News Cut Category Archive: Politics

Since nothing in politics gets done without substantial internal polling, we must assume -- especially given his add strategy -- that Sen. John McCain is intent on wooing dissatisfied supporters of Hillary Clinton. Was the support for Clinton that soft?

Here are a couple of poll questions. Feel free to discuss the pick in the comments section:

Update 1:05 p.m. This spans two different News Cut threads, so I'll post it here, but it also relates to the "Jesus Factor" post. I'm sitting at the Denver airport gate area, listening to delegates from who knows where talking about the pick of Palin.

"Oh, like she's going to get any Democratic women being pro-life," a woman just said.

So which is it? Is the Democratic Party the big tent for competing views as yesterday's Faith Caucus meeting tried to suggest? Or do you have to be "pro-choice" to be a woman in the Democratic Party?

According to Rasmussen Reports today, 74% of those surveyed say the convention has them united.

If 1 out of ever four Democrats says he/she is not on board with Obama (or don't know if they're on board with Obama), doesn't that mean they're not united?

Consulting dictionary.com on united:

1. made into or caused to act as a single entity: a united front.
2. formed or produced by the uniting of things or persons: a united effort.
3. agreed; in harmony.

Three out of four Democrats aren't behind the Democratic nominee? That's the kind of unity that loses elections.

In the last presidential election, John Kerry had 89% of the Democratic vote, and still lost.

Discuss.

Being a "credential challenged" member of the media (the DNC insisted it couldn't give arena credentials to all the media), I was intrigued by the above photo, which appeared this morning on the front page of the Denver Post.

Let's look closer...

Oh really, governor? Press? You couldn't get your own credential? And who was the very important member of the media who gave up his/her access for you?

I'm betting I'll be posting more stories today than Mitt Romney. From outside Pepsi Center, of course.

(It's a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call for MPR's Midmorning staff. Producers Nancy Lebens and Chris Dall prepare for today's show hours before broadcast time. Kerri Miller is working in the background)

I'm live-blogging Midmorning today from (9-9:45 a.m. CT). We're talking about the youth vote and we'd like to put your views on the air. During the session on election reform the other day, it was fascinating how much of the effort is tied to the young voter. Why? Because the young voter isn't as committed to voting, according to research. They're impatient, they move faster in the world, and if the voting process doesn't go smoothly, they'll move on and go do something else.

And yet, the political parties are courting the youth vote.

If you have a view to share with the world, type it up below. Because Midmorning this week is being broadcast in several markets, it would be great if you'd indicate where you're from.

Our guests are: Molly Andolina, associate professor of political science at DePaul University; Robert Biko Baker, executive director of the League of Young Voters;
Justin Rockefeller, political activist, and co-founder and National Program Director of Generation Engage; and you.

9:05 a.m. - I'm listening to Kerri and the guests talking off-air. "How long are we on for?" one of the guests asks. "About 40 minutes," Kerri says. "Wow! Thorough," came the reply.

9:10 a.m. - Justin says "this time around is different" regarding the youth voter. We were told it would make a difference in '04; it didn't. He says New York is one of the places where it's difficult to get young people to turn out.

Minnesota is one of the places where young people do turn out. Baker says same-day registration is one of the reasons for that.

Molly Andolina says young people have never turned out since 1972 (that would be me!). Young people are more likely to move around, and less likely to be involved in their communities. The gap in voter participation between young people and old people grew widest for Generation X in the '80s but they closed the gap in '04.

9:15 a.m. Good comments already. Social networking is the way to ground young people into the community. So that has to show up this year at the polls if true, right? I was walking down the street yesterday marveling at all of the people who were disengaged from where they were. They were all texting or on the phone. Maybe a young person's definition of community isn't geographic. Maybe their community is their "friends on the other end of the message."

9:17 a.m. - Baker says peer-to-peer networking is the best way to increase voter participation. "We sent African Americans into Latino neighborhoods and it didn't work," he said.

"This generation needs authenticity; they've been marketed to since birth. They don't want a politician or a musical person telling them who to vote for," Andolina says.

9:21 - Krissy from New York City says, "you know how you can put signs in your yard? They have the same thing on Facebook and everytime your friend joins a group, a sign pops up that says 'your friend is supporting Obama.'

"It works," Baker says. "This is the 21st century and the tools we use right now are going to be used for the next 20-30 years."

