On to better news hopefully

It appears that Hurricane Rita will strike the Houston area. Anything is better than the other areas already hit badly by Katrina since the levees are broken and won't be rebuilt completely til 2006.

Yes, a tough choice lies upon us in 2008. I have hope that Evan Bayh will be the candidate chosen by my party.

When the Roberts roll call starts, those senators who are viewed as possible contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 — including Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), 2004 nominee John Kerry (Mass.), Joseph Biden (Del.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Russ Feingold (Wis.) and perhaps others — will already be under a microscope. That is particularly true of Clinton, who has not publicly revealed her intentions on either Roberts or the 2008 race.

Political experts say Clinton has shifted toward the center this year and a vote for the Roberts nomination would be characterized that way.

"She’s caught between the swing voters, who she wants and needs for reelection, and the Democratic presidential primary voters and activists who will want her to vote no," said one Democratic strategist.

The Democratic senators will get a chance to test the political waters at today’s weekly caucus lunch. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has asked his colleagues not to make a decision on Roberts until they have had a chance to discuss the issue together. But Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Reid is still not asking his colleagues to vote as a bloc. "It’s not a party position," Manley said.

Governor-for-now Fletcher says he will run for re-election. I won't be surprised if Anne Northup runs against him in the primaries.

While announcing a multi million dollar education grant, the million dollar question plaguing reporters was: "is the Governor mad?"

This weekend, despite Fletcher's call for Republican Party Chair Darrell Brock to resign - the Executive Committee did the opposite -- giving him a vote of confidence.

"I don't take it personally," said Fletcher. "I've learned in this business not to take these sorts of things personally. If I did, it wouldn't allow me to do my job effectively."

Fletcher added: "I stand behind that recommendation. It was made to move Kentucky forward."

Moving forward, however, may be very tough. The hiring scandal seems to stick with Governor closer than his own security. The topic has come up at every press briefing for the last several months.

"Certain mistakes were made, but it's part of a political battle," Fletcher said. "But we'll continue to move forward."

The pressure is on Hillary Rodham Clinton. Will she or won't she?

Claiming Hillary Rodham Clinton is hiding behind her husband, possible Republican challenger Jeanine Pirro renewed her effort Monday to get New York's junior senator to take a pledge to serve a full, six-year term if re-elected.

A major thrust of Pirro's campaign has been that Clinton wants to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008 and will be an absentee senator if she is re-elected.

Thus far, the former first lady has refused to address the full-term pledge issue, although her husband said Sunday she shouldn't make such a promise again because she might become a presidential contender.

The former president told NBC's Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" that "for figures that are large figures in their parties, who honestly don't know and can't know this early whether they're going to run _ we have no idea what facts will unfold _ I don't think they should make commitments. President Bush didn't make a commitment when he ran for re-election as governor of Texas and he was remarkably candid."

Clinton himself pledged in 1990 to serve a full, four-year term as governor of Arkansas then broke the promise to run for president in 1992.

At a state Capitol news conference, Pirro took the Democratic senator to task, questioning why "Hillary Clinton needs her husband to come out and speak on her behalf."

Responding for the Clinton camp, state Democratic Chairman Herman Farrell dismissed Pirro as a "flailing candidate" who "should try offering New Yorkers a positive vision instead of the same old tired attacks."

I'm off to class, will have to update later.