Louisiana Governor 50 Points Down in New Orleans

The State of Louisiana - 1100 miles outside the Beltway

The Washington Times reports:

Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal [Monday] declared his candidacy for the Louisiana governorship but vowed to delay campaigning until after the April conclusion of the state's legislative session to avoid politicizing Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

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A poll by the Southern Media and Opinion Research shows Mrs. Blanco's support among voters is 35 percent, compared with 59 percent for Mr. Jindal. Mrs. Blanco defeated Mr. Jindal by four percentage points in 2003.

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Mr. Jindal, the first to announce a candidacy to challenge Mrs. Blanco, emphasized his interest in contracting the race's length -- a move that runs counter to electoral trends.

"It is my belief that campaigns are too long as they are, and that people grow weary of the barrage of charges and countercharges," Mr. Jindal said. "I want to avoid D.C.-style politics with mudslinging and instead focus on solving the problems that our state faces."

The poll... shows that Mr. Jindal... received overwhelming support in New Orleans -- 72 percent -- while Mrs. Blanco pulled 22 percent support.

Mrs. Blanco's low numbers are attributed to her responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Mrs. Blanco initially rejected President Bush's offer to deploy federal troops, after waiting 24 hours to make a decision. Days later, Mrs. Blanco was wired for a television interview and whispered to her press secretary that she wished she had requested troops earlier.

This serves as yet another reminder that New Orleans was doomed by geography and state & local officials, not a President a thousand miles away.

Subsequently, Blanco made news for whining about not being mentioned in the State of the Union Address:

Gov. Kathleen Blanco angrily criticized President Bush on Wednesday for not mentioning 2005's destructive hurricanes in his State of the Union speech, and said Louisiana is being shortchanged in federal recovery funding for political reasons.

"I guess the pains of the hurricane are yesterday's news in Washington," Blanco said.

No, yesterday's news was yesterday. Hurricane Katrina is yesteryear's news.

Click here for more information on Bobby Jindal.

2007 State of the Union Address

Two of the best excerpts from the President's State of the Union Address last night:

Each of us is guided by our own convictions -- and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we're all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this nation's prosperity; to spend the people's money wisely; to solve problems, not leave them to future generations; to guard America against all evil; and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us.

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A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy -- and that is what we have. We're now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth, in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs -- so far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move, and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government, but with more enterprise.

And the funniest line of the night:

Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate, so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law.

Serious, civil, and conclusive? From a Democrat Congress?

Reading or listening to the whole speech is highly recommended. It wasn't as short as I had hoped, but it was a very good speech.

And now, for others' observations:

What was worth commenting on, however, was the contrast in blinks per minute between Pelosi and Cheney. While Pelosi clocked a good 25-30 blinks per minute, Cheney barely mustered 3 or 4. If energy conservation is a personal virtue—as he once said so dismissively—Cheney is a saint. The man functions admirably on standby power.

Tom Shales at the Macaca Post seems to think there's some value to the mindlessly repetetive post-speech coverage, commending networks that spent more time talking about the speech than covering it.

The more interesting observations were based on comparing the behavior of the Vice President and the Speaker:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Cheney, sitting in the customary place behind President Bush as he addressed the nation from the House chamber last night, resembled nothing so much as a seesaw.

...there were plenty of lines to present Cheney and Pelosi -- and their respective sides -- with the dilemma of when to stand or clap.

Bush called for the need to "pass medical liability reform." Cheney applauded. Pelosi took a drink of water.

The awkwardness increased when the subject finally came to Iraq.

Bush urged lawmakers to "turn events toward victory." Cheney stood and applauded. Pelosi held to her chair, but, as the applaud spread, finally stood without clapping.

Bush called for the United States "to succeed in Iraq." Cheney again stood and clapped. Pelosi wiped her lips and remained seated, as did most Democrats, except for relative hawks such as Clinton and the newly minted independent, Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.)...

Territorial Quarters?