9:23 a.m. - Rockefeller says face-to-face is still going to be important, "because young people want to get out and socialize."

9:25 a.m. - Andolina says the current generation is more willing to sacrifice and represents the new "greatest generation." We've got to discussion that. Where's the evidence that the young generation is willing to sacrifice to the degree that the World War II generation did, as Andolina seemed to suggest?

9:28 a.m. - Rockefeller says the war is "not in the abstract" for young people and remains an issue. Biko Baker says the economy and college debt (he has $140,000 in college debt.Is that usual?) are main issues.

9:35 a.m. - "This generation volunteers more than any previous generation," Rockefeller says. I need to start seeing some data on some of these generational comparisons.

9:37 a.m. - I want to go back to something Andolina said. "Authenticity." There's almost nothing authentic about politics. This convention is a perfect example. Maybe one of the reasons young people don't engage more, is that they think politics is fake. Comments?

9:42 a.m. - A good exchange between a caller and Rockefeller. "Obama looks like change, but is he change?" The caller, a 16 year old, says she's seeing much more interest in school in politics than before.

9:44 a.m. - Here's a link that a guest just mentioned. Generation Vote.

Here's the link for Generation Engage.

Minnesota's delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver will support Barack Obama for president and say the right words of unity even if it kills them. For several of the ones I've chatted with over the last few weeks, it will.

On Tuesday, the Democrats sent a former national chair of the Clinton campaign to the Minnesota delegation's breakfast meeting to urge the Clinton delegates to get behind Obama.

"When someone puts a mic in our face and asks, 'What about the Hillary supporter, or the person who supported Bill Richardson or Dennis Kucinich?' We will say 'We are Democrats,' in a way that it will be so shocking to whoever asked the question, that they will just stand back," said Rep. Sharon Jackson Lee of Houston, Texas. "They will say 'Let them just walk on by. There is some kind of glory walking by. There's a light over there.' We are Democrats. We are one. We are one nation. We are empowered! We are strengthened! We are Democrats!"

Rep. Jackson Lee hasn't met Connie Kafka of Wyoming. She is the Democrats' worst nightmare. She's not a Hillary Clinton supporter who'll hold her nose and vote for Obama. She says she's a Hillary Clinton supporter who's going to work and vote for John McCain.

And she has no problem telling you why.

She doesn't believe Obama loves America.

I talked with her while sitting on the steps of a row house in Denver, next to Red's Anytime Bail Bonds. Puma PAC, an organization of Clinton supporters who will work for John McCain, has rented the space during the convention. Signs for Hillary Clinton share space out front with ones that say Take back our party! Elected not selected.

Kafka says Mrs. Clinton is the "rightful nominee" of the convention. "She won the nationwide popular vote and one of the reasons the caucuses came out different is there was fraud and voter intimidation."

Kafka says the Clinton delegates to the convention, including those from Minnesota, have little choice but to back Obama because they're being told they have no future in the Party if they don't. And these are party insiders to whom a powerful role in the party power structure matters.

"They are still intimidating and strong-arming people," she insists. "What we're hearing is delegates are being taken into rooms and being browbeaten, being told 'there will be no future in the party for you if you don't fall in line.'"

She knows Sen. Clinton is in the same boat and has little choice but to support Obama. "I don't believe in my heart that she believes in her heart that Sen. Obama can lead this country," says Kafka, who has voted Democrat for 38 years and now vows to vote a straight Republican ticket.

"Anyone who claims to want to lead this country should at least begin by loving and respecting this country," she said.

"You don't believe that he does?" I asked.

"I do not believe that he does," she said. "His greatest gaffe was when he said, 'this is America, the greatest country in the world, now join me in changing it.'"

She acknowledges that Sen. McCain is unlikely to come close to pushing the issues that made Kafka support Clinton in the first place. "I believe that Senator McCain at least begins by having a general respect and love for this country, its people, traditions, and a love of the armed forces."

"Everything he's done has been a coldly calculated move up the ladder of politics," she said of Barack Obama.

Related link:
Slate: In defense of Obama's patriotism
Boston Globe: Patriotism a pitfall for Democratic candidates

The Pew Center is out with a survey that suggests people are growing more disenchanted with the role of religion in politics. Says the Pew Center Web site story on the poll:

A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters. For a decade, majorities of Americans had voiced support for religious institutions speaking out on such issues.

