Seeking an even lower road --
Bob Dole went on Scarborough Country yesterday. He found it and took it. Truly pathetic. (He clearly didn't read the stories in the Times or the Post, which he sites as evidence of liberal bias against the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (sic).) Here's a telling editorial by Noel Koch who tries gamely to convince us that Bob Dole once had a sense of decency. As Josh Marshall says, "Bush sullies everyone around him." But I don't think he had to work very hard with Dole.

Late Night Humor --
Perhaps you've seen these, since it's currently making the email rounds (Thanks, A):

A new poll says that if the election were held today, John Kerry would beat President Bush by a double digit margin. The White House is so worried about this, they're now thinking of moving up the capture of Osama Bin Laden to next month." -- Jay Leno

President Bush has unveiled his first campaign commercial, highlighting all of his accomplishments in office. That's why it's a 10-second spot." -- Jay Leno

"President Bush says he has just one question for the American voter 'Is the rich person you're working for better off now than they were four years ago?'" -- Jay Leno

"There was a scare in Washington when a man climbed over the White House wall and was arrested. This marks the first time a person has gotten into The White House unlawfully since President Bush." -- David Letterman

"The White House is now backtracking from its prediction that 2 million new jobs will be created in the U.S. this year. They say they were off by roughly 2.6 million jobs." -- Jay Leno

"In Louisiana, President Bush met with over 15,000 National Guard troops. Here's the weird part, nobody remembers seeing him there." -- Craig Kilborn

"President Bush said he was 'troubled' by gay people getting married in San Francisco. He said on important issues like this the people should make the decision, not judges. Unless of course we're choosing a president, then he prefers judges." -- Jay Leno

"This week, John Kerry was making campaign appearance with the guys whose lives he saved in Vietnam. Meanwhile, President Bush is campaigning with a guy that once took a math test for him." -- Conan O'Brien

"President Bush released his new $2.4 trillion federal budget. It has two parts: smoke and mirrors." -- Jay Leno

"Bush admitted that his pre-war intelligence wasn't what it should have been. We knew that when we elected him!" -- Jay Leno

"President Bush said that American workers will need new skills to get the new jobs in the 21st century. Some of the skills they're going to need are Spanish, Chinese, and Korean, because that's where the jobs went." -- Jay Leno

"The new Prime Minister of Spain has called the war in Iraq a disaster, and plans to bring his troops home as soon as possible. In fact, President Bush is so upset at Spain that he is now threatening to close down the border between Spain and the US." -- Jay Leno

Stuff that probably didn't make it into Bush/Cheney 04 campaign literature --
A Failed Presidency (the Nation, Sept. 13, 2004)
An Attack on Democracy (Dr. Robert Abele, Yubanet.com)
Missions Accomplished? Lowlights of the Bush Administration (Craig Aaron, Dissent Magazine, Summer 2004) (I've linked to this one before)

A very sad fact here.

Let them eat cake --
This is shameful:

"The number of people living in poverty rose by 1.3 million to 35.9 million people, or 12.5 percent of the population, up from 12.1 percent in 2002.

The rise was more dramatic for children. There were 12.9 million living in poverty last year, or 17.6 percent of the under-18 population. That was an increase of about 800,000 from 2002, when 16.7 percent of all children were in poverty."

Maybe Bush could consult the teachings of his favorite philosopher, who had quite a few words on the subject. (This is kinda funny: "Bush seeks new favorite philosopher")