The Washington Times reports:

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's nonvoting representative, that would allow the nation's capital to submit a design for the reverse side of a quarter, meaning the city soon could join the 50 states in having a customized coin.

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The House passed the measure four times in previous years, but the Senate blocked each attempt.

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Mrs. Norton's bill also expands the program to include American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Suggestions for the D.C. coin's design range from serious to sarcastic. Ideas include historical images such as Frederick Douglass, Duke Ellington, the Capital Beltway and the panda, but another was the depiction of tourists on the Mall handing their wallets to a smiling mugger.

I expect it will end up being some view of the Capitol, although the Beltway would be a great idea. DC could have the first quarter featuring a landmark of neighboring states. Or they can make the even easier decision of reissuing the Maryland quarter since that's where DC residents should be voting in the first place.

The Macaca Post also reports.

Tens of Thousands March for Life

The Washington Times reports:

Tens of thousands of people converged on the District yesterday to participate in the March for Life and to attend Masses in recognition of the 34th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in the Roe v. Wade case.

The march began at about 2 p.m. on the Mall and moved east past the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court building in Northeast.

President Bush sent a message of support. In a telephone call broadcast over loudspeakers, he told the marchers that he shares their goal of seeing "the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected into law."

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Students, members of religious groups, families and children slogged through mud and toted signs with messages such as "Abortion kills" and "Justice for all, born and preborn."

The Rev. Luke J. Robinson, pastor of Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church in Frederick, Md., asked what would have happened had Martin Luther King been aborted, then described the process in detail.

"I know it sounds horrible, but abortion is horrible," he said, his voice thundering across the Mall. "It is a murderous and bloody business."

The Macaca Post also reports.

Tens of Thousands Expected to March for Life

The Washington Times reports:

More than 20,000 people are expected tomorrow to come to the District to mark the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court's abortion ruling in the Roe v. Wade case.

Rallies are scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by a March for Life procession and a youth Mass at the Verizon Center in Northwest.

The march is expected to begin at 1 p.m. and last more than three hours -- starting on the Mall, between Fourth and Seventh streets Northwest, then moving east across Pennsylvania Avenue, past the U.S. Capitol and ending at East Capitol and Second streets Northeast, outside the Supreme Court.

Click here for the rest of the story.

A Shorter State of the Union Address

The Washington Times reports:

President Bush on Tuesday will deliver a stripped-down State of the Union address, leaving out the usual laundry list of policy initiatives, and emphasizing common ground with Democrats in a nod to the new political reality on Capitol Hill, the White House said yesterday.

"Some of the old State of the Union formulas have kind of run their course," spokesman Tony Snow said.

"Part of the calculation here is that a lot of times these speeches, they just go on and on and you lose people," Mr. Snow said. "It's better to spend some time focusing on big issues so that people do get a sense of your engagement with them, and there will be opportunities to pick up other topics in much greater detail later on."

The presentation, which will skip the old, hourlong formula in which "every department and every agency gets a line or a mention," was devised because, as Mr. Snow said with a smile, "we want people to watch."

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a trend. State of the Union speeches are normally far too long.

Democrats Expected to Leave Border Open

From the AP:

Mayors of Texas border towns who met with Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff on Wednesday said they are confident a 850-mile fence will not be built on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas said it is "highly unlikely" that the fence, as authorized in a law signed by President Bush, would be funded.

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Bush signed the law last year and the Republican-controlled Congress provided money to start work on the fence. But Republicans worry that now they have their majority on Capitol Hill, they never will see the fence built. Democrats in charge today generally oppose the fence.

Based on the comments of some Democrats, there is no rush.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants the Bush administration to offer a plan for securing the northern and southern borders.

"My preference is to delay the construction of a fence until we have a plan," said Thompson, D-Miss.

That's not a plan, that's avoiding the issue. If Democrats really wanted a "plan", they could come up with one instead of demanding it from their greatest enemy.