at one element of the old – false – “liberal media” saw: RNC pretends newspapers lean left. The Republicans have done a very good job over the past 30 years of marginalizing the opinion pages of major newspapers by calling them “liberal”. “Only problem is,” writes Salon, “it’s not accurate. In fact, the complete opposite is true. Since 1940 when industry trade magazine Editor & Publisher began tracking newspapers during presidential elections, only two Democratic candidates – Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Bill Clinton in 1992 – have ever won more endorsements than their Republican opponent.”

is seen by many as a joke among journalists, the hungover detritus of a more self-indulgent time. But they’re wrong. For almost 40 years he has been one of the only honest commentators willing to speak the truth about power and one of precious few to understand – and not excuse – the brutality of modern Presidential politics. Thompson has pronounced on the current fracas in Rolling Stone: Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004. “…Bush went belly up less than halfway through his first bout with Kerry, who hammered poor George into jelly. It was pitiful… I almost felt sorry for him, until I heard someone call him ‘Mister President,’ and then I felt ashamed.”

prediction map based on new assumptions: Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004. Previous maps used linear regression on the numbers to generate the prediction. This one uses the following assumptions: voters who already have made a choice will stick to it; the undecideds will break 2:1 for the challenger (Kerry); If Nader is on the ballot, he will get 2%, otherwise 0% (was 2.74% nationally in 2000); the minor candidates such as Badnarik, Cobb, etc. will get 1% of the vote (was 1.01% in 2000). Currently, it suggests 311 Electoral Votes for Kerry to 227 for Bush.

is much worse than even a pessimist would have predicted.