November 2001

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Viewers Tuning In to The Rummy Show 11/27/2001 9:51 AM It may be the most popular thing on television these days, and has nothing to do with eating grubs or neurotic singles. It's The Rummy Show, live from the Pentagon nearly every day. Quick-witted and acid-tongued, refreshingly straightforward yet not really saying that much, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld seemed like no one's idea of a television star until the U.S. began its airstrikes in Afghanistan. From that point on, the crusty former Navy wrestler - once derided as a throwback to the Ford administration - became a daytime television fixture whose popularity has rivaled that of other cable TV staples like Neil Cavuto and Chris Matthews. Read the article Jeb Bush Postpones Washington Fund-raiser 11/27/2001 9:47 AM Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has postponed from Wednesday a Washington fund-raiser that his supporters had hoped would mark President Bush's return to GOP fund raising. Gov. Bush delayed the $500-per-person Washington event for his re-election campaign until next year due to the Florida Legislature's special session, campaign manager Karen Unger said. He called the Legislature into special session to deal with a $1.3 billion state budget shortfall. Read the article Friends Come to Ashcroft's Defense 11/27/2001 9:43 AM Political leaders in Washington, D.C., want Attorney General John Ashcroft to justify some recent changes in legal procedures that have many insisting that the administration has gone too far since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Under fire over military tribunals and proposals that some view as racial profiling and the monitoring of conversations between terrorist suspects and their attorneys, Ashcroft has agreed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early December. Political leaders say it's time they heard what's behind some measures in anti-terrorism legislation that some view as violations of civil rights. His friends and Republican supporters, though, say the attorney general is doing a hard job at the hardest time for the nation. Many Republicans on the federal and local level are backing the new measures, saying they are desperately needed. “He’s trying to introduce measures that will make this country safer,” said Tom Fowler, a leader in the Greene County Republican Party and longtime Ashcroft friend. “It’s times like these that measures like this are called for.” Those who criticize Ashcroft don’t know him, said Jim Osborn, owner of Osborn Pharmacy and a friend of Ashcroft’s for more than four decades. And they don’t know that whenever needed, the attorney general rises to the occasion and is at his strongest. Read the article Giuliani to Remain in Spotlight 11/26/2001 3:36 PM The future of this city's celebrity among celebrities, Mayor Rudolph William Giuliani, seems so bright that even his most outspoken enemies predict he will remain a star when he leaves office December 31. "He'll probably be on the cover of Time magazine as Man of the Year. That will keep him happy for a long time," said former Mayor Edward I. Koch, whose book, "Giuliani: Nasty Man," is a study in Rudy-bashing. There is no question, they say, that his handling of the World Trade Center disaster was not only dramatically compassionate, but also an example of the Republican mayor's management skills. An index of that ability is the $3 million he received from Talk Miramax to write two books about the secrets of his success, and the high lecture fees he is expected to command. Read the article Mary Bono Marries Wyoming Businessman in Rainy-Day Ceremony 11/26/2001 3:23 PM Nearly four years after Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident, his widow married a Wyoming businessman Saturday during a chilly rainstorm with a small police presence nearby. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, and Glenn Baxley, an ex-minor league baseball player, exchanged vows before more than 300 well-wishers at Our Savior's Community Church. Read the article Without Kean, GOP Examines Its Options 11/26/2001 3:06 PM With former Gov. Tom Kean (R) announcing Wednesday he would pass on a challenge to Sen. Robert Torricelli (D), New Jersey Republicans are scrambling to put together a back-up plan for 2002. Senate GOP recruiters hoping to break the Democratic stranglehold on the state's two Senate seats had long viewed Kean as their dream candidate against the embattled Torricelli, but he disappointed them when he said in a series of interviews that he was no longer considering a run next year. Read the article Poised and Confident, Rumsfeld Rules on TV 11/25/2001 7:53 PM Twice weekly, sometimes more, he stands at the Pentagon lectern and faces a firing squad of about 80 reporters. In these verbal standoffs, however, he's usually the one holding the guns. