DES MOINES, Iowa — Voters here say it's tough to distinguish between the platforms of the Democrats running for president. So the hopefuls are downplaying their differences and instead, each is promising to be the most electable of the bunch.
Influential Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio yesterday said she will not seek re-election next year, citing a desire to spend more time with her daughter Mia and avoid another contentious political campaign season.
Congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are monitoring an ongoing lawsuit against the Small Business Administration to determine whether new procedures are needed to curtail discrimination in the agency's support of minority-owned venture capital firms.
Soon after his arrival in Washington with the newly minted President Bush, I joked with Karl Rove, "Don't worry about buying silverware for your house. Just turn your back in this town and a whole new cutlery set will be plunged into it."
By sheer coincidence, I happened to be typing at my computer only three blocks away from the Interstate 35 bridge when it collapsed in Minneapolis two weeks ago. I heard the crash, but had no idea what it was until a few minutes later I heard sirens which did not ever seem to stop, as well as numerous helicopters overhead. When I turned on the radio, I learned what had happened.
Capitol Hill Democrats seeking to use Mattel's recent embarrassments as an excuse for increased government regulation run the risk of clogging free trade and seriously damaging U.S.-China economic relations.
Good strokes on energy
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has forfeited his Iowa lead to Hillary Clinton, according to the latest compilation of polls by RealClearPolitics. In New Hampshire, Mr. Edwards trails her by more than 20 points. Nationally, according to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, he's treading water at 10 percent, trailing Mrs. Clinton by 32 points. The unraveling of Mr. Edwards' campaign probably explains his increasingly hyperbolic forays into crank populism. How else to explain his imbecilic rant on CNN following Rupert Murdoch's bid to purchase the Wall Street Journal: "I don't want to see Rupert Murdoch — or anybody else for that matter — owning every newspaper in America," Mr. Edwards blathered.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
