Ratings Plunge

If you think Bush has low ratings, then look at Congress. The legislature now has 14 percent approval -- a step above roadkill.

Can three New Yorkers in the presidency race be too many?

If Mayor Bloomberg enters the campaign, he will help tank Rudy Guliani in the GOP race and will hurt Hillary in the general election.

Thompson , whom nobody knows much about, is already ahead of Rudy, mainly because of social issues. New York does not play well across fundamentalists.

McCain looks weaker than last week. As the war gets worse and as the generals waffle about the Bush surge, McCain looks more wrongheaded than courageous, which is unfortunate for a great hero. He is becoming the Charles Lindbergh of this generation.

Open Letter to the Candidates

The Hall Institute of Public Policy -- New Jersey has submitted an Open Letter to the 2008 presidential candidates, asking for their views on the issues of greatest importance to the state's citizens. Complete details are online at www.hallnj.org/nj2008.

New Numbers

Despite the disdain of the 24-7 talking heads on MSNBC and Fox,
Hillary appears to be getting stronger in the primaries. There is
also a major decline in McCain's ratings along with a shortage of
money. Obama seems to have peaked in some of the states but increased his lead in South Carolina.

Making Room for Gore?

If John Edwards does as poorly in South Carolina, his native state, he
has to drop out and perhaps make room for a new number 3 in the
democratic race (Gore?)

"Women with Needs"

Hillary is running very strong among poorer, less educated women, proving that class is more important than race. The Hillary campaign calls those people "women with needs," which means that they are people who do not have medical care, whose kids are going to lousy schools, who are working two or three jobs to live, and whose sons and daughters are more likely to be in Iraq. The problem with such women with needs is they are less likely to register and to vote than their wealthier conterparts, male and female.

Giving Men a Bad Name

Joe Scarborough recently asked if Fred Thompson's wife works the pole--a reference to strip club acts. Dan Rather recently said that Katie Couric's CBS news has become tarted--an obvious reference to painted women. These guys are going to give men a bad name. Maybe the real arrogance is not the candidates but the media???

Predictions

Thompson will be in by July 4, Newt by Labor Day. McCain will be out by Christmas and Richardson out by Iowa.

Click on COMMENTS below and post your predictions, or send an email to nj2008@hallnj.org.

Hillary, Wolf and Joe

The latest polls in New Hampshire show that while Hillary is not personally popular, she is still viewed as the strongest candidate and one a voter would chose in the Democrati primary.

Apparently, she has been helped by her performance in the debates. Wolf Blitzer has made her look good by asking questions that are so wildly hypothetical that she seems a voice of reason.

Speaking of a lack of reason, the palm goes this week to Senator Joe Lieberman who wants to go to war in Iran. There seems to be no understanding that the planners in the Pentagon are rightly concerned that a war in Iran will imperil our troops in Iraq. Looks like the voters in the Democratic primary in Connecticut last year were right in trying to dump Lieberman.

Sopranos Finale

On the final episode of The Sopranos, Meadow says to her father that she wants to be a civil rights lawyer, "The state can crush the individual." Tony replies "New Jersey?"

President Bush Quote

On meeting a woman whose husband died in Iraq, Bush asked how she was doing. She said not good on what was also their anniversary. Bush responded, “Boy, that is a double whammy.”

New low point: Fox full day coverage of Paris Hilton.

Lower point: Picture of her being watched by President Bush.