Misleader Makes Series of Misjudgments
Washington Post
With the
election just [under two months] away, there is a puzzle: How did a
[mis-]leader who was once so formidable become so vulnerable?
In small
ways, the answer is an accumulation of miscalculations and missed
opportunities that have marred Bush's political operation this year, in
the view of some Republicans inside that operation and others beyond
it. In a large way, however, Bush's predicament is less a reversal of
his 2002 success than a natural progression of it - the consequence of
two confrontations he sought that autumn.
To the
dismay of Democrats, who suspected he was manipulating national
security for political advantage, he invited the electorate two years
ago to judge him over the then-looming confrontation with Iraq. To the
delight of Democrats, it is precisely such judgments that polls say are
shadowing his re-[s]election campaign.
By the
same token, his decision to confront Democrats directly and immerse
himself in partisan electioneering ensured that he would face
re-[s]election with little of the rally-behind-the-leader sentiment
that flowed to him after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
(more)
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Monday, September 6
Misleader Makes Series of Misjudgments
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 06 Sep 2004 04:56 PM CDT
Iowa's Foundation in Education ...and the Radical Right is Letting it Crack!
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 06 Sep 2004 10:10 AM CDT
Iowa's Foundation in Education ...and the Radical Right is Letting it Crack!
by Darrell Lewis  Last week, the Iowa quarter was released to much fanfare. It has a famous Grant Wood painting on it and the theme is Foundation in Education. It is indeed fitting that the Iowa quarter theme is education. Iowa has a proud history of the finest educational system in the nation and is home to the country's top educators. The sad irony of the timing of the release of the quarter is that it comes on the eve of a special session where the needs of Iowa's students will be ignored by the Republican-controlled legislature. Tuition at Iowa universities has risen 60% in the past four years. Tuition at Iowa community colleges now ranks among the highest in the nation. Iowa high school students no longer rank number one in the nation in college entrance exams. Iowa's teachers' salaries have fallen behind those of teachers in other states. And what will we see in the special session on Tuesday? One of the first things that will be brought up is a bill to change Iowa's banking laws. Now, we are having real problems understanding this one. This special session is supposed to be about economic development and the Iowa Values Fund. We ask the Republican members of the legislature, do you represent the interests of Iowa school children and all Iowans or do you only represent special interests and self interest? Another major part of the legislation the radical right will be proposing is to give businesses a big tax break...and we aren't just talking in the future. They are proposing to make it retroactive, going back several years. Refunding taxes to wealthy corporations to the tune of some $70 million at a time when Iowa schools are in a financial crisis is simply WRONG! This article originally appeared on the Drury for Iowa Senate website.
Working Blues: Labor Day in Iowa, 2004
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 06 Sep 2004 04:39 AM CDT
Working Blues: Labor Day in Iowa, 2004
Iowa Policy Project Distressing Pattern in Iowa Jobs Picture MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - On the weekend of Labor Day 2004, Iowans are still waiting for a recovery from the 2001 recession, with jobs and wages on the decline after the late 1990's boom. A new report for the Iowa Policy Project examines changes in employment by industry, showing double-digit percentage growth in the late 1990's in financial activities, construction, transportation and utilities and professional and business services. "After 2000, growth in some of Iowa's leading sectors slowed considerably, and some lost ground," said Colin Gordon, a University of Iowa professor who authored the report for the Iowa Policy Project. "And, as we might expect, the dismal jobs picture has begun to affect wages - which already were low in Iowa." The Labor Day report offers an off-year update of the IPP's biennial "State of Working Iowa" report, published in 2001 and 2003, and available on the web at www.iowapolicyproject.org. "If Iowans are asking themselves whether they are better off now than they were four years ago, the answer is pretty clear," said David Osterberg, executive director of the Iowa Policy Project. "They are not better off." Key findings of Gordon's report: -- Iowa lags behind most of its peers in nonfarm employment from 2000 through July 2004, with a 2.2 percent decline, from 1,478,400 to 1,446,200. Only Missouri, Indiana and Illinois among nine Midwestern states had a worse showing. -- Total nonfarm employment in Iowa rose 8.9 percent from almost 1.36 million in 1995 to almost 1.48 million in 2000, but fell back by 2.6 percent to about 1.44 million in 2003. -- Despite strong growth in the 1990's across industry sectors, not a single sector approached a pace to do as well from 2000-2003 as it did from 1995-2000. Among those that grew since 2000, only one - education and health services - approached half of its percentage growth in the late '90s. -- The 10 occupations losing the most jobs in Iowa from 2000 to 2003 boasted an average annual wage of $48,314. By contrast, the 10 occupations adding the most jobs paid an average annual wage of $26,587 a gap of almost $22,000. -- Iowa's median wage (in 2003 dollars) went from $12.03 in 1979 to $10.99 in 1995, rising to $12.71 in 2000 and $13.01 in 2003. "In the last three years of the 1990's, Iowa's median wage grew by almost $1.25, but in the three years afterward, it grew by only 30 cents," Gordon said. "It's also important to note that the wage comparisons only tell part of the story," Gordon said. "Low-wage occupations are less likely to offer other forms of economic security, such as health insurance or pensions. So, it's no surprise that Iowa's rate of uninsurance has risen sharply - from 8.2 percent in 1999-2000 to 10.4 percent in 2002-03." The Iowa Policy Project is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization based in Mount Vernon. IPP reports are available to the public, free of charge, on the web at www.iowapolicyproject.org. |
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