The most interesting aspect of the survey is that the Republican response to the question has shifted to the point where the majority of those surveyed now think religious organizations should stay out of politics. A growing number also said religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party.

The survey would appear to conflict with the vice presidential selection process in the Republican Party. If you can believe the analysis and whispers, the choice is going to be based to a large degree on who won't upset the evangelical Christians.

The race is now down to -- reportedly -- Sen. Joe Liebermann (who will play the part at the national convention later this month that Sen. Zell Miller played at the 2004 convention), Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former Gov. Mitt Romney.

There was also speculation that Tom Ridge was in the running, but the New York Times says his position on abortion -- as well as that of Lieberman's -- is a turn-off.

Within Mr. McCain's campaign, a recent focus has been on Mr. Ridge and Mr. Lieberman. Mr. McCain thinks highly of both men and has traveled extensively with Mr. Lieberman. But Christian conservatives, a crucial Republican constituency, reacted with alarm this week to speculation that either man might join the ticket.

The same article said Romney wouldn't fly either...

Mr. Romney, who is Mormon, might not be the easiest sell to Christian conservatives, and there remains some opposition to him among evangelical Christians.

Which leaves Pawlenty, who is described in the Times' article only as...

... an evangelical Christian.

The Wall St. Journal also digs into the question of "acceptability" today.

The Republican Party's base would undoubtedly appreciate a more traditional pick of someone with a conservative record on social issues such as abortion. But a more socially moderate selection could ingratiate Sen. McCain with independents -- whom he has long attracted with his so-called maverick reputation, and whose vote could be crucial come November. In the latest Wall Street Journal poll of likely voters, 16% identified themselves as "strictly independent."

As we head into both national conventions, we'll hear more about the candidates catering to their base. One question worth asking: Is there room in the party for anyone but the base?

Are you one of the voters who doesn't mesh completely with the base of your political party? Do you feel included?

The Minnesota DFL today released the names of guest speakers for its morning breakfast/caucus meetings/pep rallies during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There are no big starpower names (in Boston, perhaps, Garrison Keillor and Rob Reiner spoke), but there is room for reading the leaves.

We'll be hearing the word "unity" next week, but in interviewing delegates and others across the state for the last two weeks, it's more show than substance at the moment and it remains a major challenge for a party with a history of internal turf wars.

Hillary Clinton won the big states that the Democrats will need to win in November, but -- especially with it becoming obvious she's not in the whisper/leaks for vice president on the ticket -- some Clintonians think the Obama forces could do more to reach out to them (and, no, none of them wants to be identified.... yet).

That apparently is not going to happen -- at least in public -- at the Minnesota delegation meetings. Of the 27 speakers given slots, only five endorsed Hillary Clinton during the primaries.

If there is to be a significant effort to win the Clintonians support (it's not their vote that's important, it's their ability to organize, raise money, and turn out the vote), it'll come next Tuesday when three Clintonians will speak: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who was a national co-chair for Clinton, Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, and State Sen. Tarryl Clark are all scheduled.

Another Clinton supporter, Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, will speak to the delegates on Thursday, along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

Another in a continuing series of profiles of Minnesota delegates to the national political conventions.

Name: Bethany Dorobiala

Party: Republican (Alternate delegate)

Hometown: Woodbury (Now living in Burnsville)

Representing: 6th District

Age: 21 (Youngest in the Minnesota delegation)

Occupation: Student (political science) at the University of Minnesota. Chairman, Minnesota College Republicans. "We have a chapter in almost every campus in the state. We face a lot of struggles with campus administrations and student opinion on campus. Once we put out a positive image of what Republicans stand for, we get a lot of support." Listen

How she became a delegate: I ran for alternate. I knew that especially this election year, it's important for youth to be represented as part of this campaign. i wanted to make sure students had a voice. I ran for an at-large alternate position. Sen. Obama hadn't been announced as a presumptive nominee but it was close, so I knew how important students were going to be in this election. Listen

Political roots: Has always been interested in politics. "I got started in a YMCA program called Youth in Government. It models state government. We had a chance to sit in the halls of the state Capitol and talk about issues students are passionate about."

"A lot of my values stem from how I raised by my parents but not something that was enforced by them by any means; the values they instilled in me -- personal responsibility, fiscal conservatism, taking care of one another -- has led me to the Republican Party." Listen

What she's most looking forward to at the RNC: I've been following the preparations since St. Paul was named the host city. I'm excited to have the party rally here. I'm proud to be able to host the leaders of the party. All the different things going on are exciting to see take shape." Listen

Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Favorite movie: An American in Paris.