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is the voice of the war in Afghanistan. His news briefings are a staple for people throughout the country who call his office asking what time the Rummy Show comes on. It's reality TV, Washington-style. It's unscripted but not exactly candid. Read the article Gingrich Returns to White House Graces 11/25/2001 7:35 PM Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) may no longer run the House with an iron fist, but according to New Yorker magazine, he's back in the GOP's inner circle. I've got pretty remarkable access to all the senior leadership, the former Speaker tells Peter Boyer in the cover story in the magazine's latest issue. Gingrich, who quickly fell from the limelight after a revolt by his own party, is back inside because of his close relationships with top White House officials. Read the article Senators Help Colleagues' Foes 11/25/2001 7:31 PM Seeking to retain their right to call hearings, set the legislative schedule and enjoy other perquisites gained earlier this year, an unprecedented number of Democratic senators have thrown collegiality to the winds and are working hard to defeat Republican colleagues. These senators have become personally involved in raising funds for top Democratic Senate candidates who could preserve or even enhance their majority, according to party officials. To a lesser extent, Senate Republicans, dismayed with life in the minority, are taking pains to improve their participation in fundraising events held to boost the war chests and profiles of their top challengers. Read the article Neither Party Can Claim an Edge for 2002 11/25/2001 7:23 PM GOP Rep. Rob Simmons (Conn.) -- a Vietnam War veteran and a former CIA agent -- is the kind of candidate who should be feeling optimistic about his reelection prospects just now. But Simmons has already drawn a challenger, and he's not counting on either the war in Afghanistan or President Bush's popularity to pull him through next November. "I've been around the political world long enough to know issues change very quickly," he said, noting that President George H.W. Bush seemed invincible in the wake of the Persian Gulf War, only to lose the next year to Bill Clinton. Read the article Ashcroft to Testify Before Senate 11/25/2001 7:22 PM Lawmakers critical of the Justice Department's anti-terrorism campaign will hear directly from Attorney General John Ashcroft at Senate Judiciary Committee in early December. "The attorney general owes the country, certainly owes the Congress, an explanation," the committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Sunday. Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker confirmed Ashcroft's scheduled appearance before the committee during the first week of December. Read the article Ex-President Bush Endorses Mayoral Candidate 11/21/2001 5:59 PM Former President George Bush waded into local politics Tuesday when he endorsed the conservative Houston mayoral candidate, Orlando Sanchez, over incumbent Mayor Lee Brown, the city's first black mayor. The race, to be decided in a December 1 runoff, is the first in a major U.S. city to pit a Hispanic hopeful against a black candidate and has drawn the attention of the national political parties even though it is officially a nonpartisan election. Bush, who lives in Houston and is the father of current President Bush, insisted his endorsement of Sanchez was neither partisan nor personal, but rather an attempt to improve the nation's fourth-largest city. Read the article Arkansans Choose GOP Successor for Drug Czar Asa Hutchinson 11/21/2001 10:41 AM The Republican political machine in Arkansas went into full operational mode to save the seat vacated by Rep. Asa Hutchinson, who is now serving as the nation's drug czar, and the bid paid off. Light turnout-- estimated at 25 percent -- during the holiday week election helped propel Republican John Boozman, an optometrist, to a 56 percent victory over Democrat Mike Hathorn, a 28-year-old lawyer and state representative. "We're anxious to get to Washington to support President Bush," Boozman, 50, said in his victory speech Tuesday night. "We're going to work on issues we've talked about, a prescription drug benefit for seniors, the high cost of health care. Security is tops on the list," he said. Read the article Bush Urges Holiday Generosity 11/20/2001 9:37 PM President Bush used a traditional Thanksgiving visit to a soup kitchen -- and new holiday TV ads -- to prod Americans on Tuesday to "dig a little deeper in their pocket" for neighborhood charities left wanting in the rush to aid terror victims. Bush told volunteers at Washington's aid center for the homeless, So Others Might Eat, that he's been disturbed by reports of a decrease in giving to such local charities. "I hope Americans will not substitute the gifts they've given in the aftermath of Sept. 11 for neighborhood groups such as SOME or mentoring programs," he said. Read the article NYC Mayor-Elect Announces Transition Team 11/20/2001 9:31 PM Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg announced Monday a 56-member transition team that includes a former U.S. senator and the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. The group also includes a heavy sampling of leaders from Wall Street, community service organizations, academia and labor unions and is dominated by Democrats -- most of whom did not support the Republican Bloomberg's candidacy. The most prominent members are NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University, and former Sen. Robert Kerrey, who is president of the New School. Read