Rasmussen confirms Tribune's GOP polling: Perry leads 46-35

Evan Smith would have to be feeling quite a bit better after seeing this:

Rasmussen Reports this morning is reporting a new poll showing Gov. Rick Perry leading U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison 46 percent to 35 percent in the Texas GOP primary for governor. Activist Debra Medina had 4 percent support.

Perry led Hutchison by 10 percentage points in a July Rasmussen survey, but he held only a 40 percent to 38 percent lead in September shortly after Hutchison's formal announcement for governor.

You may recall that the Texas Tribune released a similar result on Election Day that many people questioned, including myself. More from RG Ratcliffe ...

One of the more interesting factoids in the poll is that by a margin of 60 percent to 26 percent, primary voters believe Hutchison should stay in the Senate while she challenges Perry.

Despite having an important vote next week scheduled the same day as her big endorsement event with Deadeye Dick here next week, I believe sitting tight in the Senate would be the course of action a self-indulgent self-preservationist such as Kay Bailey would prudently take. After a caveat about interpreting polls results, more again from Ratcliffe ...

Hutchison's campaign has not fully engaged Perry so far. While she has been campaigning in Texas, she has only fitfully done things to get free coverage from the state's news media. Instead, she has concentrated on appearing on cable television shows that reinforces the idea that she is a Washington insider.

Is that a failing reflected by his lead, or did she demonstrate in September that when she does engage and gets state media attention that she can quickly close the gap? If the latter is the case, then the strategy of putting the race off until the final two months makes some sense.

Also, all three polls have had Perry at 46 percent support or less. Is that his ceiling? Most of the time, an incumbent with re-elect numbers below 50 percent is viewed as vulnerable.

Spot on with all of that. Here we are mid-November and still no indication from KBH when she will "come home" and begin working on earning her 'promotion', and her gubernatorial prospects continue to head south . I believe she's got until Christmas to get it turned around or give it up.

Whatever she decides, Perry remains in control of his destiny. And comments like these in Midland may even be helping him with the freak-right base who votes in Republican primaries here.

Sweet Lou preps a run for Prez

My wife laughs every time I call him that; he has set off my gaydar for years. I think he's just a bitter old queen. Anyway, he fancies himself as a Ross Perot or Pat Buchanan ...

According to these sources, Dobbs has increasingly been feeling the pressure from CNN head Jonathan Klein. The longtime CNN anchor has increasingly become a controversial flashpoint for the network, as he argues against illegal immigration and for the idea that Barack Obama might not be a legitimate citizen of the United States. His increasingly angry conservative/independent leanings stand out in stark contrast to the cable news network's more centrist approach.

As tension between Dobbs and Klein has increased over the past few months, Dobbs reportedly began seriously considering a run for political office in either 2010 or 2012. He had been rumored last year to have been considering a run for governor of New Jersey (where he is a resident). But according to sources, that was never a serious consideration.

But Dobbs apparently now feels that a run for president -- perhaps as an independent -- is a real possibility. And associates expect that in the upcoming weeks Dobbs will making a number of speeches in front of friendly crowds, in an effort to judge the public's reaction to his political ambitions. "It's not that he sees himself as a politician," says one associate. "But he honestly believes that this is his time, that he has something constructive to contribute to the political discourse."

When Dobbs annouced his departure on Wednesday's show, he told viewers that "Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving."

One source I spoke with moments ago noted that while Dobbs might not be publicly committing himself to a political career, he is certainly giving it strong consideration. "He sees himself as having the same effect as a Pat Buchanan or a Ross Perot," said the source. "He sees himself as a populist and this is the time when America needs a rabble rouser from outside the normal political circles."

America needs another rabble rouser like America needs another war.

So Long, Lou

Don't let the door hitcha where the Good Lord splitcha.

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said.

A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.

Just watched his cut-and-run declaration on his program. He's no doubt headed to FOX.

Well known for his political positions, Mr. Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable news arena. The CNN employees said Wednesday that they did not know if Mr. Dobbs was moving to another network.