Favorite music: County. "I like a band called Little Big Town."

Most influential person. "My mom. She's an incredibly hard worker and I've tried to model my life similar to how she lives her life."

Bucket list: I want to travel the world. I think Americans don't value how lucky we are to live in America and the freedoms we're able to enjoy."

The war between Russia and Georgia -- and more importantly, the effect on the relations between Russia and the United States -- didn't provide any more comforting moments today .

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that relations between the U.S. and Russia could be strained for years. But he did say there's no chance the U.S. is going to get involved militarily.

Still, it appears to be a situation that will be one of the first to end up in the lap of a new president.

John McCain, speaking in Michigan, called for a complete review of U.S. relations with its Cold War enemy, the International Herald Tribune reported.

McCain said there should be heightened security arrangements for Ukraine, the Baltic states and Poland. But he offered no specifics, and ruled out military action against Russia or a return to the cold war.

Barack Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, condemned the Russia invasion and called for a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Here are the statements of both candidates:

As for Minnesota politicians, I asked an official in Rep. Michele Bachman's office for an interview today. I got a statement from the congresswoman instead:

"Obviously, the Russia-Georgia conflict is very disturbing and I am monitoring it very closely. In fact, this afternoon, I expect to participate in a conference call with Republican leadership on this matter.

"I was pleased to see that the President is taking a firm stand with Moscow and that he's dispatched Condoleezza Rice to Tbilisi. This is a volatile region and I am hopeful that tough diplomacy and humanitarian aid are all that will be needed to keep the conflict from spreading."

So far, only Sen. Norm Coleman, Bachmann, and Rep. Jim Oberstar have provided reaction to the ongoing events.

Update 6:03 p.m. Rep. Betty McCollum has issued a statement:

"I strongly condemn Russia's coordinated assault and invasion of the sovereign, democratic Republic of Georgia. In an attempt to re-establish control over its neighbors through military force, Russia is sending a worrisome signal to the international community that its vision of the future looks like the troubled Soviet past.

"As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations, I support the Bush Administration's commitment to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to relieve the Georgian peoples' suffering. The United States and our European allies should now initiate high-level, persistent diplomatic talks with Georgia and Russia, focused on restoring and sustaining a cease-fire."

Historically at MPR, our talk shows shy away from periods where guests argue with each other. Perhaps it's unseemly, or maybe it's the whole Minnesota Nice thing. At times, I think it's refreshing, but I'm from back East.

Today on Midmorning, we were in the middle of a conversation on flip-flopping (I live-blogged it here) when the question of when politicians should vote their principles, and when they should vote what their constituents want, even if it's against their better judgment. This is a version of the "we're not a democracy, we're a republic" argument.

That's when guests Allan Lichtman (political historian at American University) and David Sirota (political reporter and syndicated columnist) got into a fascinating exchange.

I promised to provide audio of the bit earlier today and then forgot. But here it is (Listen). The first voice you hear is Lichtman's.

One's antenna always should go up when a special interest group releases a poll that shows a result favorable to the special interest group. But a poll is a poll and today's comes from the American Petroleum Institute which reports its poll finds 58% of Minnesotans support "increased access" to oil and gas reserves (i.e. ANWR and coastal drilling). Twenty-percent of those people only somewhat support the idea.

Ninety-four percent of those surveyed are "concerned" about the price of gas. Five percent "aren't concerned at all."

The results are pretty much the same as a survey Quinnipiac took in Minnesota last month. In that survey, 59 percent of those surveyed said they support drilling for oil off the coasts. Half of those who said they supported drilling, said they have always held that view; that's a sign of the shifting political sand on the issue.

But in that same survey, 61 percent of those surveyed said they'd rather have politicians focus on alternative forms of energy, than drilling for oil.

When is a change in a politician's position a considered and intellectual process and when is it a "flip-flop," an act based largely on the shifting of political winds? To the cynical (bowing), the answer is: When it's your guy doing the flipping.

In the last few election cycles, the flip-flop charge has not only been an effective tool, it's spawned a variety of interesting "characters" following candidates. Here in Minnesota, we had "waffle man," who chased former gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny around one year, the "sandals" guy (see photo), and -- if memory serves -- there was a chicken mixed in there somewhere. In fact, speaking of vague memories, didn't one of them get punched in the nose out at the State Fair a few years ago?

