Missouri Attorney Jay Nixon is running for his fourth term this year and our Campaign Watch-ers examine why he’s been so successful as AG while failing in two runs for the US Senate. The creation of Missouri’s No Call List –the model for the national list– has made Nixon one of the most popular politicians in the state. His political future may depend on the outcome of the November election. Should Claire McCaskill win, Nixon takes a secondary role. If she loses, party leadership shifts to Nixon. His opponent, Chris Byrd, is something of an unknown –and long shot– without hugh war chest or name recognition. Missouri’s GOP focusing on other races.
Bomb dogs, wild kids, great parties
August 31, 2004 By
Well, the last day of August brings another hot and muggy day to the Big Apple. But when you spend most of your day in the air conditioning, who cares?
Monday brought about the official start to the Republican National Convention … and, if it’s possible, it seems security is getting tighter. The cops patrolling the lobby of the Westin New York at Times Square are insisting that their bomb sniffing dogs go through my bags everytime I return from an assignment … and they get upset with I try to get the dogs to roll over. Go figure.
One negative note regarding this “Heavenly” hotel. As I climbed aboard an elevator Monday to race up to my room to grab a much needed piece of equipment, a woman and her little girl jumped on and the youngster proceeded to start pushing elevator floor buttons. Her mother giggled, thinking it was cute. I have news for you lady … to you, it’s cute … to those of us who are trying to get on with our own lives … it’s not “cute.” Actually, it’s a pain in the buttocks! Not that I hate kids or anything … but I think they should be forced to behave.
Okay, into the convention center – Madison Square Garden – where Senator John McCain delivered a speech that seemed to fall flat on most of the people with whom I was sitting. They wanted to be inspired to storm the gates of the Garden … but the speech didn’t seem to do it for them. But these same people who thought McCain was flat were up and jumping when former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took the stage. Folks, here’s a guy who knows how to bring a crowd to its feet!
After the first night of the convention, I found myself invited to a party thrown by General Motors at a hall near the Garden. Alright … I wasn’t invited … I crashed it. But that’s okay because it was a private party given by country superstar Travis Tritt. What a show! Sara Evans will be here on Wednesday. I’d really like to meet her. Have I mentioned earlier how I think she’s gorgeous? Later.
HHS Chief Speaks To Missouri Delegates To Convention
August 31, 2004 By
Breakfast with the Secretary. Missouri delegates were told to get up early to be bused through Manhattan to a breakfast event featuring several speakers including Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Thompson told the delegation about President Bush’s accomplishments, saying the President deserves four more years. He then launched into an attack on liberals. It was then time to take aim at specific people – especially Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry. Thompson spoke of how the media will make fun of President Bush’s sometimes awkward style of speech and the comments he makes … but several Kerry-isms have slipped under the radar. Thompson’s bottom line: President Bush and the Republicans are optimists, while John Kerry and the Democrats are pessimistic about America’s future.
Wallace To Retire After 2005 Season
August 31, 2004 By
Stock car racing legend Rusty Wallace will call it a career after the 2005 season. At a press conference in Daytona Beach Florida Monday, Wallace, who hails from St. Louis, announced his intent to retire next year. Wallace said yesterday that he’s been thinking about retiring since Dale Earnhardt’s death at the Daytona 500 in 2001. “It really…kind of got to me. (It) made me a little nervous, made me think hard about it. And you know what? I’ve won a lot of races and I want to have fun in the sport and I don’t want to get hurt.” Wallace recalled a conversation he had with NASCAR president Bill France Jr. In the night of Earnhardt’s death, “Mr. France told me at the hospital that night, “You know, don’t stay in this thing too long, kid. You’ve done a lot for this sport. You don’t need to keep grinding; you don’t need to prove nothing. You’ve won a ton of races, you’ve done enough.’ And that stuck in my mind a long time.” Wallace broke into the NASCAR full time in 1984 and was named the rookie of the year after finishing 14th in points. In 1989, Wallace won the Winston Cup championship. Earlier this year, he snapped a 105-race winless streak with a victory at Martinsville, Virginia. He was named to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He plans on taking a more active role behind the scenes with Team Penske.
