George W. Bush

As recently as the American boyhoods of John Kerry, John McCain and George W. Bush, it was nearly impossible to think of becoming president without going through the ritual of combat.

World War II vets threw down a gauntlet that members of the succeeding generation couldn't hope to wield unless they donned uniforms and picked up rifles. But the motif of warrior as leader goes back most vividly and foundationally to Washington.

The general on horseback myth worked so well and the country's early talent pool tested in war went so deep, few men thereafter could assume the chair of presidential power without showing battle stripes. From the country's founding all the way up to 1908, only the elections of 1800 (Adams v. Jefferson), 1844 (Polk v. Clay) and 1861 (Lincoln v. Douglas) failed to feature war hero candidacies.

Linda Stender at a 2006 rally with former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob MenendezWell before knowing who their candidate will be to run in place of U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, Republicans say they're no more worried about losing the seat than they were before Ferguson decided not to seek reelection.

Their reason: likely Democratic candidate Linda Stender's performance in her supposedly safe Assembly re-election two weeks ago, when she beat her closest Republican opponent who spent almost no money by only 3,332 votes - a difference of about 7%. That, they say, is evidence that her 2006 election against Ferguson, which she lost by a single point, was more the product of a bad Republican year than evidence of Republican vulnerabilities in the district.

"Stender's staggering underperformance in her re-election for the State Assembly is further evidence that the people of New Jersey do not agree with her tax and spend record," said National Republican Congressional Committee Spokeswoman Julie Shutley in a statement.

The 14th district State Senate candidates are girding for battle at Steinert High School tonight, and once again GOP Assemblyman Bill Baroni is heading into a Fair and Clean Elections debate with the Georg W. Bush factor fairly smothered.

Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani continue to hold substantial leads in New Jersey's February 5, 2008 presidential primaries, according to a new Strategic Vision poll released today. Clinton leads Barack Obama by a 52%-21% margin among Democrats (John Edwards is at 7% and Bill Richardson at 5%), while Republicans give Giuliani a 53%-11% advantage over Fred Thompson. John McCain and Mitt Romney each have 7%.

In New Jersey, President George W. Bush has an upside-down overall job approval rating of 18%-71%. Seven out of ten voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, 69% disapprove of his handling of the war in Iraq, and 57% want a U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq within six mohths. But New Jersey voters, by a 49%-41% margin, approve of Bush's handling of the war on terrorism.

Over the past several months, Democrats have tried to go pound for pound on the outrage meter with the GOP over Gov. Jon Corzine’s asset monetization study for the state’s toll roads.

Not to be outdone as an opposition target, President George W. Bush on Wednesday scratched his pen through a measure that would have re-authorized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Democrats gave President George W. Bush a drubbing in the last election, and they can’t believe he’s again providing them with an opening as he threatens to veto the expansion and re-authorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"I just don’t know what he’s thinking about," said state Sen. Joseph Vitale in a telephone interview as he returned from a press conference with Gov. Jon Corzine, who today announced his decision to join a lawsuit with seven other states against the Bush administration.

Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who served as Lyndon Johnson's Attorney General, says Michael Chertoff would be a bad pick for Bush: John F. Kennedy Library PhotoCiting an administration in a Constitutional free fall, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who served as U.S. Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson, said George W. Bush should not choose Michael Chertoff as the successor to outgoing U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"I had a good deal of respect for Michael Chertoff, but I haven’t heard about him objecting to the things going on within his orbit. He’s a lawyer. He ought to know better," Katzenbach said of the Secretary of Homeland Security and former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, who has been rumored as a potential replacement for Gonzales.

State Senate candidate Richard Dennison has taken the fight to Diane Allen quite a few times. In fact, by Dennison’s own count, today was the fourth time that he has held a press conference in front of Allen’s Burlington legislative office.

“I’m choosing here because it’s symbolic that I’m taking this race to her, that I’m not intimidated by her in the least,” said Dennison.

No surprise here. Both Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are their parties’ leading candidates to win the Garden State’s primary, while Bush's approval rating has plunged to new depths, according to a Strategic Vision poll released today. 

The company surveyed 800 likely New Jersey voters.

Write down the date, says Rep. Donald Payne: June 25, 2007.

That’s when U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar made remarks on the floor of the Senate urging President George W. Bush to change course in Iraq.

"In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved," Lugar said on the Senate floor. "Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term."