Other Political News
Two notes I wanted to put up from the politics section of the paper this morning.
The first, Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas, a Republican, lost his fight with leukemia late yesterday and passed away, he was 74. He was just re-elected for his third term in the Senate, he won his first in a special election in 1989 to replace Dick Cheney who was appointed Secretary of Defense under Bush 41.
Wyoming has a slightly different way of replacing departed federal lawmakers than other states. Instead of the governor having a free choice of who to appoint, the party the lawmaker represented presents a slate of three possible replacements for the governor to chose from. So even though there is a democratic governor picking the replacement, there won't be a shift of numbers in the Senate.
The second thing I noted was the new ABC News Washington Post poll that shows Congress's approval rating down to 39%, off five points since April. Liberal Democrats and independents opposed to the war in Iraq seem to be the folks fueling the drop in satisfaction.
Democrats are now finding out something they forget in their 12 years out of leadership in Congress; the public is finicky, and being in charge is tougher than being the obstructionist opposition.
My other take on it is that the majority of the public still thinks instant action is possible on complex things like Iraq and oil prices. We've gotten too used to 24 hour new cycles being the end of the story, and now we're bored with both of those and want something to replace them.
Technorati Tags: Craig Thomas, Congress, Senate, Polls, Iraq, Oil
The first, Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas, a Republican, lost his fight with leukemia late yesterday and passed away, he was 74. He was just re-elected for his third term in the Senate, he won his first in a special election in 1989 to replace Dick Cheney who was appointed Secretary of Defense under Bush 41.
Wyoming has a slightly different way of replacing departed federal lawmakers than other states. Instead of the governor having a free choice of who to appoint, the party the lawmaker represented presents a slate of three possible replacements for the governor to chose from. So even though there is a democratic governor picking the replacement, there won't be a shift of numbers in the Senate.
The second thing I noted was the new ABC News Washington Post poll that shows Congress's approval rating down to 39%, off five points since April. Liberal Democrats and independents opposed to the war in Iraq seem to be the folks fueling the drop in satisfaction.
Democrats are now finding out something they forget in their 12 years out of leadership in Congress; the public is finicky, and being in charge is tougher than being the obstructionist opposition.
My other take on it is that the majority of the public still thinks instant action is possible on complex things like Iraq and oil prices. We've gotten too used to 24 hour new cycles being the end of the story, and now we're bored with both of those and want something to replace them.
Technorati Tags: Craig Thomas, Congress, Senate, Polls, Iraq, Oil
posted by Crazy Politico at 4:33 AM
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