NEWS SUMMARY
For the maniacally focused eviction crew at the Democratic National Committee led by Vilmain and Wachs, today might be a good time to call for a snap election.
While the president kept up his obsession with reporters asking multi-part questions at his Pretorian press conference this morning, back here at home, he might just be thanking his lucky stars that there is no federal recall law like that wacky one they have in the Golden State.
Okay, we hereby acknowledge that we are exaggerating for dramatic effect - something The Note apparently feels compelled to do in the increasingly competitive world of morning drive-time online political journalism.
The president is still the 1,200-pound gorilla of American politics who can sit wherever he wants.
But if one felt inclined to impose an organized construct on this themeless pudding of a political day, it would be that while the POTUS is away, the domestic and foreign policy legs of his presidency are starting to drift ever so slightly down toward his still-muscular ankles.
AP doomsayer Will Lester reports: "The American public has growing doubts about President Bush's efforts to improve the nation's economy and improve its health care system, a poll says, but they're not convinced that Democrats have the answers."
"Bush's approval rating stood at 60 percent in the survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, a significant drop from his 74 percent rating on April 9, the day the 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein fell in Baghdad and U.S. commanders said the Iraqi ruler's reign had ended."
Still, Lester Notes that Democrats don't seem to be benefiting directly from dissatisfaction with the president, "with just 38 percent saying Democrats could do a better job on health care and 31 percent picking the Republicans...."
But, "unhappiness with Bush's effort to revive the economy has increased from 53 percent in May to 62 percent."
But but but again: "The Democratic field of nine candidates still hasn't produced a White House hopeful who could count on widespread name recognition and enthusiastic support, according to the poll."
So there's the rub for Terry "The Macker" McAuliffe and his team of all-stars: is it possible for the weak, underfunded, disorganized, feuding, undisciplined set of loosely connected individuals and organizations that make up the Democratic Party to take advantage of the weak economy, the 9/11 questions, the Niger falsehood, the Cheney executive branch prerogative assertions, and everything else to make political hay and drive the president's numbers down even more BEFORE there is a Democratic presidential nominee?