Yarmuth trails by 1 point!

John Yarmuth trails Anne Northup by only one percentage point. Northup leads 45% to Yarmuth's 44%. This is good news for Yarmuth. Assuming that I do not work that weekend, I may go home and help with the Yarmuth campaign.

Obviously, the fallout from the Foley scandal has affected how people will vote in November. It's essential that voters get out the vote on November 7th. It will make a big difference between two more years of the same or two years of sanity in Congress.

Here's Tom Loftus' article on Chandler's decision.

Asked if he relished a rematch with Fletcher, Chandler said, “Running against Ernie Fletcher again might be fun, and while I believe there’s a significant amount of buyer’s remorse out there, that’s not a good reason to decide whether to run for governor or not.”

Chandler said he will make a decision on whether he’ll run between Election Day and Thanksgiving.

Al Cross penned his latest C-J column on the fading star of Ron Lewis. Personally, I think Ron Lewis is finished in Congress after this year.

His most objectionable absence came Monday night, when Kentucky Educational Television started its series of forums with the 2nd and 5th Districts. Neither was a debate, because Lewis and Republican Rep. Hal Rogers of Somerset didn't show.

At least Rogers has the excuse that Democrat Kenneth Stepp of Barbourville is running a limited campaign. In contrast, Weaver is the only Kentucky Democratic challenger that the national party is supporting, seems to be within striking distance of Lewis, and they have been savaging each other in TV commercials and press statements.

This is the sort of race that cries out for a face-to-face debate, but Lewis has yet to answer the call, even for forums that would not be televised -- such as an Owensboro Chamber of Commerce event, which Lewis passed up to attend an Owensboro Right to Life banquet.

His spokesman, Mike Dodge, told me Lewis was keeping a prior commitment, and "There are some strategic considerations here" in his boss' avoidance of debates. "You don't want to be in a situation where you raise the profile of your opponent."

But amid the paid-TV battle, a Lewis-Weaver debate on KET would have done relatively little to raise Weaver's profile. What Lewis may fear is that a debate would raise Weaver's support. Weaver is an intense, aggressive speaker who still acts like the Army combat commander he was. Lewis remains soft-spoken, is not known as one of the more articulate members of Congress, and early in his career had to backtrack on some of his public statements.

Weaver alluded to his possible rhetorical advantage, saying on the KET forum that viewers could "see how I stand up to that kind of pressure" and need to see how Lewis measures up.

Mike Weaver's campaign site can be found here.

I don't get this. The last time we nominated the same candidate from the previous race for president was in 1956 (Adlai Stevenson). If you remember what happened that year, then you know that Eisenhower was re-elected.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who lost to President Bush in 2004, said it is a basic principle that "Americans give people a second chance. And if you learn something and prove you've learned something, maybe even more so. Now, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. We'll make that decision down the road."[...]

Kerry faces a major challenge trying to convince Democratic activists that a recently defeated candidate can still carry his party's hopes for recapturing the White House.

If Kerry runs, he would have to overcome other Democratic presidential hopefuls such as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Joe Biden of Delaware, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

The list of potential opponents also could include New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Indiana Gov. Sen. Evan Bayh, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and even Kerry's ex-running mate in 2004, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Don't get me wrong. I like Senator John Kerry as a person. I think he's a great senator. All of that said, I don't think it will be in the Senator's best interest to run again in 2008. He's already stereotyped as a northeastern liberal. The Republicans will continue to frame that in the debates if he is the nominee again. When I look at candidates, I factor in what states they can win. Can they turn red states blue? That's why I favor Senator Bayh in 2008.

Col. Mike Weaver hit back at the ad from Ron Lewis. I'd like to know why I have not seen any ads from Weaver in the Jefferson County market. The DCCC needs to start pooring money into this market.