Today at 9, Midmorning is examining flip-flopping with David Sirota, political reporter and author of "The Uprising," Allan Lichtman, political historian at American University.

I'm live-blogging the discussion in the studio and you know what that means: You get your voice heard and we simultaneously discuss the show. See you then.

Live blogging

9:06 a.m. - OK, we're underway. Let's hear from you. While waiting to start, I browsed "flip flop" on YouTube. Check out some of the ways the term is used to attack a political challenger.

9:09 David Sirota is up first from Denver. "Money creates flip-flops," he says. Obama said there was political opportunity to court progressives by being against warrantless wire tapping. He changed his position when he had a chance to get money from the telecommunications business. Same, he says, for McCain. He says "money came in, and then the position changed."

When is it a flip-flop? When nothing changes in the world to warrant the change in position.

9:11 Flip-flopping "is as old as politics," says Allan Lichtmann. He says McCain has flip-flopped over abortion, tax cuts, affirmative action; Obama, he says, has moved "more toward the center" in advocating off-shore drilling, a softer position on gun control.

But where are the voters -- you? -- on this? "I think voters have always been willing to accept a position change, Lichtmann says. Really? But the flip-flop charge works, doesn't it?

9:14 - Flip flopping is getting dissed here. So let's consider the story this week in The Atlantic on what happened to the Clinton campaign. Internal memos showed she was advised to stress Obama's flip-flopping and "make him seem less American." She didn't. It also notes that McCain has stressed Obama's inexperience over the same option. The facts suggest that polling shows that charges of flip-flopping work. Right?

9:16 - It wasn't flip-flopping that doomed John Kerry, Lichtmann says. It was that it exposed a "consultant-driven, wooden, scripted campaign." He had no vision.

9:18 - Observation: In many ways, flip-flopping has been a tradition in Minnesota local politicians. Mostly with Republicans in the '90s, the "insiders" at the state convention were so extreme, that Republicans had to run to the right to get the endorsement, and then race to the center to try to win a general election (or, a September primary). Is it really any different, now? Is flip-flopping a recognition that there's a disconnect between the party members who bestow things like endorsements, and the people on main street who actually vote?

Maybe it's more of a commentary on the political process than the individual candidates?

Discuss, please.

9:21 - Sirota: "A good politician is one who has underlying principles, not to corner themselves into a position they'd have to flip on." He says a smart politician won't box him/herself in. In Montana, he says, the feds tried to force a federal ID card. The governor didn't want to sign onto it and made the decision to say "no." It became a game of chicken between the Department of Homeland Security and the state. He didn't back down. He could have flip flopped.

9:26 - How much is the media responsible for this? (Picking up on Steve's comment). Sirota says once a candidate is billed in a media narrative as a 'media flip-flopper,' it's hard to pull out of that. "You can't prove a negative," he observes.

9:27 -- Time to put up a poll.

9:39 - Lichtmann is taking on Republicans for being against social engineering and then taking on "the biggest social engineering project ever" in Iraq. Also notes that President Bush, alleged to be anti-government, has set up the largest government ever. Sirota says he agrees.

And maybe that's the story we'll have to look at when the Republicans come to St. Paul: this "tension" between what the Republican Party says and what it's been unable -- or unwilling -- to do.

9:42 - The immigration issue is fundamental, Lichtmann says. The hard-core social conservatives and the Republican base of businesses has split the party down the middle.

9:43 - News Cut discussion leads to question on Midmorning. Like it. "This is a culture that gets its news from 30 second sound bites," Sirota says. "We ask for less the positions and more the character issues." So is the problem the media? Or the voters who settle for less?

9:46 -" Do candidates have a mandate to flip-flop?" a caller asks (Pat). Where does the politician find the balance between sanding on what they believe and being open to the views of the constituents. Lichtmann: "They have to tread a fine line between the two. It depends on how firmly the position is principled, vs. responsive to changes in external circumstances. And it depends on how strongly the public makes its voice heard."

A good time to reissue the challenge to Minnesota politicians (and I know you're reading this): When's the last time you changed your mind on an issue? I've asked that question since I wrote Polinaut 2 1/2 years ago. No Minnesota politician has admitted changing his/her mind. To me, that tells me how scared they are to the flip-flop charge.

