm sure they could handle the kids public schools can't. Please read the rest of "How to make F schools disappear".
"Jeb!" Wakes Up, But Merely Appoints Another Useless Panel - Now, after the phoney malpractice caps fight, "Jeb!" has suddenly discovered that that Florida has a disaster on its hands when it comes to accessability to health care.
With the number of Floridians without health insurance climbing again, Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday named a task force to find ways the state can bring affordable coverage or care to the uninsured. Bush said the study group would come up with specific suggestions he could set in motion himself or take to the Legislature for approval. Key ideas likely involve the state paying subsidies to expand coverage, although the Republican governor did not commit to boosting state funds for insurance.
Bush's action came five days after a University of Florida study found that 27 percent of Miami-Dade County residents under age 65 were uninsured, up from 25 percent in 1999. A 2000 study set the figure at 26 percent in Broward County and 29 percent in Palm Beach County. "Bush names panel on health insurance". See also "Governor appoints health-care panel".
"Cobalt Blue" Marquez On Prisons -Florida's rush to build more prison beds even as the state's serious crime rate stands at a 30-year low signals trouble ahead for the nation's justice system. . . . Gov. Jeb Bush maintains that dipping into the state's reserve funds to spend $66 million to build 4,000 more prison beds is an investment in public safety, which is "first and foremost" in importance for voters. No, it's pandering to base instincts, nothing more "Not fiscally sound or morally justified". Quite a change for the columnist who in January described "Jeb!" Bush's "vision" for Florida as "universal and timeless" and "clear and electrifying as [the inauguration] day's cobalt blue sky." [The January column is now archived by the Sentinel and otherwise available on Lexis-Nexis].
Playing Politics With KIds -The Department of Children & Families' effort to reduce the backlog of incomplete child abuse investigations, which has become the linchpin of Secretary Jerry Regier's claims of reforming the troubled agency, may have left thousands of children ''at risk of harm,'' according to an internal review by DCF. See "Audit: DCF backlog project left kids at risk".
"Family Values" Apparently Don't Include Following The Law -A mysterious committee that launched an advertising campaign against slot machines at the state's horse and dog tracks is being investigated by the Florida Elections Commission. Floridians for Family Values was formed this year by Cory Tilley, who owns a public relations firm and is a former communications director for Gov. Jeb Bush. Tilley, chairman of the group, will not say who provided the money or paid for advertisements mailed out to thousands of Floridians in April. "State investigates opponents of video lottery at race tracks" (from last Friday).
Musical Chairs -Bush said Monday that Denver Stutler Jr. will become his chief of staff when Kathleen Shanahan leaves Oct. 3. . . . Stutler, a 39-year-old civil engineer, began working for the administration in 1999 as chief of staff in the Department of Environmental Protection before becoming deputy chief of staff for the governor. Bush said Patricia Levesque, 32, would become deputy chief of staff. She has been serving as education policy director in the governor's office. Levesque has an undergraduate degree from Bob Jones (S.C.) University and a master's in business administration from Rollins College. See "Governor promotes assistants as top aide prepares to leave".