csua.org/u/euy -> www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34265-2004Oct15.html
All RSS Feeds Bunning's Wild Pitches Tighten Kentucky Senate Race By Paul Farhi Friday, October 15, 2004; The one-term incumbent (and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher) has stalked out of a news interview, compared his dark-complexioned opponent to one of Saddam Hussein's sons, and accused Mongiardo or a member of his campaign staff of roughing up Bunning's wife at an event over the summer -- an accusation Mongiardo's staff calls "sad and untrue." Bunning has also beefed up his security detail, telling a Paducah TV station, "There may be strangers among us."
Friday's Question: It was not until the early 20th century that the Senate enacted rules allowing members to end filibusters and unlimited debate. How many votes were required to invoke cloture when the Senate first adopted the rule in 1917?
Sign Up Now On Monday, Bunning declined to show up in Kentucky, as agreed, for a debate with Mongiardo. Instead, he beamed in via satellite from the Republican National Committee's TV studio in Washington and refused to let a neutral observer monitor his participation. Bunning's campaign manager, David Young, later acknowledged that Bunning had read his opening and closing statements off a teleprompter. Mongiardo's campaign said that violated the debate's rules. All of which has prompted two things: a competitive Senate race in Kentucky and questions about Bunning. Based on polls showing Bunning's lead shrinking to single digits, Democrats have pumped $200,000 into the race in the past five days and may invest more in hopes of grabbing an unexpected seat. Jon S Corzine (NJ), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's chairman, said in an interview yesterday. An editorial published yesterday in the Louisville Courier-Journal -- the state's largest paper -- questioned Bunning's mental health: "Is he, as he ages, just becoming a more concentrated version of himself: more arrogant, more prickly?" Or is his increasing belligerence an indication of something worse? Bunning drifted into territory that indicates a serious health concern?" Calls to Bunning's campaign were not returned yesterday. NRA Officially Backs President The National Rifle Association finally made the obvious official: It endorsed President Bush. The group's backing promises him help getting out the pro-gun vote and a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign. Kerry, a longtime hunter, has moved to the right of many Democrats on gun issues. But unlike Bush, he supports legislation that would require gunmakers to add child safety locks to guns, and he opposes a proposal to shield manufacturers from lawsuits stemming from gun crimes. Kerry has been endorsed by one of the NRA's nemeses, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The gun-control group announced that it is teaming up with the Million Mom March to launch a television ad criticizing Bush for not urging Congress to renew a recently elapsed ban on some kinds of semiautomatic weapons. Race Close in Cyberspace The presidential race is pretty much a tie -- even in cyberspace. President Bush's and John F Kerry's campaign Web sites ran neck and neck in September, each attracting around 25 million visitors. Kerry had a slight edge, with 2,681,000 readers who spent, on average, 7 minutes 29 seconds perusing his site, according to the independent research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Bush logged 2,453,000 visitors who hung around for an average of 6 minutes 54 seconds. Kerry's total was down from August, when a little more than 3 million people clicked on his site. Bush saw his readership climb by 200,000 from the previous month. Political researcher Brian Faler and staff writer Helen Dewar contributed to this report.
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