*POLITICAL HATE CRIME: Having been blocked from confirmation by filibustering Senate Democrats, Honduran immigrant Miguel Estrada withdrew his name from nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in a letter addressed to President Bush on September 4.
"Mr. Estrada received disgraceful treatment at the hands of 45 United States Senators during the more than two years his nomination was pending," said Bush in a statement. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) hit harder. "The Democrats' character assassination of Miguel Estrada was a political hate crime," he said. Meanwhile, the Democrats continue to block confirmation of four other Bush appellate court nominees: Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen, Alabama Atty. Gen. Bill Pryor, Federal District Judge Charles Pickering, and California State Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl.
*UPBEAT IN IRAQ: Despite the talk by Democratic presidential candidates that the U.S. has become bogged down in a "quagmire" in Iraq, Iraqis themselves are optimistic about the future of their country.
From August 3-19, Zogby International interviewed 600 Iraqi adults chosen at random in shopping areas and coffee shops in diverse regions of the country. The sample included representatives from all ethnic groups and religions. Of those surveyed, 69.7% said they believed Iraq would be a "better" country five years from now (31.7% said it would be "much better," 38.0% said it would be "somewhat better," 13.2% said it would be "somewhat worse," 7.4% said it would be a "lot worse," and 9.7% said they were "not sure."
*MISERABLE FAILURES: Rep. Dick Gephardt (Mo.) might have benefited from seeing this Zogby poll before going into a brace of Democratic presidential primary debates. In Albuquerque, N.M., on September 4, Gephardt said President Bush was a "miserable failure" for his policy in Iraq. In Baltimore, Md., on September 9, he said: "This president's foreign policy is a miserable failure. He has failed the American people and he's failing the people in Iraq." This was too much for the Rev. Al Sharpton. He reminded the audience that Gephardt voted to authorize the war in Iraq, and was trying to have it both ways. "That is a miserable failure," said Sharpton. Unfortunately for Gephardt, Iowa voters may be coming to the same conclusion as Sharpton. A Zogby poll there, released September 11, showed former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean leading Gephardt 23% to 17%.
*EDWARDS OUT: Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, also a Democratic presidential candidate, announced September 7 that he is dropping out of the race-not for the presidency but for reelection to the Senate. Edwards, who has almost no chance of winning his party's presidential nomination, faced a tough Senate reelection fight next year against likely Republican nominee Rep. Richard Burr. After Zell Miller of Georgia and Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, Edwards becomes the third Democrat from a Southern state to announce he will not seek reelection. Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, still running in the Democratic presidential primaries, also faces a Senate reelection campaign in 2004.
*STILL A GONER: A September 3-7 Field Poll of 505 likely voters (margin of error +/-4.5%) in California's October 7 recall election showed that Democratic Gov. Gray Davis has gained little ground in his desperate campaign for survival. In July, the Field Poll indicated voters favored Davis's recall 51% to 43%. In August, they favored the recall 58% to 37%. Now, they favor the recall 55% to 40%.
*CLOSE RACE: The same Field Poll shows Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in a close race with movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the question of who should replace Davis if he is recalled. The poll puts Bustamante at 32%, Schwarzenegger at 27%, Republican State Sen. Tom McClintock at 14%, columnist Arianna Huffington at 3%, and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo at 2%.
*CORRECTION: The August 25 issue of HUMAN EVENTS carried a chart on page 7 naming Republican House Members who voted in June for the bill that would create a new Medicare prescription drug entitlement. The chart urged subscribers to call these Members and ask them to change their minds about the bill. Unfortunately, it incorrectly listed Republican Representatives Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado and Gil Gutknecht of Minnesota. In fact, these two representatives courageously voted against the prescription drug entitlement. They deserve applause from conservatives. The rest of the Members on the list did vote for the entitlement-and need to change their minds before the conference report on the bill returns to the House. You can reach them through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
