Questions raised by today's Face The Nation

[ochazuke]

What information in Ashscroft's announcement might have been bogus?

What is Richard Clarke's opinion of that announcement and the state of affairs vis-a-vis homeland security?

[LittleApple81]

1. What I noticed was that the two of the panelist were painting

the situation for Bush as improving in the following weeks (in my opinion it is like trying to paint a cadaver with garish colors). Friedman especially is such a shrill and trying to save his "reputation".
The only part that came close to reality was Schieffer's closing remarks where he mentioned Ashcroft's terror scare. In my opinion, all of it was bogus. But the press will never put it in those terms.

[qazplm]

2. at some point soon

I think Bush's situation WILL improve, simply because these things happen in cycles, and he is due for an upswing.

The key is that Democrats have to be resilient and keep fighting hard during those periods during the next six months when he is on an upswing and the EC numbers fluctuate around or a few weeks of polling suggests he might win.

This is a marathon and not a sprint, Kerry knows that, and hopefully the rest of the party does as well.

[Emmanuel_Goldstein]

3. Bogus info on attempted terrorist entry

Check out the Sunday New York Times. There is a Q&A article, I think in Week in Review, about that announcement. At the press conference, Ashcroft or Mueller had claimed that one of the seven "wanted" had attempted to enter the U.S. several times with fake passports. The obvious question was: Why wasn't the guy arrested? So reporters followed up asking Justice or the FBI this question. They were told that it "was unclear" that the guy really tried to enter the U.S., therefor, no arrest.