Amy Sullivan

DASCHLE’S STILL ALIVE IN SODAK….This was always going to be a nail-biter. The difference between the totals for John Thune and Tom Daschle right now is 1,000 votes. And it’s definitely worth noting that at the moment, that doesn’t include any of the results from the reservations. None. Again, hold your breath.

WAITING IN MICHIGAN….We’re hearing it repeated over and over on tv, but it’s worth yet another reminder. The preliminary vote totals can vary wildly from final tallies based on which precincts are reporting early. In Michigan, for example, Bush currently has a slight edge over Kerry, but only 3 percent of the precincts in Wayne […]

WELL, IT’S A THEORY….It’s not a good theory, but it’s a theory. On CNN, Larry King was just asked what’s the deal with Ralph Nader and he replied, “Well, I know he had a stroke. He had a stroke a few years back. He’d never wanted to run for office before.” I report, you decide. […]

RELIGIOUS BACKLASH….My friends Ayelish McGarvey and Sarah Wildman have a pair of interesting posts over at Tapped providing some evidence for what I’ve been arguing for some time: All of Bush’s often-brilliant religious rhetoric and outreach can’t paper over the fact that four years of his administration have yielded little in the way of results […]

VIVA…KERRY?….We’re already hearing that turnout in Hispanic precincts is far higher than in 2000. I don’t know if that’s because there are simply more Hispanics in the U.S. than there were four years ago or if it’s a result of focused voter registration efforts in Hispanic communities or if it is a reflection of the […]

FINAL PRE-ELECTION THOUGHTS….I’m not what you’d call an optimist. Most of my friends and family would describe me as fairly cynical. If you flip through our family photos, you’re more likely to find images of me smirking than smiling. And I’ve been disillusioned with the political process ever since John Hoffmeyer won the student council […]

WITH DEMS LIKE THIS….I know that it’s tough to run as a Democrat in South Dakota, really I do. So when Stephanie Herseth voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment this summer, I understood. Ditto when she went after (and received) the NRA’s endorsement by voting to lift the D.C. gun ban (Stephanie lives […]

WIMPING OUT….According to this Howard Kurtz story, some 36 newspapers that endorsed Bush in 2000 have decided to lend their stamp of approval to Kerry this time around. That’s well and good and all. But what caught my attention was the comment a few paragraphs in that a number of prominent papers have declined to […]

RECESS APPOINTMENT?….Just when you thought the various post-election legal nightmare scenarios couldn’t get worse. U.S. News & World Report is emailing around some reporting that indicates the Bush White House may be considering a recess appointment (requiring no Senate approval, remember) to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist if he steps down for health reasons: “Even though […]

LOVELY….This is a pretty shameful development in the South Dakota Senate race. It appears that someone–exactly who is a matter of heated dispute right now–has been sending out stickers that read, “Vote for Daschle & Vote for SODOMY.” Gotta say, I see an outside chance that this little stunt hurts John Thune instead of the […]