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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Polls show Bush taking lead
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 VIDEO |
 CNNfn's Ceci Rodgers on the expiring assault weapons ban.
 CNN's Dan Lothian on Kerry's approach to Iraq, economics.
 CNN's Bill Schneider on President Bush's loss in post-convention bounce.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
POOL POOH POOHING: Despite some polls indicating President Bush taking the lead or gaining among key constituencies in his reelection campaign, John Kerry disputes the incumbent received a "bounce" following the Republican National Convention. "I don't know what you're talking about in terms of the 'Bush bounce,' " Kerry said in an interview with Time magazine released yesterday. "This is a very close race, and I'm not somebody that runs around worried about polls. If I did, I wouldn't have gotten up last December. Polls don't mean anything to me right now."
The Boston Globe: Kerry disputes talk of Bush 'bounce'
BUSH'S CALCULATION: President Bush has risen in polls after taking the calculated risk to elevate security issues over pocketbook concerns in the campaign's home stretch. But strategists in both parties said that approach leaves him with acute vulnerabilities in case of an economic shock, a terrorist attack or heavy attention to a bloody October in Iraq.
The Washington Post: Bush stresses commander-in-chief role
EDWARDS HOPEFUL FOR DEBATES: John Edwards insisted Sunday that Bush's popularity in recent polls was only temporary, and that by Election Day he and Kerry would draw sharp contrasts with the administration that would win over American voters. "What will happen now, between now and Election Day - particularly given the fact we are going to have debates, both presidential and vice-presidential debates - is the American people are going to see a very clear contrast," he said.
The New York Times: Edwards says Bush lead in polls is temporary
PRESIDENT AS PERFORMER: From rallies in Ohio to attacks on Kerry's economic record in Pennsylvania to "Ask President Bush'' events with rapturous Republican crowds, the president has emerged as a kinetic stage performer with a personality that seems to fits the frantic quality of the campaign.
The New York Times: Before friendly audiences on the trail, a looser, livelier Bush appears
VOTE SUPPRESSION ACCUSATION: A liberal group backing Kerry is accusing Bush of opposing civil rights and trying to suppress black voter turnout in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign targeted at young African Americans. The Media Fund, a "527" independent group that has poured $43 million into anti-Bush advertising, plans to air the new television and radio spots in major urban markets in swing states.
The Washington Post: Anti-Bush ads geared to young blacks use 'sharper message'
THE WAR ON TRIAL LAWYERS: The billionaire chairman of an insurance company describes members of the group as "terrorists." To the head of a national wholesalers group, they seem like "predators." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring a $10-million advertising campaign to "educate voters about the devastating impact" these people are having on the American way of life. The target of these attacks is not Al Qaeda or some new pestilence sweeping the nation. It's trial lawyers.
The Los Angeles Times: A trial lawyer on ticket has corporate U.S. seeing red
MICHIGAN STUMPING: Voters in Michigan, one of about 16 key swing states in the 2004 presidential election, will get another chance this week to view the candidates through their personal filter. Bush plans to visit Muskegon, Holland and Battle Creek today, while Kerry is to address the Detroit Economic Club on Wednesday morning. For many in Michigan and around the country, especially the millions who consider themselves independent or nonpartisan, the issues they see as the most important often indicate who will get their vote.
The Detroit Free Press: Iraq, jobs stay key for voters
EDWARDS ON INSURANCE: John Edwards dropped by Detroit's annual LaborFest on Sunday and was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, led by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and several thousand union members. Be blasted Bush on the increasing number of uninsured Americans. Michigan Republicans responded that trial lawyers, such as Edwards, are a big part of the health insurance problem because their malpractice lawsuits drive up health care costs for everyone.
The Detroit News: Labor rally welcomes Edwards' jobs message
FRANKEN'S SLAVO: Al Franken, a left-leaning author and radio host, used a Sunday rally on the eve of a visit by Dick Cheney here to call the vice president a liar and to question his integrity. Franken capitalized on Cheney's comments at a Sept. 7 rally in Des Moines that if voters "make the wrong choice," in the election "we'll get hit again." Franken told the Democratic crowd of 250 gathered in Ottumwa's Central Park that Cheney deliberately intends to frighten voters into supporting the Republican ticket and to watch for such comments Monday.
The Des Moines Register: Wrathful attack by Franken before Cheney visit
NEW JERSEY IN PLAY? Even New Jersey seems to have soured on Kerry. Once regarded as a sure thing, winning Democrat-friendly New Jersey in November appears increasingly uncertain as Kerry's late-summer swoon has clouded his prospects in a must-win state. The 20 percentage-point lead that Kerry had amassed in the state after his convention at the end of July virtually evaporated, with Bush trailing by only 4 percentage points in the latest Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers Poll.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: The poll indicates New Jersey is no longer a lock for Kerry
PENNSYLVANIA COATTAILS: In the Pennsylvania Senate race, incumbent GOP Sen. Arlen Specter is attempting a difficult balancing act, appearing alongside Bush at campaign rallies while stressing his independence to moderate Democrats. Democratic challenger Joe Hoeffel is clinging tightly to the campaign of Kerry, hoping his party's presidential candidate will wear coattails in Pennsylvania.
The Post-Gazette: Hoeffel leaning on Kerry
ABSENTEE WORRIES: As both major political parties intensify their efforts to promote absentee balloting as a way to lock up votes in the presidential race, election officials say they are struggling to cope with coercive tactics and fraudulent vote-gathering involving absentee ballots that have undermined local races across the country. Some of those officials say they are worried that the brashness of the schemes and the extent to which critical swing states have allowed party operatives to involve themselves in absentee voting - from handling ballot applications to helping voters fill out their ballots - could taint the general election in November.
The New York Times: Absentee votes worry officials as November 2 nears
NADER'S TAKE ON CLEVELAND: Ralph Nader told a Cleveland audience Sunday night that both the Democratic and Republican parties were in the pockets of corporate power in the United States. He also made an unflattering remark about Cleveland during his visit. "Thank you for welcoming me to the poorest major city in the United States," Nader said, referring to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report that ranked Cleveland as America's most impoverished city in 2003.
The Plain Dealer: Nader visit rips corporations, Bush and Kerry
Compiled by Mark Rodeffer