Mr. Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, in September. At the time Mr. Dobbs was viewed as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox spokesperson said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”

His increasingly shrill, bitter, angry, paranoid ramblings will fit right in, probably in some time slot around the Beck/O'Reilly/Hannity bloc.

Mr. Dobbs has been with CNN since its founding, save for a two-year stint at a Web site called Space.com. He has evolved over the years from a straight-laced business anchor to an outspoken commentator who rails against illegal immigration and taxpayer bailouts, among other subjects.

Lately, though, he has saved most of his opinions for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, his bosses were forced to call it a “dead issue.”

More recently, Mr. Dobbs’ views on immigration provoked a protest by Hispanic groups. Members of the groups complained that CNN was allowing Mr. Dobbs “to spread lies and misinformation about us each night.”

Last month the New Jersey State Police were called to Mr. Dobbs home to investigate a report of gunfire. Mr. Dobbs suggested that his family had been singled out because of his views on illegal immigration and border security.

His departure leaves CNN, trying desperately to straddle the political fence, steadily losing audience with no viable replacement in sight.

Update: It's John King.

CNN announced Thursday that John King, the Sunday morning host best known for his magic wall, is taking over the 7 p.m. slot left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Lou Dobbs.

The decision, described by network sources, amounts to a doubling down on straight news. King, a former Associated Press writer, is known for his reporting and neutral approach to politics, while Dobbs has grown increasingly opinionated in recent years, especially on such issues as his opposition to illegal immigration.

Vets Day toons

A sadder Veterans' Day today

The slain soldiers at Fort Hood add a greater degree of self-reflection on the sacrifice our veterans make today.



An Army major trained in psychiatry -- a counselor to wounded veterans returning from battle -- who didn't want to deploy to the battle zone instead turned his weapons on his fellow soldiers.



The tragedy won't ever make any sense, and particularly so if it gets attributed merely to religious motivation or racial profiling or military superiors missing the clues.



As a nation, we must do better at taking care of our soldiers.

With the marking this week of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it might be wise to note that event occurred without shots being fired between combatants. Would that we see future conflicts evolve from bullets and bombs to the will of peaceful people declaring the end themselves.

A brief history of how we came to celebrate this day:

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

And the commemoration taking place this morning in Washington:

A patriotic ceremony honoring America’s military members and Veterans is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. in Arlington National Cemetery. A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknowns, followed by a ceremony in the Memorial Amphitheater, adjacent to the Tomb. The event will commence with a prelude concert by the United States Air Force Concert Band & Singing Sergeants at 10:30 a.m., inside the amphitheater.

And locally:

The 11th Annual Houston Salutes American Heroes Veterans Day Commemoration and Parade will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in downtown Houston. The Houston VA National Cemetery, in conjunction with the City of Houston, is proud to continue the tradition of honoring the brave men and women who have risked their lives for our great nation. This year’s theme is “Answering the Call to Defend Freedom.”

A Commemoration Ceremony will take place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Hermann Square in front of City Hall, downtown Houston, 901 Bagby Street. A Parade of Heroes will follow at 11:45 a.m. and begin at Smith and Texas, proceed down Smith to Lamar, right on Lamar and conclude at Bagby Street.

This year, the ceremony keynote speaker is U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Five Candis Martin. Chief Martin is an Iraq War veteran, having served in theater from August 2005 to July 2006, where she was appointed as the Theatre Property Book Officer, and was accountable for the largest property book in the history of the Army. Today, she is assigned as the Quartermaster Proponent Warrant Officer in the Office of the Quartermaster General, at Fort Lee, Virginia. Chief Martin has been awarded the Bronze Star Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. She is married to Sergeant Major (Retired) Edmund Martin and they have four children. Their son, Tom, a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, was killed in Iraq in October 2007.

Here's a listing of other Veterans' Day events around Texas today.

Say thanks to a veteran today, for their service and their sacrifice.

A conservative in Maine gives thanks

He may be a Democrat, he may be a Republican, but he is certainly a conservative.