9:51 - Sirota and Lichtmann arguing. Sirota says Lichtmann wants politicians to ignore the public. "We are in an era of politics where pandering is the model; leadership is not the model," he says.

Licthmann says the most important legislation does not begin with a few politicians holding to their convictions regardless of what the politicians thought. It (the Civil rights Act, for example), began with a small group of citizens. If your model is "this is not a democracy, it's a representative system and the politician has to stick with his ideas, you never would've gotten the Voting Rights Act," he said.

"What you're throwing out is kind of absurd," Sirota says.

(Off mic: "Should I come back to you one more time," Kerri says. "No," I reply. "It's not worth interrupting this argument for." Sirota and Lichtmann battle in the background. Wow! Some of the best debate I've heard in years here. I'll be isolating this after the show and posting it here)

9:56 -- Kerri and I are sitting back and listening to these two. Fascinating.

That's a fascinating local angle -- or maybe it's only fascinating to media types -- surrounding the affair that John Edwards has finally admitted to with vlogger Reille Hunter.

Local filmmaker Chuck Olsen (The Uptake) had some footage of Hunter in a film he shot. He posts a still image of her here, and wrote:

She was very outgoing, maybe even flirtatious, but really nice. I asked how she got the gig filming webisodes, and she said she met him in a bar and they clicked, and she proposed some online documentary showing his authenticity. She told me about some Hollywood sitcom writing and other weird projects she'd been involved with - nothing I'd ever heard of.

Chuck's Twitter page documents how quick the big media moves in to wrap up the rights to the photo.

Edwards statement on the subject reads like a Microsoft Word template for political apologies. There isn't one, of course, but there probably should be.

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake, and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006, and today I take full responsibility publicly.

As for Ms. Hunter's video capabilities, judge for yourself:

Where men are concerned, there really are two Americas: those who cheat and those who don't.

Edwards isn't running for anything now, of course. But a lot of folks saw him as an attorney general candidate in a Barack Obama administration.

In other political "we matter" news, the New York Times today has a profile of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, hot on the heels of his political cotillion at the National Press Club this week.

It's an interesting profile, and a reminder that even though he's been governor here for almost six years, and served in the House before that, and even though he has a penchant for dropping tidbits about his daughter into political speeches, and even though we know he likes hockey, we really don't know much about the personal life of Tim Pawlenty.

After reading the article, we still don't.

By the way, the governor's official biography on the state's Web site has been updated recently. Among other changes, this first line was added:

TIM PAWLENTY is regarded as one of the nation's most innovative, energetic, reform-minded and accomplished governors.

Why are debit cards issued to some Minnesota welfare recipients being used in Hawaii... or 48 other states for that matter?

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert wants to know the answer, according to a story today from MPR's Tom Weber.

Seifert says more than 310,000 purchases were made out-of-state, using debit cards that are issued to welfare recipients. Those purchases totaled more than $10 million.

Seifert says he can understand some out-of-state purchases, especially in border states. But he'd like to know, for example, why $3,000 was spent in Hawaii.

"Are we having Minnesota cards mailed to other states?" Seifert asked. "Are people traveling there? Are they selling them? Are they bartering them? What's going on? And $10 million is not a small amount of money in terms of the state budget, so I think it's worth looking into and having hearings and finding a way to bring more accountability to these cards."

Legislative Auditor James Nobles said he will consider whether the allegation requires a special investigation or can be addressed during his office's annual audit at the Department of Human Services.

Seifert's message seems clear: If you can afford to travel to Hawaii, you don't need to be on welfare in Minnesota.

One possibility he didn't mention: online purchases.

Click on the map Seifert provided to see it in a more readable form.

Seeing Barack Obama backtrack on the issue of drilling for oil off the coasts has reignited a simmering debate -- when is a politician a "flip-flopper" and when is he/she merely responding to improved intelligence? A few years ago, when I was writing Polinaut, I challenged legislators to describe the last time they had their mind changed by a conversation with a constituent? None did.

If there's one label that's been known to stick to a politician -- flip-flopper is it.

Now, the St. Petersburg Times has today introduced the Flip-O-Meter:

Barack Obama was accused of flip-flopping on public financing, warrantless wiretaps and offshore drilling. John McCain supposedly flip-flopped on drilling and the Bush tax cuts. During the primary campaign, flipping charges were leveled against Hillary Clinton (torture policy), Bill Richardson (Iraq) and Mitt Romney (abortion).

