MURTHA’S WOES
Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, suddenly finds himself in a tight race, after calling his part of the state racist.
Mr. Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than four percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll’s 4.9-point margin of error, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Mr. Murtha’s statement that some of his constituents are racist.
Mr. Murtha, 76, a former Marine and decorated Vietnam combat veteran, apologized for the racism remark, saying he meant to say that skin color is a factor in the battle for the presidency between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Mr. Russell, 46, a Republican who served in the Iraq war, jumped on the remarks.
About 54 percent of voters among those polled say it’s time for someone else to represent them in Congress. About 35 percent say Mr. Murtha deserves to be re-elected.
MR. NONPARTISAN
“Congresses under control of both parties clearly failed in their oversight responsibilities before the recent financial meltdown,” John Fund writes at www.opinionjournal.com.
“Since then, Republicans have pressed Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to hold hearings into how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributed to the problem. It now looks as if Mr. Waxman will finally call a hearing — for November 20, a date safely after the election,” Mr. Fund said.
“During a recent hearing on the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, Republicans on Mr. Waxman’s committee kept up a drumbeat of criticism for his refusal to call such an inquiry. ’Any hearing on oversight that does not begin with Fannie and Freddie and [former Fannie Mae CEO] Franklin Raines will be a sham,’ said Florida Rep. John Mica. ’This is like investigating a train robbery and only talking to the dining car stewards.’
“Mr. Waxman insisted his reluctance to call a hearing stemmed from civic mindedness. ’I don’t think we ought to use these hearings to be partisan,’ he told the committee earlier this month. But now Mr. Waxman has apparently decided it’s safe to hold a hearing after those inconveniently partisan things called elections are over. He will call several ex-CEOs of the mortgage lenders, including Mr. Raines. Republicans are already making a list of all of the inconvenient facts that won’t be aired until it’s too late to influence voters at the ballot box.”
MEDIA BLACKOUT
“In ’Something New Here,’ I laid out Barack Obama’s ties to the far-left New Party,” Stanley Kurtz writes at National Review Online (www.nationalreview.com).
“Blogger Trevor Loudon, of New Zeal, did the pioneering work on this issue. Today, Loudon has posted good quality scans of New Party documents and pictures confirming Obama’s membership. We’ve seen most of this information before (although only recently), but never so clearly,” Mr. Kurtz said.
“With all its lengthy background pieces, has the New York Times ever noted that Barack Obama was endorsed by, and was a member of, the New Party? What about The Washington Post? Has any major television network, any national news magazine, or any major daily newspaper ever mentioned that Barack Obama was endorsed by, or was a member of, the New Party?
“If any such outlet has ever mentioned that fact, have they ever gone on to explain in any depth exactly what the New Party was? For example, have they laid out the extremely close ties between the New Party in Chicago and ACORN? Especially with issue of Obama’s ties to ACORN so much in the news, isn’t this a major story right now?”
ELECTION NIGHT
Republican John McCain is not going to make his election night remarks in the traditional style — at a podium standing in front of a sea of campaign workers jammed into a hotel ballroom.
Oh, the throng of supporters will hold the usual election night party at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix on the evening of Nov. 4.
But the Republican presidential nominee plans to address another group of supporters and a small group of reporters on the hotel lawn; his remarks will be simultaneously piped electronically to the party inside and other reporters in a media filing center, aides said.
Aides said Thursday that the arrangement was the result of space limitations and that Mr. McCain might drop by the election watch party at some other point, the Associated Press reports.
Only a small press “pool” — mostly those who have traveled regularly with the candidate on his campaign plane, plus a few local Arizona reporters and other guests — will be physically present when Mr. McCain speaks.
CAMPAIGN VIOLENCE?
A campaign volunteer for John McCain told police she was robbed at knifepoint at a Pittsburgh automated teller machine and knocked down by a man who then carved a “B” in her face after noticing a sticker for the Republican presidential candidate on her car, the Associated Press reports.
Police said the woman, 20-year-old Ashley Todd of College Station, Texas, refused medical attention. An officer saw the injury, but the police report did not describe its size or severity, a police spokeswoman said.
Miss Todd reported the attack late Wednesday. She was to be reinterviewed by investigators late Thursday.
“We’re looking at all angles at this point,” said Diane Richard, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh police. It was not clear what the “B” was meant to symbolize, Miss Richard said.
Allison Price, a Pittsburgh spokeswoman for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.”
Police said no police photo had been taken of the woman Wednesday, but by Thursday afternoon a picture of a woman with a “B” scratched into her cheek was circulating on the Internet.
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.
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