the article Justice Building Dedicated to Robert Kennedy 11/20/2001 9:29 PM In an afternoon ceremony attended by President Bush, the Justice Department building in Washington was dedicated today to Robert F. Kennedy, the former attorney general and New York senator who was assassinated in 1968. President George W. Bush addressed about 300 invited guests in the building's Great Hall, where the former attorney general's wife, Ethel Kennedy, sat on a stage near a painted portrait of her late husband. Members of congress, former attorneys general, and friends and family members of Robert F. Kennedy attended the ceremony, which would have marked his 76th birthday. "From this day, his birthday, everyone who enters this building or passes by will think of Robert F. Kennedy and what he still means to this country," said President Bush. "He wasn't our longest serving attorney general, yet none is more fondly remembered and few have filled our time here with so much energy." Attorney General John Ashcroft, General Services Administration Administrator Stephen A. Perry and Joseph Kennedy, one of Robert F. Kennedy's sons, also participated in the ceremony. Read the article Harris Touts Role In Recount in First Major Mailing 11/19/2001 9:37 AM Katherine Harris (R), who launched her House bid last month with the claim that the country has "moved on past" the 2000 presidential dispute and is "much less partisan," is relying on lingering tensions from that bitterly partisan battle to help her raise campaign funds. In a two-page letter dated Nov. 2 - nearly one year to the day after the contested presidential election that made her Florida's internationally recognized secretary of state - Harris wrote that although she "would hope that the politics of personal attacks could be put aside, all signals indicate our opponents will fight us every step of the way. "I'll be targeted for doing what I know, deep in my heart, was the right thing to do during the 2000 presidential election - following the law," she continued. Read the article Capitol Exhausts Its Flag Supply 11/19/2001 9:36 AM For what is believed to be the first time in Congressional history, the Capitol has exhausted its supply of American flags, and offices have been told it could be six months before new orders from constituents can be filled. The dearth is such that even six months appears optimistic, however, as Congressional officials scramble to secure flags for the victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Capitol's suppliers report they can't meet the surge in nationwide demand. Read the article White House Initiates Meetings Aimed at '02 11/19/2001 9:31 AM Although President Bush and Vice President Cheney are abstaining from overt political activities at least through the end of this year, White House officials are making behind-the-scenes efforts to keep the administration in touch with what's happening in key states heading into the 2002 midterm elections. White House Political Director Ken Mehlman held his first such meeting last week, huddling with aides to Members of the Missouri Congressional delegation and other state political figures. Similar meetings are planned with Illinois and Michigan Republicans soon. Aides to Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Missouri GOP Reps. Roy Blunt, Sam Graves and Kenny Hulshof attended the gathering, which took place in the Old Executive Office Building lastWednesday, as did an adviser to former Rep. Jim Talent (R-Mo.), who is running against Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.)in next year's elections. Read the article New Texas Map Protects Members: Court Creates Two New Republican Seats 11/18/2001 5:56 PM Seeking middle ground in a redistricting battle that has far-reaching implications in the fight for control of the House, a federal court yesterday released a new Texas map that protects most incumbents and creates two open-seat GOP districts. House Republicans now are likely to gain at least two seats in Texas, but GOP aides said the map could also threaten Democratic Reps. Chet Edwards, Charlie Stenholm and Ralph Hall. "Hall and Edwards have gotten their last free ride," said Carl Forti, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman. "They're in trouble." Read the article Ferguson Resigns Statewide Post To Challenge Kennedy 11/18/2001 5:52 PM Despite a pledge to renew his commitment to Rhode Island earlier this year, high-profile Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) seems headed for his most competitive race since being elected in 1994. The announcement by Rhode Island Department of Human Services Director Christine Ferguson (R) Tuesday that she would resign her post and enter the GOP primary race gives Republicans what they believe to be their best chance to oust the former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2002. "This is our best opportunity to beat Patrick Kennedy," said Joe Penkala, executive director of the Rhode Island Republican Party. Read the article Elder Bush Says Son's Challenge Most Difficult in Decades 11/18/2001 4:33 PM Former President George Bush said Saturday he thinks the war on terrorism that his son is fighting is the biggest problem any president has confronted in decades. "It's far bigger