HEY, LOOK, NEWS!:

Yes Virginia, There Are Elections This Year (Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing and Beth Brenner, 10/22/03, CBS News)

In Philadelphia's mayoral race, a Tuesday night debate featured sharp exchanges over the ethical questions that have come to dominate the contest. Incumbent Mayor John Street underlined his belief that the current FBI investigation of his office is an attempt to manipulate the election’s results, while Republican Steve Katz countered that the probe was an "exclamation point" on the city’s history of corruption. [...]

As the debate took place, many voters seemed to agree with the mayor that he is the victim of political manipulation. Far from hurting the mayor, the FBI investigation seems to be creating a "dramatic up-tick" in his support, according to Street campaign spokesman Dan Fee. And polls (Temple University, Keystone) show the mayor pulling decisively ahead. As Larry Sabato, a professor at The University of Virginia, told CBS News, "Should John Street win re-election, his first thank you should not go to his staff but to the FBI."

In Mississippi, it's third parties instead of the FBI ruffling political feathers. As the Biloxi Sun Herald reports, John Thomas Cripps of the Constitution Party and Sherman Lee Dillon of the Green Party are increasing chances that neither the incumbent, Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, nor Republican challenger Haley Barbour will get a majority in either the popular or electoral (measured by House districts) votes. Cripps' support for the Confederate flag may take votes from Barbour, while Dillon’s progressive stances appeal to potential Musgrove backers. If Cripps and Dillon do well enough to deny a major party candidate the majority, the Mississippi House of Representatives will pick the governor. In 1999, that process took almost two months.

Maybe coverage of actual elections could take the place of Boondocks?

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 22, 2003 3:56 PM