We checked those accusations at the time and rated them on our trusty Truth-O-Meter. But after checking so many flip-flop allegations, especially lately, we realized they have become a major part of the campaign discourse. We decided that PolitiFact needed a new device to tell readers when a candidate had truly flipped.

The Flip-O-Meter was born.

Candidates are rated from "full-flop" to "half-flip." Find it here.

Tangent Time: "Flip-flop explored" (Grammar Grater)

My post last week about the economy struck a nerve, judging by some of the comments that were posted.

The question is whether the constant drumbeat of negative economic news creates an impression that the economy is worse than it really is. Keep in mind, that's a far different statement from saying the economy isn't in bad shape; it is.

A poll out from Rasmussen today says 50% of those surveyed think the media is making the economy seem worse than it really is. This is despite the face only 34% think the U.S. "has the world's best economy.

Only a quarter (25%) think reporters and media outlets present an accurate picture of the economy and 18% believe they actually portray it as better than it is. Just 34% trust reporters more when it comes to news on the economy, and 32% see stockbrokers as more reliable.

A plurality of Americans (41%) similarly believe that the media has tried to make the war in Iraq appear worse that it really is, while 26% say reporters have made it look better than reality and 25% think they've portrayed it accurately.

This poll is one of several Rasmussen released today, purporting to show the media are biased -- or at least that people think they are.

President Bush is holding a news conference this morning (9:20 a.m.). The news analysts say he's going to try to allay fears about the economy.

This brings up the usual question: Is the economy really that bad, or is it just the case of the media being nattering nabobs of negativity?

Here are today's economic headlines:

"I'm just an average woman who feels passionate about our
country and our government. I don't have a lot of
money and I certainly haven't had the liberty or the freedom to not
work for the last two years, but I still would be an excellent
senator." -- Priscilla Lord Faris

But can she win? She's an unknown, with little experience and her announcement today that she's running for the U.S. Senate seems particularly fertilized with a frustration with Al Franken, whose candidacy is not energizing the state, at the moment. His poll numbers aren't budging.

"I've been watching the polls and kind of wondering how this race was going to go and one of the issues for us was where was he going to be in the polls on the 15th?" she told MPR. "If he's ahead great. If he's behind. I don't want to sit and wait and wish or hope."

This is a shot across the Franken bow.

Franken's campaign has been puzzling. Polls show energy now tops the list of issues on the mind of voters. So what does a blast of TV commercials for Franken take on this week: Ex-politicians as lobbyists. True, he ties lobbying in with the price of gasoline, but that's not exactly an energy policy.

Today, on the day Sen. Norm Coleman filed his papers, the Franken campaign put out this statement:

"Six years ago, Norm Coleman was given the chance to go to work for the people of Minnesota. Instead, he sold out to the special interests and voted with George W. Bush nearly 90% of the time - and Minnesotans are paying the price. We can't afford to stay the course in Iraq, in our energy policy, or with this economy: it's time for a change."

The words of Al Franken? Nope. They're the words of Andy Barr, Franken's communications director.

The campaign had no comment on Lord Faris' candidacy.

Today, News Cut begins the "battleground watch." Are we -- Minnesota -- and you, too, western Wisconsin -- as important as we were in 2004? We'll let the numbers speak for themselves. As MPR's Than Tibbets' graphic (which we'll be be updating) shows, 2004 was a banner year for candidate visits. Twenty-five times, a presidential or vice presidential candidate made appearances in the region.

John McCain's visit to Hudson, Wisc., on Friday will be the third campaign visit by either McCain or Barack Obama, slightly behind the 2004 pace. By mid-July in 2004, John Kerry had visited three times; President Bush had visited twice. (MPR News Director Bill Wareham points out that a spot for Tim Pawlenty on the McCain ticket could skew the '08 numbers.)

Hudson also provided the backdrop for a Republican candidate visit in 2004 when President Bush campaigned there in August. It paid off. Hudson backed the Bush/Cheney ticket 54-to-45 percent over the Kerry/Edwards team, while the rest of the state went Democrat by a very slim margin.

In Wisconsin's presidential preference primary in February 2008, Democrats outdrew Republicans in Hudson 998-579. McCain was an easy winner over Mike Huckabee.

