“… a man with two sons: One went to sea, the other became vice president, and neither was heard of again.

Nevertheless; that thought in mind. I have a question for our very own erstwhile and faithful correspondent on the ground in “The Land of the Midnight Sun”?

upinak…

What are the best chances for… senior Senator Ted Stevens who has been ahead of his most likely November challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich earlier, now appears to be down by almost double digits?

Eyes and ears on the ground matter!

What’s your take, upinak?

The compliment of the next United States Senate will play a role significantly more important to the future direction of our great Republic, than any Vice President worth a “bucket of spit”?

DaveS, let’s put it like this. With the sucker punch that Novak gave the Bush White House ([a big list of things Novak did not do]) … why should there be any trust given?

See what I mean?

You guys have an inexplicable psychological condition, here. Novak? WTF?

- The Cat

She is also from Alaska. Far away. No one talks about Hawaii either.

Terrye on July 22, 2008 at 6:49 PM

Alaska has appeared quite a bit in the news lately. Oil. ANWAR. Drilling. Hello?!?

Obama would prefer Romney. Palin makes them quake in their boots.

myamphibian on July 22, 2008 at 8:07 PM

She makes a lot of people quake in their boots.

Did he NOT know that he would start a shit storm? Is Novak really that stupid?

Bob Novak couldn’t find the truth if Dick Morris was sucking it off of a hooker’s toes.

Geez, what’s with the Novak bashing? Weird.

On topic: Novak is a gossip monger, see “Valerie Plame”

Brat on July 22, 2008 at 5:15 PM

Of course Novak is a gossip monger. He’s the successor to Jack Anderson, who was the successor to Drew Pearson, who was the successor to Walter Winchell. That’s why he’s always fun to read. Drudge would have been the next one, but Drudge doesn’t write anything.

Education:
- B.A. Brigham Young University, 1971
- J.D. Harvard University, 1975
- M.B.A. Harvard University, 1975

Political Experience:
- Governor of Massachusetts, 2003-2007

Professional Experience:
- Vice President, Bain and Company, Incorporated, 1978-1984
- CEO, Bain Capital, Incorporated, 1984-1998
- CEO, Bain and Company, Incorporated, 1991-1993
- President, Salt Lake Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, 1999-2002

Romney Vetoed More Than 800 Budget Line-Items (707 were overturned by the liberal Massachusetts Legislature)

- Romney convinced the unfriendly State Legislature to grant him unilateral power to make budget cuts in 2003
- Romney unveiled $343 million in cuts to cities, healthcare, and state agencies in 2003
- Romney successfully consolidated the social service and public health bureaucracy in 2003
- Romney eliminated half of the executive branch’s press positions, saving $1.2 million in 2003
- Romney successfully forced Medicaid recipients to make co-payments for some services in 2003
- Romney successfully pushed for legislation forcing new state workers to contribute 25% of their health insurance costs in 2003
- Romney proposed to revolutionize the Massachusetts state pension system by moving it to a defined contribution system in 2003
- Romney pushed to revamp the Pacheco Law, a union-backed measure that makes it nearly impossible to privatize state services in 2003
- Romney called for the privatization of the University of Massachusetts medical school in 2003
- Romney proposed measures to eliminate civil service protection for all municipal workers except police and firefighters and exempt low-cost public construction jobs from the state’s wage law in 2003
- Romney proposed easing pricing regulations on Massachusetts retailers in 2003
- Romney Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Renewed A Prescription Drug Tax in 2003
- Romney proposed easing decades-old state regulations on wetlands in 2004
- Romney Vetoed Retroactive Pay Increases For State Employees in 2004
- Romney proposed cutting the state’s income-tax rate from 5.3% to 5.0% in 2004, 2005 and 2006
- Romney succeeded in passing a bill preventing the capital gains tax from being applied retroactively in 2005
- Romney signed legislation that provided property tax relief to seniors in 2005
- Romney signed legislation establishing a two-day tax-free shopping holiday in 2005
- Romney fought for welfare legislation increasing the number of hours each week recipients must work and establishing a five-year limit for receiving benefits in 2005
- Romney aggressively pushed to deregulate Massachusetts’ “Soviet-style” auto insurance industry in 2005
- Romney Vetoed a bill limiting the ability of out-of-state wineries to ship directly to Massachusetts consumers, calling the legislation “anti-consumer” in 2005
- Romney used his emergency fiscal powers to make $425 million worth of cuts in 2006
- Romney Vetoed the employer mandate that requires businesses with 11 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance in 2006
- Romney Vetoed an increase in the minimum wage from $6.75 to $8.00 in 2006
- Romney Signed a bill streamlining the state’s cumbersome permitting process for new businesses in 2006
- Romney Line-Item Vetoed $100,000 For A Gazebo On Sunset Lake In Braintree in 2006
- Romney Vetoed $150,000 For The University Of Massachusetts To Study The Winter Moth in 2006
- Romney Vetoed $4 Million To Research The Efficiency Of The Internal Combustion Engine in 2006
- Romney has ruled out the option of raising Social Security taxes, embraced the idea of reducing the growth rate of future benefits, and supports personal accounts in 2007

Romney Economic Stimulus Plan:

- Permanently Reduce The Lowest Income Tax Bracket to 7.5%
- Permanently Eliminate Payroll Taxes On Employees Over The Age of 65
- Make Middle-Class Savings Tax Free
- Institute Immediate 100% Expensing Of New Equipment Purchased By A Business
- Reduce The Corporate Tax Rate To 20% Over Two Years
- Make The Bush Tax Cuts Permanent
- Roll Back Tax Rates For All Americans
- Kill The Death Tax
- Make The Research And Development Tax Credit Permanent
- Oppose Any Increase In Social Security Taxes
- Prevent The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) From Hurting More American Families

DaveS, the above quote is from your linked story. Are you seriously proposing that there is a significant difference between “two senior administration officials” and a “White House official?”

Yes. The Bush administration is the appointed political leadership of the entire executive branch. That’s why Novak said “administration official” rather than White House official… he was not talking to a White House official.

But, with McCain trying to win by targeting the center, it could make enough of a difference with swing voters to push Obama over the top.

cs89 on July 22, 2008 at 6:57 PM

Doubtful. Centrists are less likely to fall for Barry’s race baiting tactics strategy tactics.

I can’t decide which word to use because Barry thinks the surge is a tactic not a strategy. Or is it the other way around?

Two senior administration officials told me that Wilson’s wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report.

DaveS, the above quote is from your linked story. Are you seriously proposing that there is a significant difference between “two senior administration officials” and a “White House official?” Where do you think “administration officials” work?

I wasn’t aware of this. Do you have some links, or further information?

I don’t trust Novak either! … his reporting that Plame’s identity was revealed to him by a “White House official” (when it was really Richard Armitage of the State Department) did a huge dis-service to the Bush White House. … By revealing Plame’s name and suggesting that it came from a “White House official”, Novak allowed….

See, this is what I’m getting SO. FREAKING. TIRED. OF. on this site. There are so many people who have no clue what they are talking about, and who sort of just make up facts as they see fit, and will happily parrot them if it lets them get in some blind partisan talking points. About half of the people here have seriously sunk to the level of the Kossacks.

If you actually give a crap, Novak never said that the Plame bit came from a “White House official”. You just fabricated that, completely.

I wonder why there’s almost no speculation at all about Obama’s VP pick?

He’s picking a woman, his wife.