than what I had to face. It's far more complicated," said Bush, whose 1989-1993 term in the White House included a war against Iraq. Bush spoke briefly to reporters in St. Louis and then at a fund-raiser for U.S. Senate candidate Jim Talent, a Republican seeking the seat currently held by Jean Carnahan. Carnahan, who was appointed to the Senate after her husband, then-Gov. Mel Carnahan, won election posthumously last year, has not yet declared her candidacy. Read the article Poll: Pataki Leads in Governor Race 11/14/2001 10:03 PM Gov. George Pataki is holding his large lead over potential Democratic challengers for next year's race, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday, but more than half the voters surveyed said Rudolph Giuliani should enter the race. The New York City mayor has said he will not run for governor if fellow Republican Pataki seeks a third term next year as expected. But Giuliani hasn't shut the door on a gubernatorial run if Pataki does not seek re-election. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute -- including 51 percent of Democratic voters -- said Giuliani should run for governor, while 32 percent said he should not. Read the article Cheney: Terror Doesn't End With Osama 11/14/2001 10:02 PM The death of Osama bin Laden could trigger new terrorist attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday. "The threat level (of futher attacks) is still pretty significant out there, especially if we come to the end of the road here for bin Laden in Afghanistan and we're successful in wrapping him up," Cheney said on CBS's "60 Minutes II." "That, in and of itself, could be a signal that would trigger some kind of a revenge attack, if you will, by people loyal to bin Laden," he said. "So it doesn't end, necessarily, with him." Read the article Dick Morris: Clinton's Failure to Confront Foreign Terror After the 1993 Attack Led Directly to 9-11 Disaster 11/14/2001 9:59 PM When the terrorist gang controlled by Bin Laden exploded a bomb in the World Trade Center in 1993 killing six and injuring 650 others, President Clinton did not even visit the site of the attack. In his radio address the next day, he expressed his grief and outrage and four days later visited New Jersey where he sent a message to New Yorkers saluting our courage. Other than those statements, he remained aloof and uninvolved. The attack occurred in the second month of Clinton's presidency. Issues like gays in the military, the recession, and withdrawing our troops from Somalia loomed larger than the 1993 attack. Clinton deliberately remained removed from the attack perhaps in the hope that he would not be blamed so early in his presidency. Where Bush insisted, from the outset, that the Trade Center attack that took place on his watch was a declaration of war by foreign terrorists against the United States, Clinton treated the attack as a criminal justice situation not unlike the subsequent bombing of the Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City. But while in Oklahoma, he connected emotionally with the victims, he had nothing to do with them in 1993. Read the article Florida Recount Study: Bush Still Wins 11/13/2001 12:31 AM A comprehensive study of the 2000 presidential election in Florida suggests that if the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed a statewide vote recount to proceed, Republican candidate George W. Bush would still have been elected president. The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago conducted the six-month study for a consortium of eight news media companies, including CNN. NORC dispatched an army of trained investigators to examine closely every rejected ballot in all 67 Florida counties, including handwritten and punch-card ballots. The NORC team of coders were able to examine about 99 percent of them, but county officials were unable to deliver as many as 2,200 problem ballots to NORC investigators. In addition, the uncertainties of human judgment, combined with some counties' inability to produce the same undervotes and overvotes that they saw last year, create a margin of error that makes the study instructive but not definitive in its findings. Read the article Exiting New York Mayor Expected to Be In Demand by House and Senate Candidates 11/13/2001 12:26 AM Hoping to capitalize on Rudy Giuliani's (R) popularity and suddenly high national profile, House and Senate Republicans intend to recruit the New York mayor to campaign for them in the 2002 Congressional elections. