This part of Woodward's book sheds new light on election night.

[blm]

Carville was passing info to Matalin about the vote count.

Kerry's election team was ORIGINALLY challenging 250,000 votes, then some time later, that number get downturned into 150,000 as per the Dem election team number crunchers, as I recall.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100687.html

>>>>
The book also reminds us what a small town this is. On election night 2004, GOP communications guru Mary Matalin was with Bush and Vice President Cheney and talking with her husband, Democratic strategist James Carville , who was close to -- but not in -- John Kerry 's campaign.

Kerry, Carville told her, was going to challenge 250,000 provisional ballots in Ohio, which could change the result there or tie things up for a long time. Matalin promptly told Cheney, and they met with Bush. The Kerry camp made the announcement shortly thereafter.
>>>>>

[mod mom]

1. I also felt this was telling:

The campaign was left to anxiously wait for a statement from Kenneth Blackwell, a former black power student leader who had morphed into Ohio's gadfly Republican secretary of state.

"I'm the President of the United States," Bush fumed, "waiting on a secretary of state who is a nut."


http://howardempowered.blogspot.com/2006/10/bush-ken-blackwell-is-nut.html


Waiting on a SOS? What, was it already decided?

[blm]

5. So, moles WERE in the Dem party team that WE have been led to believe

have always been on OUR side. And Carville was always the Dem of choice for Tim Russert, too. That should have opened our eyes long ago.

[mod mom]

7. was Carville pissed that Kerry didn't hire him?

[blm]

9. I doubt it. You don't pull something like this for that type of reason.

This is far more calculating and goes back to the early par of the campaign where NO bigname Dems would support Kerry's call for Rumsfeld's firing over Abu Ghraib or back up his attack on Bush for Tora Bora - two of the biggest cannons in the 2004 arsenal, and no one wanted to stand with Kerry on that?

[Preening Fop]

2. James Carville, A (paid?) far right wing Spy.....?

:yoiks:

[blm]

6. maybe he was working against 2004 in exchange for guarantees in 2008.

.

[grasswire]

3. did Kerry authorize this communication?

If not, Carville shouldn't be let anywhere near the inside of Dem politics ever again. In fact, he should have gotten the brushoff a long time ago. Matalin's loyalties apparently are not with her husband.

[blm]

4. hard to imagine this could have been authorized - and Carville was not

an official part of the campaign, so he must have been relying on his connection to the party and Clinton.

[wisteria]

8. I think Carvelle needs to challanged on this little stunt. I also think

Woodward put it in his book for a reason. Perhaps, hoping it would be noticed and acted upon.

[MH1]

10. Sheeeesh...

Wonder what else Carville was passing to Matalin and therefore the Bushies?

And I wonder how the number of provisional ballots went from 250,000, suddenly to only 150,000.