By the way, be sure to listen to Tom Scheck's interview with Sen. McCain (RealAudio)

In his book, "Writing Broadcast News," longtime writing coach Merv Block lists a plethora of "Venial Sins." One of them is don't start stories with prefabricated phrases.

Fortunately for the press bosses of candidates, newsies don't pay much attention to Merv Block anymore, and as a result -- starting today -- there'll be a rash of prefabricated stories based on the beginning of filing season for candidates whose candidacies we already recognized.

What's the story? Their candidacy is now official.

Al Franken kicked the prefab news season off today by filing papers in his run for U.S. Senate. The Minnesota Secretary of State opened the filing season last week. It's a matter of filing routine paperwork and that's all it is, aside from an opportunity to get a little prefab publicity.

How many times can you make a news story out of making your candidacy official?

"Comedian Al Franken has decided to run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota in 2008." - Associated Press, 1/31/07

"Democrat Al Franken announced on Wednesday that he's running for the Senate seat currently held by Norm Coleman." -- MPR 2/14/07

"Al Franken made it official Wednesday. The comedian and liberal talk radio host announced he's challenging U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., for his seat in 2008." Midday 2/15/07

At least three, and by the end of the day, four, which is merely a fraction of the stories one of his competitors has been able to fabricate by not saying for sure -- one way or another.

Sen. Norm Coleman, by the way, has not yet made it officially offical. I wonder if he'll run?

I'm going to write this, and I'm going to walk away from the computer knowing there's a 50-50 chance it'll be outdated within seconds.

Such is the nature of the "now you see me, now you don't" personality of Jesse Ventura, who has been floating the notion that he's going to run for Senate in Minnesota.

The Ventura watch began this morning when ABC News is said to have reported he's definitely in. But links to the story -- a blog post -- regurgitate the "he may be in" data that we've gotten pretty used to up here in flyover country. The ABC story is said to have attributed things to David Welna of NPR (Jesse doesn't talk to any local media except, perhaps, Gary Eichten). Welna's interview doesn't yield a lot that we haven't heard before -- lots of factoids you can take to the bank if you don't mind the distinct possibility that they'll bounce.

Today's flurry then set Ventura up perfectly, giving him an opportunity to stay in the news cycle without actually doing anything other than denying anything's changed, by saying he was speaking hypothetically.

Nobody can play the media like Jesse Ventura.

Is Ventura using Brett Favre's playbook? Or is Favre using Ventura's?

Where does Rep. Marty Seifert come up with his quotes?

""They had Denny Green time management," he once said of the DFL budget talks.

"It's like saying you're pro-ag and then being anti-chicken," he also uttered when talking about DFLers saying they're "pro-job" and then taxing businesses.

We have a new entrant in the Seifert book of quotations today, courtesy of MPR reporter Tim Pugmire's story on the GOP field of candidates in upcoming legislative elections.

"We are extremely proud that we will not be a Smurf village as we move into the election process where we just have one female walking around, but we are moving into the 21st century as a party and stretching out our reach as a party to as many people as possible," said Seifert.

It's remarkable political oratory that can send a writer to Google to enter the words Smurf trivia.

I had no clue while driving to work today that I'd be considering the socio-political themes of the Smurfs. Who knew, for example, that Smurf Village is merely a front for a Socialist society?

Papa Smurf represents Karl Marx. He is not so much the leader of the Smurfs as an equal revered by the others for his age and wisdom. He has a beard, as did Marx, and thus could conceivably be a caricature as well. And lastly, he wears red, which is the traditional colour of socialism. Brainy Smurf could represent Trotsky. He is the only one in the village who comes close to matching Papa's intellect - he is a thinker. With his round spectacles, he could also be a caricature of Trotsky. He is often isolated, ridiculed or even ejected from the commune of the village for his ideas. And of course, Trotsky was banished from the USSR.

But what's that got to do with the women?

In an ideal, sexist, patriarchal state, women are not a part of the community. They do not occupy the 'public sphere' of work and the outside world, and they certainly do not work. Smurfette's main occupation seems to be standing around looking pretty, ie 'being the woman', although when it comes to problem solving, the producers have not, thankfully, made her a brainless bimbo. She is quite a bit sharper than the rest of the Smurfs, except of course, for Papa.

According to this particular treatise, however, in Smurf Village, heterosexuality is the norm. Tinky Winky take note.