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Davis (Va.) confirmed last week that he had spoken with the mayor about the possibility of aiding House Republicans in the midterm elections. "He is one of the hottest commodities in politics right now," said Davis after an NRCC briefing last week. "My years of knowing the mayor well, he's always been willing to help Republicans in our state and around the country," observed Rep. Tom Reynolds (N.Y.), the NRCC's executive committee chairman and former New York Assembly minority leader. "I expect Rudy will be helpful as he always has been." Read the article GOP Governors Told to Mind Their Words 11/11/2001 6:31 PM Republican governors, who lost control of two states earlier this week, used a weekend meeting here to develop political strategies for next year to deal with state budget shortfalls after nearly a decade of sustained economic growth. The GOP governors, who have dominated the nation's state capitals for much of the past decade, face major challenges in several states next year, with near universal expectations among Democrats and Republicans that the GOP will hold substantially fewer than its current 29 governorships and that Democrats have a chance to wrest control of a majority. Three political consultants told the Republican Governors Association today to make sure they aggressively take command of budget debates in their states and avoid any appearance of ducking tough issues. They should simultaneously make every effort to "inject language discipline" and avoid the explosive word "cuts" in an election year, the consultants advised. Read the article Cheney Promises Veterans a Victory 11/11/2001 6:28 PM Vice President Dick Cheney made a Veterans Day pilgrimage to Arlington National Cemetery, placing a wreath of red, white and blue flowers on the Tomb of the Unknowns and promising victory in the war on terrorism. "Americans have no illusions about the difficulties that lie ahead," Cheney said in a ceremony Sunday. "We cannot predict the length or the course of the conflict. But we know with absolute certainty that this nation will persevere and we will prevail." Cheney said that members of the armed forces know that "they follow a long, unbroken line of brave Americans who came to the defense of freedom. The veterans who once followed that line now inspire the new generation of freedom's defenders. For that, we honor all veterans today." Read the article In Poll, Most Americans Back Bush 11/8/2001 10:32 AM Overwhelming majorities of Americans continue to back President Bush and the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, doubts are growing about an expanded Afghan conflict and the government's efforts to deal with terrorism at home, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. As Bush prepares to address the country tonight on homeland security, his overall job approval rating stands at 89 percent, unchanged in the past month. Nine out of 10 Americans support the U.S. military action in Afghanistan, also unchanged in recent weeks. Read the article Shelby Pushing Democrat Cramer to Switch 11/8/2001 10:15 AM Worried about a possible party switch, House Democratic leaders have shifted close attention to Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) in the wake of two key votes against the leadership and amid indications that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has pledged to help the lawmaker secure a seat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence if he crosses the aisle. Cramer, a prominent Democratic Caucus conservative and a frequent target of GOP efforts to win converts, has sought in recent weeks to win reappointment to the Intelligence panel, but since he already has a seat on the Appropriations Committee, this makes such a bid unrealistic. Republicans currently have one vacancy on Intelligence, left by former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.), who resignedto take over the Drug Enforcement Agency. Cramer acknowledged that he and Shelby have "had discussions" about the Intelligence Committee, but he dismissed suggestions that a party switch could be in the offing. Read the article Danforth was Bush's Choice to Argue Case in Contested 2000 Election 11/7/2001 10:44 PM Long before President Bush tapped John C. Danforth to be special envoy to Sudan, the former U.S. senator from Missouri apparently was the Texan's first choice to represent him in the postelection recount flap a year ago that won Bush the White House. Danforth said Tuesday that he had agreed to take the job as the Bush campaign's legal counsel in the recount saga, had checked out of his hotel and was waiting for the Bush campaign's plane when the arrangement unraveled. Danforth, Missouri's attorney general from 1969 to 1976, said he had sought to talk to Bush first, having had concerns about some of the Bush team's initial legal arguments in their case against Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee. Read the article Teen Elected Mayor, Mom on Town Council 11/7/2001 9:44 PM A Pennsylvania teen set out to study his local government for a class assignment. Now, he'll be able to study it from the inside. Eighteen-year-old Jeffrey Dunkel has been elected mayor of Mount Carbon -- population 100. He ran unopposed, and received 43 votes. At council meetings, his mother will be watching him. She won a two-year term. She said there will probably be things on which they disagree -- but she'll still let him live at home. Read the article Ashcroft to Restructure Justice Department 11/7/2001 9:42 PM Attorney General John Ashcroft plans to announce a restructuring of the Justice Department, including a revamping of the FBI and the immigration service, to better fight terrorism, a senior department official said Wednesday. The five-year plan, which Ashcroft is to present in a meeting Thursday with his top deputies and other employees, will reflect a new emphasis on preventing terrorism and prosecuting terrorists, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Read the article House GOP Budgeters to Back Bush 11/7/2001 4:12 PM In a turnaround, senior Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee said Wednesday they will support President Bush's drive to hold emergency anti-terrorism spending to the $40 billion Congress has already provided. A day after Bush threatened to veto legislation exceeding that total, GOP leaders pressured Republicans on the appropriations panel -- which oversees spending bills -- to stand by the president. Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., said Wednesday for the first time that he will oppose efforts to exceed that spending limit when his panel writes a defense bill next Tuesday. Read the article Bloomberg Wins New York Mayoral Race 11/7/2001 4:10 PM Billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg, who spent $55 million of his personal fortune, has become this wounded city's next mayor, beating public advocate Mark Green by a narrow margin. Bloomberg, 59, waged the most expensive mayoral campaign in American history, outspending Green and a deeply divided Democratic Party by $40 million. He beat Green by about 40,000 votes, out of 1.3 million cast. A Boston-born businessman with a net worth of $4 billion, Bloomberg tapped into widespread anxieties here that the World Trade Center attack had tipped the city into a steep recession. Read the article Senate Approves Strom Jr. as South Carolina's U.S. Attorney 11/6/2001 10:31 PM Strom Thurmond Jr., son of the nation's oldest and longest-serving U.S. senator, on Wednesday was approved as the top federal prosecutor in his father's home state of South Carolina. The nomination of Thurmond Jr., 29, to be South Carolina's U.S. attorney was confirmed Wednesday night by voice vote in the Senate, along with those of nine other U.S. attorneys from around the nation. Few senators were present for the late evening vote. It was not immediately known whether Thurmond, 98, was present. Thurmond, a former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, recommended his son to President Bush in January. There was no serious opposition in the Senate or back in South Carolina. Read the article Former L.A. Mayor Enters California Governor's Race 11/6/2001 10:22 PM Former Mayor Richard Riordan entered the governor's race Tuesday, joining the field of Republicans seeking the nomination to unseat Democrat Gray Davis. "I'm running for governor for a very simple reason -- I love California," Riordan, 71, said at rally after being introduced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A poll last month showed Riordan roughly even with Davis but ahead of his two likely GOP rivals in the March primary. Read the article GOP Divided Over Gephardt 11/5/2001 9:26 PM House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) has pledged to stand by President Bush and Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and by and large the Missouri Democrat has honored his promise. But Gephardt's fealty has not prevented Republican strategists from plotting ways to go on the political offensive against him as they prepare for the 2002 elections. While GOP leaders, including National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Davis (Va.), publicly downplay efforts to demonize the Democratic leader, Republican strategists are privately clamoring for party leaders to slam Gephardt and, to a lesser extent, Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) for voting against GOP-authored proposals to boost defense and intelligence budgets in past Congresses. Read the article Bitter NYC Mayor Race a Toss Up 11/5/2001 9:24 PM Democrats were favored to capture Republican-held governorships Tuesday in Virginia and New Jersey, while the nasty race to succeed the popular Rudolph Giuliani as mayor of disaster-scarred New York was a virtual dead heat. Dozens of other cities -- including Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami and Seattle -- also choose mayors in the off-year elections, but no race matched New York's for big spending and big stakes. Democrat Mark Green, the city's elected public advocate, and Republican Michael Bloomberg, the media mogul who spent more than $40 million of his own money, each insisted he was better qualified to lead the city's recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Each accused the other of mudslinging and racially divisive tactics. Read the article '41' Hits Campaign Trail: Ex-President Bush Part of 'Unprecedented' Effort to Aid GOP Candidates 11/5/2001 10:58 AM As President Bush remains above the political fray during the war on terrorism, national Republicans are looking toward former President George Bush to fill in as the fundraiser in chief for Republican Senate candidates across the country. The elder Bush will head to Missouri at the end of November to raise money for former Rep. Jim Talent (R), who is running against Sen. Jean Carnahan (D), a top Republican target in 2002. Bush's fundraising trip for Talent marks the second time in as many months that the former president will fundraise for a major Senate recruit. On Oct. 28, Bush appeared at an event for St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman (R), who is the likely nominee against Sen. Paul Wellstone (D). Read the article