Sen. Hillary Clinton blasted the Bush Administration recently, charging he is trying to impose a radical right-wing agenda on the country. She also criticized him for trying to upend social programs, particularly medicare and social security.

We want more, Hillary. Unleash on Ashcroft next time.

In doing some research on Wesley Clark's position on criminal justice issues, we came across this heartening quote:

I'm concerned about the lock-up policy, the 3-strikes policy, putting people in jails and the way we've treated people in prison. We've got to look seriously at the American penal system and what it does when it returns people.to the streets." Source: WBUR Public Radio interview Jun 19, 2003

A new Newsweek poll has Gen. Wesley Clark on top among the Democratic contenders for President. Daily Kos has some analysis, and concludes it doesn't mean much. Kevin at Calpundit thinks it means a lot.

Also from Kevin, if you're wondering where Clark stands on the issues, read this account of Clark's statements during a lunch with law professors in Iowa Friday.

Update: Fox News just announced that the Newsweek poll also asked which Democrat had the best chance of beating Bush. The results, in order: Clark, Kerry, Dean.

Former President Jimmy Carter appeared on Larry King Live tonight. He said he sees some of himself in Howard Dean. He mentioned that both Dean and Wesley Clark sought his opinion on running campaigns. Carter thinks Dean is an exciting candidate and praised his use of the internet to raise funds.

On Monday, 11 judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear the California recall decision issued by three of its judges earlier this week. None of those three judges will be on the panel.

Undoubtedly, the loser will petition the Supreme Court for review. Shades of Bush v. Gore all over the place. If the Supremes refuse to hear the case or rule differently this time around, it will only add to the firestorm of criticism that the Bush v. Gore decision was decided on politics, not law. Should such an unwarranted decision result, we think the message will be clear: Our judges should be free of ideologies that affect their judicial decisions. We hope that translates into rejections for many of Bush's judicial picks around the country.

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American Prospect has an article in the October 1 issue (available now online) advising candidates how to connect with America's Youth. [link via Hamster.] Here's one of the suggestions:

14. Learn tolerance from the young. This is the most tolerant generation in American history. We need to enact legislation recognizing domestic partnerships, preventing hate crimes, restoring rights to immigrants and getting rid of laws like the so-called PATRIOT Act that invite censorship, invasion of privacy and a denial of our liberties.

We agree....and we note that the author referred to "preventing hate crimes" rather than "punishing hate crimes more severely." Nice touch.

On the national front, Gen. Wesley Clark will join the Democratic debate on economic issues scheduled for New York next week.

In California, Cruz Bustamante and Tom McClintock, two of the top contenders for Governor, are threatening a boycott of next week's debate if the format is not changed. Arnold has agreed to participate in the debate, but the others say it has been scripted and doesn't allow for enough spontaneous exchange. Arianna Huffington and Peter Conejo are mulling it over.

The debate is sponsored by the California Broadcasting Association. Their policy is to send out questions in advance. This is the only debate Schwarzenegger has agreed to participate in.

Schwarzenegger's campaign noted that the scripted format was developed by the CBA and Schwarzenegger already unsuccessfully asked for a change. Stan Statham, president and chief executive of the CBA, said the format would not change.

"If the candidates want to break their promises that's their prerogative. But we set the rules and we're going stick to them," he said.

In other campaign news, it looks Donnie Fowler will be Clark's campaign manager. Fowler is the son of former DNC chairman Donald Fowler. Donnie ran an Al Gore's 2000 field operation

In Florida today, several hundred supporters mobbed Clark at his first campaign appearance.

And a major union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with 1.5 million members announced it will delay its decision on which Dem to endorse, now that Clark is in the race.

General Wesley Clark's campaign website is Americans For Clark. It's up and running.

Hesiod at Counterspin says the radical right's smear campaign against General Wesley Clark is underway. Clark joined the Presidential race today. Scoobie Davis has the details and says Hesiod is right on the money. Read both.

Daily Kos provides his take on the Wesley Clark campaign team. Some members he likes, some he doesn't. He thinks Chris Lehane, who recently departed the Kerry campaign, will be jumping on board. Kos predicts a Dean/Clark battle right up until the very end.

If you're an early riser, and a Wesley Clark supporter, head on over to DraftWesleyClark.com at 6:30 ET Wednesday morning.

Early Wednesday morning, General Wesley Clark will webcast a special message to all members of the Draft Clark movement, hours before making a formal announcement of his decision to enter the race for President.

The official announcement will be at 12:00 noon CT.

MB Williams of Wampum thinks so:

As far as a Clark-Dean or Dean-Clark ticket, I think it's a pipe-dream. Clark as a VP would only highlight Dean's thin resume on defense matters. Voters expect the Commander-in-Chief to have his hand on the Red Phone, not the VP. Dean offers little other than Dean's grassroots supporters, and frankly, as we minorities have often been apprised, where you gonna go? If the race looks tight, Clark as nominee picks someone like himself, but with more inside the Beltway experience, such as Edwards, who can possibly carry an otherwise Red state. If the Administration goes into complete meltdown, Clark breaks the glass ceiling and chooses a Southern woman or minority politico. Maybe Dean gets a Secretary appointment (HHS?) in a Clark Administration. But I strongly suspect that if he leaves Boston without the nomination, he heads back to Vermont otherwise empty handed.

Lisa English of Ruminate This, is back from an on-again, off-again hiatus, with multiple great posts today, including this one agreeing with Wampum on Clark-Dean.

We've been invited to a small gathering next Sunday (9/29) where Sen. John Edwards will meet and greet all present and answer questions. No donation required. It will be a small group, it's at a private home. We'd love to go, but it's in Miami. Really too bad, because we like Edwards a lot and would appreciate the opportunity to listen to him and ask questions in such a setting--no cameras, no press.

We'd also love to attend the opening of the new Manhattan club Avalon this Saturday night. Howard Dean will be there to address the crowd, along with Al Franken, Whoopi Goldberg and Gloria Gaynor ("I will Survive.) It's cheap--35 bucks. If you are closer to NY than we are, and would like to go, here are the details. Who knows, maybe there will be an e-fare sale to NY this weekend and we can drag our law student offspring away from the books for a few hours to go with us.